Arena Football League (1987-1990)
Tombstone
Born: 1987 – Arena Football founding franchise
Moved: November 15, 1990 (Tampa Bay Storm)
First Game: June 19, 1987 (W 48-46 vs. Washington Commandos)
Last Game: August 3, 1990 (L 61-30 @ Detroit Drive)
Arena Bowl Championships: None
Arena
Pittsburgh Civic Arena (15,089)11988 Pittsburgh Gladiators Media Guide
Opened: 1961
Demolished: 2011-2012
Marketing
Team Colors: Green, White & Antique Gold21988 Pittsburgh Gladiators Media Guide
Ownership
Owners:
- 1987-1989: Arena Football League
- 1990: Bob Gries
Sale (1990): $125,000 (Arena Football League to Bob Gries)3Halvonik, Steve. “Glads’ owner comes from football family”. The Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA). April 26, 1990
Attendance
Because a couple of the Arena Football League’s early seasons amounted to short demonstration campaigns, the Gladiators played only 15 total home games at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena during their four seasons of existence.
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Sources:
- 1988 Pittsburgh Gladiators Media Guide (1987 figures)
- 1999 Arena Football League Official Record & Fact Book (1988, 1989 & 1990 figures)
Trophy Case
Arena Football League Most Valuable Player
- 1987: Russell Hairston
Gladiator Gear
Pittsburgh Gladiators
Logo T-Shirt
Pittsburgh played an historic role in the creation of Arena Football. The Gladiators were one of the sport’s four original teams in 1987 and Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena hosted both Arena Football’s debut game on June 19th, 1987 and its first Arena Bowl championship game on August 1st of that year.
This design is also available as a crewneck or hooded sweatshirt from our friends at Old School Shirts!
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Background
The Pittsburgh Gladiators were one of four founding members of the Arena Football League in 1987. The novelty of 50-yard indoor football caught some traction in the Steel City in the summer of ’87. All four of the Glads’ home games in the summer of 1987 drew more than 11,000 fans, culminating when Pittsburgh hosted Arena Bowl I at the Civic Arena before 13,232 and an ESPN national TV audience on August 1, 1987.
The 1987 Gladiators featured a handful of USFL castaways, including the team’s original starting quarterback Mike Hohensee and All-Arena League lineman Craig Walls. Head Coach Joe Haering was the defensive coordinator of the USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers in 1984. The team’s breakout star was a 23-year old rookie from the University of Kentucky named Russell Hairston. The strapping (6-3, 205) receiver caught 67 balls from 1,126 yards and 18 touchdowns in 6 games, earning the league’s inaugural Most Valuable Player award. Hohensee went down early in the season/ But back-up Brendan Folmar filled in capably as the Glads finished the regular season 4-2.
Hohensee was ready to play again for Arena Bowl I against the Denver Dynamite. Folmar was dinged up himself by this point. Haering gave Hohensee the nod, but replaced him with Folmar after the Dynamite went up 18-0 early. Pittsburgh never got back in the game and lost 45-16.
Several players on the 1987 Gladiators team used their Arena Football showcase to earned Replacement Player jobs during the 1987 NFL players strike. The replacements included Russell Hairston (Pittsburgh Steelers), Craig Walls (Buffalo Bills), and both of the team’s quarterbacks, with Folmar going to the Detroit Lions and Hohensee starting two replacement games for the Chicago Bears.
League Struggles & Return To Arena Bowl
The Gladiators returned with an expanded 12-game schedule in 1988. Hohensee and Folmar platooned at quarterback again. Hairston also returned, but coach Joe Haering dumped the reigning league MVP in a midseason trade to the New England Steamrollers. Fan interest waned and only one of the team’s 6 home dates drew more than 10,000 fans. The team finished a middling 6-6.
The Arena League nearly folded during the winter of 1988-89 amidst a dispute between founder Jim Foster and team operators. When the league did return in the spring of 1989, there we just five teams playing a brief four-game schedule over the course of three weeks. The 1989 season was intended to showcase Arena Football to new investors around the country, so the Gladiators made only one actual appearance in the city of Pittsburgh. The team’s other games were played in Sacramento, Richfield, Ohio and Baltimore. During the 2nd game of the season at Sacramento’s ARCO Arena, an on-field scrap broke out with the Chicago Bruisers. In the fracas that ensued, coach Joe Haering punched AFL founder and commissioner Jim Foster in the head three times and earned himself a suspension.
Willie Totten took over the quarterback duties in 1989. Totten was Jerry Rice’s quarterback at Mississippi Valley State. He completed just 48.7% of his passes but was still named the 1st All-Arena quarterback for the shrunken league. The Gladiators returned to the title game, losing Arena Bowl III to the Detroit Drive 39-26 on August 18, 1989.
The End
Owned directly by the league for their first three years, the Gladiators finally acquired an independent owner in 1990. Bob Gries was in his early 30’s. His family owned a significant minority stake in the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. By the time the Glads opened their fourth and final season on June 8, 1990, the team had made only one appearance in Pittsburgh in the past 23 months. The city was no longer interested in Arena Football. The club’s announced attendance of 5,289 per game was second worst in the league.
Gries move his franchise to Tampa, Florida in November 1990. The Tampa Bay Storm became one of the greatest Arena Football teams of all-time. The Storm won five Arena Bowls and played for 25 seasons before going out of business in December 2017.
Pittsburgh Gladiators Shop
Our Favorite Stuff
Arena Football League
1987-2002 Logo T-Shirt
This logo tee from Old School Shirts reps the original Arena Football League logo, used for the league’s first 16 seasons as the circuit grew from four to sixteen franchises. The design includes uprights to imply one of the most unique innovations of the indoor game – the taut netting surrounding narrowed uprights that ricocheted kickoffs and missed field goals back into live play. Curiously, the netting wasn’t incorporated into the graphic which seems like a missed opportunity.
This design is also available as a Hooded or Crewneck Sweatshirt from Old School Shirts today!
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!
Pittsburgh Gladiators Video
The Gladiators host – and lose to – the Denver Dynamite in Arena Bowl I at the Civic Arena on August 1, 1987. ESPN telecast.
In Memoriam
Defensive back JoJo Heath (Gladiators ’89), a former Pitt star and NFL veteran, was stabbed to death in Charleroi, Pennsylvania on December 30th, 2002. Heath was 45 years old.
Downloads
1989 Pittsburgh Gladiators Franchise Overview & Roster
1989 Pittsburgh Gladiators Roster
1988 Arena Football League fan survey
7-28-1989 Gladiators vs. Detroit Drive Roster Sheet
June 1990 Gladiators/Civic Arena Letter to ARENABALL Advertisers
James F. Foster U.S. Patent #4,911,443 for Arena Football Game System and Method of Play. March 27, 1990
Links
“The Pittsburgh Gladiators nearly won a championship in their first year. Then, they never played again“, Kevin Stankiewicz, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 7, 2017
Arena Football League Programs
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One Response
The 1989 season was a five-team league, not four teams. Each team played four games in five weeks, playing every team once. (I attended the Detroit-Pittsburgh game at the Richfield Coliseum.) The top four teams made the playoffs.