Arena Football League (1988-1993)
Tombstone
Born: July 1987 – Arena Football expansion franchise1Brown, Clifton. “Detroit gets arena football for ’88 season”. The Free Press (Detroit, MI). July 10, 1987*
Moved: February 17, 1994 (Massachusetts Marauders)2Stoda, Greg. “Driven to Boston: Detroit Drive sold”. The Free Press (Detroit, MI). February 18, 1994
First Game: April 28, 1988 (L 57-51 vs. Pittsburgh Gladiators)
Last Game: August 21, 1993 (L 51-31 vs. Tampa Bay Storm)
Arena Bowl Champions: 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1992
*The Arena Football League itself listed the origin date of the Drive franchise as February 17th, 1988. Not clear what explains the seven month discrepancy between this date and the press coverage cited above.31991 Arena Football League Media Guide
Arena
Joe Louis Arena (17,446)41992 Arena Football Media Guide
Marketing
Team Colors: Victory Blue, Orange & White51992 Arena Football Media Guide
Ownership
Owner: Mike Ilitch
Arena Football Expansion Fee (1987): $1.7 million6Stoda, Greg. “Driven to Boston: Detroit Drive sold”. The Free Press (Detroit, MI). February 18, 1994
Attendance
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Source: 1999 Arena Football League Official Record & Fact Book (re-built from game summaries)
Our Favorite Stuff
Detroit Drive
Replica Jersey
When it comes to Replica Jerseys, we turn to our friends at Royal Retros, who put extraordinary detail into their fully customizable classic jerseys.
Free customization included
Each jersey individually hand-made (any name and/or number)
Heavyweight sewn tackle twill numbers and letters
100% polyester
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Background
The Detroit Drive were a championship dynasty during the early years of the Arena Football League. Formed as an expansion franchise for the AFL’s second season, the Drive went on to play six years. Incredibly, the Drive appeared in the Arena Bowl title game in all six seasons they competed. They won the Arena Bowl four times (1988, 1989, 1990 and 1992) and compiled an overall regular season & playoff record of 58-12 in six seasons – an astounding 83% winning percentage. The team’s two Arena Bowl losses in 1991 and 1993 both came at the hands of the Tampa Bay Storm.
Comeback of Art Schlichter
The Drive’s most famous player was former Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter. Schlichter, the #4 overall pick in the 1982 NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts, was a degenerate gambler and con artist. During his rookie season in 1982, he gambled away his entire $350,000 signing bonus. He was suspended from the NFL for gambling twice and never played an NFL down again after 1985. Schlichter mounted a comeback with the Drive in 1990 at age 30 and promptly led the club to a third consecutive Arena Bowl title and was named the Arena league’s 1990 Most Valuable Player.
After leading the Drive to a fourth straight title appearance in 1991, the team traded him to the expansion Cincinnati Rockers prior to the 1992 season. Although Schlichter would have his best statistical season with Cincinnati in 1992, the trade proved a shrewd deal for Detroit. The quarterback’s gambling addiction roared back to life in Ohio. He passed at least two bad checks during the 1992 season and was arrested two weeks before the end of the season. Schlichter never played another down of professional football after 1992 and spent much of the next decade in prison on various fraud charges.
The End
The owner of the Detroit Drive was Little Caesar’s pizza mogul Mike Ilitch, who also owned the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. The team was a popular attraction in Detroit, averaging over 14,000 fans per game at Joe Louis Arena over six seasons. But Ilitch purchased the Detroit Tigers in 1993 and reportedly came to view the Drive as competition for the Tigers during the spring and summer months.7Stoda, Greg. “Driven to Boston: Detroit Drive sold”. The Free Press (Detroit, MI). February 18, 1994
Ilitch sold the Drive to Joseph O’Hara in February 1994. O’Hara moved the franchise to Worcester, Massachusetts where it played one undistinguished season as the Massachusetts Marauders in 1994 and then went out of business.
The Arena Football League returned to Detroit in 2001 with the arrival of the Detroit Fury expansion franchise, jointly operated by Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson and Lions owner William Clay Ford, Jr. The Fury played at the suburban Palace of Auburn Hills and failed to re-kindle the Drive’s on-field accomplishment or popularity. The Fury disbanded after the 2004 season.
Voices: Kevin Murphy
“One of the forgotten heroes in the Arena League in my opinion, was the Ilitch family from Little Caesars Pizza in Detroit. From what I heard back in 1988-1990, if not for Mike Ilitch providing much needed capital, the league would have folded almost immediately. The other side benefit was when we played the Detroit Drive, we would have hot pizza waiting for us in the locker room after the game. To my recollection, that was the only place where the opponent was taken care of. Making what little we did as ‘pro athletes’ ($1,000 – 1,500 per game), it was a much appreciated thoughtfulness.”
-Kevin Murphy, Offensive/Defensive Line, New England Steamrollers & Albany Firebirds 1988-1990 (2023 FWiL Interview)
Detroit Drive Shop
Our Favorite Stuff
Detroit Drive Logo T-Shirt
One of professional sport’s forgotten dynasties, the Detroit Drive forged the remarkable achievement of appearing in the Arena Bowl title game in all six seasons that the team competed in the Arena Football League from 1988 until 1993, winning four times. The team was popular too, often packing the old Joe Louis Arena downtown.
There’s a number of Drive throwback tees out there but this one from Royal Retros is far and way our favorite. Plus it’s available in multiple colors and sizes S thru 5XL!
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Detroit Drive Video
The Drive host the Tampa Bay Storm at Joe Louis Arena in Arena Bowl V on August 17th, 1991.
In Memoriam
Head Coach Tim Marcum (Drive 1988-89 & 1991-1993) died on December 5, 2013 at age 69.
Offensive Line/Defensive Line Jon Roehlk (Drive ’90-’93) passed away on March 13, 2016 at 54 years of age.
Owner Mike Ilitch died on February 10, 2017 at the age of 87. New York Times obituary.
Downloads
7-30-1988 Drive @ Chicago Bruisers Arena Bowl II Roster
7-30-1988 Detroit Drive @ Chicago Bruisers Arena Bowl II Roster
1989 Detroit Drive Roster & Franchise Overview
7-28-1989 Drive vs. Pittsburgh Gladiators Roster Sheets
1988 Arena Football League Fan Survey
Links
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