Hartford Colonials

United Football League (2010)

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Hartford Colonials
Logo T-Shirt

Hartford’s blink-and-you-missed-’em Colonials played just four games at Rentschler Field in 2010 before falling victim to the vicious economics of professional minor league football.

On the bright side, the team’s brief stint was enough to help starting quarterback Josh McCown make it back to the NFL.

This Colonials tee is available in White, Baby Blue, Navy & Soft Cream from Royal Retros today!

 

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Background

It’s remarkable that the United Football League could lose so much money – a reported $100 million dollars over its first two seasons – while playing so few actual games²Olson, Eric. “Struggling UFL shuts down Hartford Colonials”. The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT). August 10, 2011.   In its 2009 inaugural season, the four-team league staged just twelve games.  The following year, the UFL expanded to five teams and produced an additional twenty games.  Throw in two title games and the league played a grand total of 34 times in 2009 and 2010 – losing nearly $3 million per game on average.

One & Done

The Hartford Colonials were a new team for the league second season in 2010 – sort of.  The franchise existed the year before as the winless (0-6) New York Sentinels. The Sentinels played their three “home” games at a trio of venues just outside New York City, including one game at Hartford’s Rentschler Field.

In February 2010, the UFL and Sentinels owner/operator William Mayer formally moved the franchise to Hartford . The team was later re-branded as the Colonials.  Former Cleveland Browns Head Coach Chris Palmer assumed coaching duties.  NFL journeyman quarterback Josh McCown signed on as the Colonials best known player and assumed the starter’s role.

The Colonials won their opening game comfortably over the Sacramento Mountain Lions before an announced crowd of 14,384 at Rentschler Field on September 18, 2010. But the team struggled the rest of the way en route to a 3-5 final record.

Following the season, Chris Palmer left to become Offensive Coordinator of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.  The UFL dusted off Jerry Glanville, who last coached pro football in 1993, as his successor for the 2011 season.  Before the season could begin, however, the UFL’s growing pile of debts forced the league to contract one of its five teams.  40,000-seat Rentschler Field was the most expensive venue in the league, so the Colonials became the team on the chopping block.  The UFL axed the club on August 10, 2011 after months of speculation.  Team owner Bill Mayer remained in the league, taking over the owner-less Virginia Destroyers franchise instead.

The UFL folded midway through its fourth season in October 2012.

Hartford Colonials Shop

UFL MINI-HELMETS

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Hartford Colonials
Mini-Helmet

This United Football League Mini Helmet is available through Royal Retros.

• 15 oz. mini helmet

• Style worn by the Colonials in 2010

• Available in the classic helmet style by Schutt or modern style by Riddell

• Typically ships in 3-5 business days

• Fulfilled by 417 Helmets

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Hartford Colonials Video

All eight Colonials games were broadcast in some form in 2010, though almost none of the footage lives online a decade later. Six games were picked up by the UFL’s national cable and satellite partners, Versus and HDNet. The other two, including the Colonials’ debut game on September 18, 2010 (short clip below) were shown regionally in New England only on the NESN cable network.

Links

United Football League Programs

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