Columbus Wardogs

Arena Football 2 (2001-2004)

Tombstone

Born: 2000 – AF2 expansion franchise
Ceased Operations: October 2004
Moved: Summer 2005 (Mississippi Headhunters)

First Game: April 7, 2001 (L 43-20 vs. Baton Rouge Blaze)
Last Game: July 31, 2004 (L 65-62 vs. Memphis Xplorers)

Arena Cup Championships: None

Arena

Columbus Civic Center (7,600)
Opened: 1996

Marketing

Team Colors: Red, Navy Blue & White

Ownership

Owners: Ed Randle, John Kehoe, Mike Sammond, et al.

Background

The Columbus Wardogs (Georgia, not Ohio) were a four-season entry in Arena Football 2, the small-market subsidiary of the Arena Football League.

The ‘Dogs had a losing record in all four of their seasons in AF2, including a wretched 0-16 mark in their 2001 debut campaign. Former NFL quarterback John Fourcade coached the team in 2003 and 2004.

Failed Move To Mississippi

By the Wardogs third season in the spring of 2003, majority owner Ed Randle, a businessman from Birmingham, Alabama, was exploring options to move the team to Albany, Georgia. The team ended up hanging in for another year-plus. But in October 2004, the Wardogs announced a one-year voluntary suspension from AF2. Columbus would sit out the 2005 season.

During the summer 0f 2005, Mississippi businessman Greg Disotell purchased the dormant club and announced plans to move it to Biloxi’s Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The team would be known as the Mississippi Headhunters. A couple of days after Disotell’s announcement, Hurricane Katrina roared ashore and inundated the Coliseum. Disotell’s signed lease agreement itself was literally washed away by the storm. He later tried to established the team in Jackson, but ultimately, Disotell’s Headhunters never materialized.

Arena Football 2 folded at the conclusion of the 2009 season.