Arena Football League (2001-2004)
Tombstone
Born: Arena Football expansion franchise
Folded: September 20, 20041Sipple, George. “Detroit hath no more Fury”. The Free Press (Detroit, MI). September 21, 2004
First Game: April 20, 2001 (L 79-52 @ Carolina Cobras)
Last Game: May 29, 2004 (W 64-54 @ Grand Rapids Rampage)
Arena Bowl Championships: None
Arena
The Palace of Auburn Hills (18,565)22001 Detroit Fury Media Guide
Opened: 1988
Demolished: 2020
Marketing
Team Colors: Black, Red, Silver, Purple & White32001 Detroit Fury Media Guide
Mascot: Frenzy
Ownership
Owners: William Davidson & William Clay Ford, Jr.
Our Favorite Stuff
Detroit Fury Logo T-Shirt
The Fury were Detroit’s second go at the sport of Arena Football, following on the heels of the Detroit Drive a decade earlier. The Fury were part of Palace Sports & Entertainment’s menagerie of team that played at the suburban Palace of Auburn Hills during the early 2000’s. But unlike the NBA Pistons and the WNBA Shock who claimed league championships during the era, the Fury never posted a winning season.
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Background
The Detroit Fury of the Arena Football League were a short-lived joint venture between Bill Davidson’s Palace Sports & Entertainment (owners of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons) and Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford, Jr.
An earlier Motor City entry in the league, the Detroit Drive (1988-1993), won four Arena Bowl championships and drew large crowds to the Joe Louis Arena downtown. But the Fury were unable to replicate that success at the suburban Palace of Auburn Hills. The Fury compiled a 22-41 record over four seasons of play, never finishing better than .500 under Head Coaches Mouse Davis (2001-2002), Al Luginbill (2003) and Al’s son Tom Luginbill (2004).
Demise
Detroit never really took to the team either – the Fury consistently ranked near the bottom of league at the box office. Overall, the team claimed an average of 8,152 fans for 30 home dates over four years.
Palace Sports & Entertainment folded the club on September 20, 2004 after four money-losing seasons.
Years later, former Fury staffer Dave Wieme gave an lengthy interview to Crain’s Detroit Business where he recalled the business challenges of operating the team.
Voices
“We thought maybe the NBC (partnership) would be a real coup. At the end of the day, it wasn’t translating into anything that we could see as an upside. If the NFL was never going to be involved, this was never going to be much more than what it is. It’s a challenge selling a second-tier sport in a first-tier market. You better win and you better win big.”
– Fury President & CEO Tom Wilson (via George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press, September 2004)4Sipple, George. “Detroit hath no more Fury”. The Free Press (Detroit, MI). September 21, 2004
Detroit Fury Shop
In Memoriam
Fury co-owner Bill Davidson passed away on March 13th, 2009 at age 86. New York Times obituary.
Co-owner William Clay Ford died at age 88 on March 9th, 2014. New York Times obituary.
Links
“What killed the AFL’s Detroit Fury? The rent was too damn high” Bill Shea, Crain’s Detroit Business, January 23, 2013
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One Response
Before the kick off of the first couple of Fury games, A bunch of us on Harleys escorted the cheerleaders into the arena on the back of our bikes. I would love to get pictures or videos of that to show my friends. Are they even available still?