Tombstone
Born: October 1, 1991 – AFL expansion franchise11992 Arena Football Media Guide
Folded: November 5, 19922SPORTS BRIEFS. “San Antonio Arena team folds”. The Odessa American (Odessa, TX). November 6, 1992
First Game: May 30, 1992 (L 36-34 @ Cleveland Thunderbolts)
Last Game: August 1, 1992 (L 62-27 vs. Detroit Drive)
Arena Bowl Championships: None
Arena
HemisFair Arena (14,276)31992 Arena Football Media Guide
Opened: 1968
Demolished: 1995
Marketing
Team Colors: Silver, Black & Red41992 Arena Football Media Guide
Ownership
Owner: Red McCombs, Gary Woods & Russ Bookbinder
Attendance
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Source: 1999 Arena Football League Record & Fact Book (re-built from individual game summaries)
FORCE FAVES
San Antonio Force
Logo T-Shirt
Did the Force deserve better? This Arena Football entry lasted barely two months in 1992. But the ingredients seemed to be there. An NBA owner well on his way toward eventual billionaire status. Consistently solid crowds, at least on paper. A bad team, for sure, but not incompetent by expansion year standards. (The Force would win two of their five home games at HemisFair Arena).
The Force ended up just another One-Year Wonder, but this is one where you have to wonder what could have been.
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Background
The San Antonio Force were a One-Year Wonder in the Arena Football League, competing in the 1992 season only. Team owner Red McCombs also owned the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA at the time and the Force shared HemisFair Arena with the Spurs during the spring of 1992.
Former San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints head coach Dick Nolan served as the Force’s Head Coach and General Manager.
The team was not particular good. The Force managed to win their home opener 43-29 over the Arizona Rattlers before 11,308 fans on June 6, 1992. But they won only one other game all season and finished last in their division with a 2-8 record.
50-0 Shutout
The Force is infamous among the ever-dwindling core of indoor football obsessives for absorbing the only shutout loss in the 30+ year history of the Arena Football League. On June 13, 1992 the Force travelled to Florida to play the Orlando Predators in the third game of the regular season. The Predators administered a 50-0 beating to the Force, thanks in part to a league-record six missed field goals by Force kicker Matt Frantz.
Demise & Aftermath
The Force drew relatively well in San Antonio. All five of the team’s home dates at HemisFair Arena between June and August 1992 drew announced crowds between 11,000 and 13,000 fans. But the team folded in November 1992, citing a lack of suitable dates at either HemisFair or the soon-to-open Alamodome.
Force owner Red McCombs sold the San Antonio Spurs in 1993. In 1998 he bought the Minnesota Vikings for $250 million and owned the NFL franchise until 2005.
The Arena Football League came back to San Antonio in 2012 with the debut of the San Antonio Talons. The Talons played at the Alamodome from 2012 to 2014.
San Antonio Force Shop
The Stadium Store
Hemisfair arena
san antonio T-Shirt
San Antonio’s downtown arena was built (and named for) the 1968 World’s Fair. The San Antonio Spurs arrived five years and HemisFair acquired a reputation as one of the NBA’s loudest buildings during the late 1970’s and 1980’s. The Spurs left for the Alamodome in ’93 and HemisFair was torn down two years later.
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In Memoriam
Force Head Coach & General Manager Dick Nolan passed on November 11, 2007 at age 75. New York Times obituary.
Downloads
1992 San Antonio Force Results & Attendance
1992 San Antonio Force Results & Attendance
Links
“Force’s 50-0 Loss 20 Years Ago Stands Alone“, Richard Oliver, San Antonio Express-News, June 17, 2012
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One Response
You would think that it would be impossible not to score in an Arena Football League game.