Arena Football League (1995-1996)
Tombstone
Born: October 3, 1994 – AFL expansion franchise
Moved: August 25, 1996 (Portland Forest Dragons)
First Game: May 12, 1995 (L 35-22 @ St. Louis Stampede)
Last Game: August 3, 1996 (L 50-25 vs. Minnesota Fighting Pike @ Tupelo, MS)
Arena Bowl Championships: None
Arena
Pyramid Arena (18,500)11995 Arena Football League Record & Fact Book
Opened: 1991
Closed: 2004 (later re-developed as a Bass Pro Shops megastore)
Marketing
Team Colors: Yellow, Black & Red21995 Arena Football League Record & Fact Book
Radio:
- 1995: WHBQ (560 AM)
Radio Broadcasters:
- 1995: Bud Schroeppel (play-by-play) with John Rainey (color – home) & Brett Norsworthy (color – road)
Ownership
Owners: Kevin Hunter, Dr. J.T. Davis, Ed Gatlin & Jon K. Thompson
Best Seller
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Memphis Pharaohs Arena Football Logo T-Shirt
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Background
The Memphis Pharaohs were a two-year entry in the Arena Football League. They were the first pro sports franchise to play in the infamous Pyramid Arena, a $62 million dollar white whale project that lasted a mere 15 years after its opening in 1991.
The Pharaohs joined the AFL in October 1995 as an expansion club, the growing league’s 15th franchise. The front man was Kevin Hunter, a 30-year cellular phone dealer from Mississippi, backed by his father-in-law and two other investment partners.
Marcus Dupree Experiment
In March 1995, the Pharaohs signed cult legend Marcus Dupree. Considered one of the greatest high school running backs of all time, ESPN’s devoted a 30 For 30 entry to Dupree entitled The Best That Never Was. Dupree played one tantalizing season at the University of Oklahoma before dropping out of school. He landed in the USFL as a 19-year old phenom, but wrecked his knee during the first game of his second pro season in 1985. In 1990, Dupree came out of nowhere to make the Los Angeles Rams as a 25-year old rookie and played two seasons in the NFL.
The Pharaohs signing of Dupree was a bit odd since the running game is virtually non-existent in Arena Football. Dupree, in any event, was not in football shape. Although he appeared on Pharaohs rosters at times during the 1995 season, he never played a snap in the Arena Football League.
1995 Season
The other name player on the 1995 Pharaohs was RB-LB Robert Lyles, who enjoyed a lengthy NFL career playing linebacker with the Houston Oilers and the Atlanta Falcons from 1984-1991 before moving indoors.
The Pharaohs were competitive during their inaugural season, finishing 6-6 and earning the 8th and final seed in the 1995 playoffs. The Pharaohs lost to the eventual Arena Bowl champion Tampa Bay Storm 53-41 in the quarterfinal round.
0-14 and Out
In 1996 the Pharaohs turned over virtually their entire roster, bringing in a large number of newcomers with little indoor experience. The result was one of the worst teams ever seen in the Arena Football League. The 1996 Pharaohs finished 0-14 and attendance crashed to 5,245 per game (announced), which was 14th out of 15 teams in the league. The Pharaohs final “home” game on August 3, 1996 was moved to Tupelo, Mississippi. Nobody showed up there either.
Move to Oregon & Aftermath
Three weeks later, the Pharaohs ownership group announced the relocation of the team to Portland, Oregon’s Rose Garden arena. The franchise would last three seasons in Oregon as the Portland Forest Dragons (1997-1999) and another two in Oklahoma City as the Oklahoma Wranglers (2000-2001) before finally folding.
The original ownership group hung on for virtually the entire ride, with the exception of front man Kevin Hunter. Hunter was dropped from the group in 1998 after a high profile arrest in Memphis that embarrassed the administration of Mayor Willie Herenton. The Mayor was rumored to be Hunter’ s partner in an effort to acquire a Tunica, Mississippi casino at the time.
Arena Football returned to the Memphis area in 2001 with the debut of the Memphis Xplorers of Arena Football 2, a smaller-market minor league for the AFL. The Xplorers played out of the DeSoto Civic Center in nearby Southaven, Mississippi.
Memphis Pharaohs Shop
Memphis Pharaohs Video
The Pharaohs host the St. Louis Stampede at the Pyramid on July 8th, 1995.
Downloads
1996 Memphis Pharoahs Complete Playbook
1996 Memphis Pharaohs Playbook - Complete
Thompson, Gatlin & Empire Express, Inc. v. Davis and Davis (2009)
This lawsuit among the investment partners of the Pharaohs and their successor teams reveals some of the inner workings of the Memphis/Portland/Oklahoma City AFL franchise.
Links
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2 Responses
Well, they did say in the playbook they wanted to be able to run for TDs.
I remember interviewing Michael Bishop, the dual-threat QB who never quite made it in the NFL. He had insane rushing totals by AFL standards.
Thanks for sharing. My name is Scott Martin and I played center and noseguard on the 1995 team (#74). We had a great cast of characters for that new team and played tough throughout the season. Memphis was a cool place to play and I have great memories of my time there. I was picked up in the expansion draft by the Minnesota Fighting Pike and then traded over to the Iowa Barnstormers before the 1996 season. Would’ve loved to play another season in Memphis with some of those guys. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.