Dallas Texans (1990-1993)

Arena Football League (1990-1993)

Tombstone

Born: 1990 – Arena Football expansion franchise
Folded: October 1, 1993¹

First Game: June 8, 1990 (W 50-47 vs. Denver Dynamite)
Last Game: August 7, 1993 (L 51-6 @ Detroit Drive)

Arena Bowl Championships: None

Arena

Reunion Arena (16,088)²
Opened: 1980
Demolished: 2009

Marketing

Team Colors: Blue, Red & White

Ownership

Owners:

1990-1991: Lanier Richey
1991-1992: Kent Kramer & Greg Gibson
1993: Brian Cleland, et al.

Arena Football League Expansion Fee (1990): $125,000³

Attendance

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Sources: 1999 Arena Football League Official Record & Fact Book (rebuilt from game summaries).

Our Favorite Stuff

Dallas Texans
Arena Football T-Shirt

The colors really pop on this design from Old School Shirts, paying tribute to the days when the old Dallas Texans of the Arena Football League patrolled the floor of Reunion Arena circa early 1990’s.

This design is available right now is sizes Small through 5XL from Old School Shirts.

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!

Background

The Dallas Texans were the first of four Arena Football League teams to set up shop in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. They preceded the Fort Worth Cavalry (1994), the Jerry Jones-owned Dallas Desperados (2002-2008) and the ill-fated Dallas Vigilantes (2010-2011).

Arena Bowl IV Appearance

The Texans earned a trip to Arena Bowl IV in the first season of play. Granted there were only six teams in the league at the time. Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Ernie Stautner was the Texans’ head coach in 1990 and would win the league’s Coach-of-the-Year award (and then never coach indoor football again).

Arena Bowl IV, played before 19,000 at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena, featured the two greatest quarterbacks of the early years of Arena Football: Ben Bennett of the Texans and Art Schlichter of the Detroit Drive. Schlichter was a former Ohio State star and #4 overall pick of the 1982 NFL draft. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle famously banned Schlichter from the NFL due to his crippling gambling addiction. Schlichter outdueled Bennett in the title game as Detroit defeated Dallas 51-27.

Decline & Demise

The Texans looked completely different when the team returned for a second season in 1991. Stautner departed for the NFL and was replaced as Head Coach and General Manager by former Dallas Cowboys star Drew Pearson. Bennett didn’t re-sign with the team until midseason and then was quickly dealt to the Orlando Predators. The star never threw another pass for Dallas after the 1990 Arena Bowl loss. Replacement Alfred Jenkins, a Canadian Football League refugee, couldn’t muster much firepower, and the Texans finished 4-6 in 1991.

The franchise muddled along for two more seasons, continuing to shuffle Head Coaches (four different guys over four seasons), starting quarterbacks and owners. Interest in the team ebbed away after some large early crowds in 1990. On the first day of October 1993, Arena Football League Commissioner Joe O’Hara announced that the Texans franchise had been dropped from the league for failure to meet financial commitments.

Aftermath

One modest success story from the Texans’ brief existence was Lincoln Coleman, an undrafted running back out of Baylor. Coleman played both running back and linebacker in the Arena League, where most players besides the quarterback and kicker played on both sides of the ball. The ground game is an afterthought in Arena Football, but Coleman showed sufficient talent as a rookie with the Texans in 1993 that he earned a contract with the Dallas Cowboys. Coleman played two seasons in the NFL in 1993 and 1994.

Coleman was one of the first Arena Football players to earn a shot in the NFL and see significant playing time. He would be followed on that path a few years later by Kurt Warner.

Dallas Texans Shop

Texan Tees (Version Two)