Tampa Bay Storm
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| Tampa Bay Storm | ||
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| Conference | National | |
| Division | Southern | |
| Year founded | 1987 | |
| Home arena | St. Pete Times Forum | |
| City, State | Tampa, Florida | |
| Wild card titles | 13: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 |
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| Division titles | 6: 1987, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003 |
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| Conference titles | 5: 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2003 |
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| ArenaBowl championships | 5: 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2003 |
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The Tampa Bay Storm are a member franchise of the Arena Football League.
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[edit] History
Along with their traditional rivals, the Orlando Predators, they share the Arena record for the longest tenure by a franchise in a single market area. They are also the last of the original four franchises (the Chicago Bruisers, Denver Dynamite and Washington Commandos were the other three) to have operated in continuous existence from the formation of the league in 1987 until the present.
[edit] Pittsburgh Gladiators (1987-1990)
The franchise was originally known as the Pittsburgh Gladiators, and were one of the original four AFL teams formed in 1987. The Gladiators participated in Arena Bowls I and III, losing both.
[edit] Tampa Bay Storm (1991-present)
The team moved from Pittsburgh to St. Petersburg in 1991, with the team taking on the "Storm" nickname. The Las Vegas franchise has since taken up the "Gladiators" nickname (see Las Vegas Gladiators), but with no link to the Pittsburgh franchise's history or records.
The Storm won the ArenaBowl in its first Tampa Bay season (1991) and have won four subsequent championships (1993, 1995, 1996, and 2003). Up to the 2006 season, the Storm had qualified for the playoffs in every season of their Tampa Bay existence.
The team played in the former Florida Suncoast Dome in St. Petersburg (now called Tropicana Field) from 1991-1996, becoming its first regular team sports tenant. Since 1997, the team has played its home games in the St. Pete Times Forum (previously the Ice Palace) which is located in Tampa.
The Storm compete in the Southern Division of the National Conference. They are coached by Tim Marcum, who is widely regarded as the greatest coach in Arena Football history.
On December 23, 2004, Sports Illustrated wrote in its 'The 10 Spot' feature that the AFL's players' union filed a greivance against the Storm. The reason: Seven of the Storm's players claimed that some of the diamonds in their 2003 AFL championship rings were fake. Six of the seven players had left the team after the 2003 season. The Storm acknowledged that some of the rings did, in fact, include cubic zirconia instead of diamonds- and that different players received greater amounts of diamonds in their rings based on their contributions that season.
The Storm ended the 2006 season with a 7-9 record (4th in their Division), ending a 19-year streak of playoff appearances, dating back to their days as the Pittsburgh Gladiators and the start of the Arena Football League.
The team's current mascot is a dog named Storm Dawg.
[edit] Season-by-season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Gladiators | |||||
| 1987 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1st | Lost ArenaBowl I (Denver) |
| 1988 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3rd | Lost Week 1 (Detroit) |
| 1989 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2nd | Lost ArenaBowl III (Detroit) |
| 1990 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4th | Lost Week 1 (Detroit) |
| Tampa Bay Storm | |||||
| 1991 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | Won ArenaBowl V (Detroit) |
| 1992 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2nd Southern | Lost Week 2 (Orlando) |
| 1993 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2nd NC | Won ArenaBowl VII (Detroit) |
| 1994 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2nd NC | Lost Week 1 (Massachusetts) |
| 1995 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1st NC Southern | Won ArenaBowl IX (Orlando) |
| 1996 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1st NC Southern | Won ArenaBowl X (Iowa) |
| 1997 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2nd NC Southern | Lost Week 2 (Arizona) |
| 1998 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1st NC Southern | Lost ArenaBowl XII (Orlando) |
| 1999 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1st NC Southern | Lost Week 1 (Orlando) |
| 2000 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 3rd NC Southern | Lost Week 2 (Orlando) |
| 2001 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 2nd NC Southern | Lost Week 2 (Indiana) |
| 2002 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 3rd NC Southern | Lost Week 2 (San Jose) |
| 2003 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1st NC Southern | Won ArenaBowl XVII (Arizona) |
| 2004 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 3rd NC Southern | Lost Week 1 (San Jose) |
| 2005 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 3rd NC Southern | Lost Week 1 (Georgia) |
| 2006 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 4th NC Southern | -- |
| 2007 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Totals | 185 | 98 | 0 | (including playoffs) | |
[edit] Head coaches
- 1987-1990: Joe Haering, 15-13
- 1989: Darrel Jackson, 1-1
- 1991: Fran Curci, 8-2
- 1992-1994: Lary Kuharich, 25-9
- 1995-?: Tim Marcum, 107-49
- 2005-2006: Dave Ewart, 3-2
Ewart served as head coach for 2 games in 2005 and 3 games in 2006 while Marcum served a suspension.
[edit] Notable Players
- Les Barley - FB/LB
- Sylvester Bembery - OL/DL
- Andre Bowden - FB/LB
- Jay Gruden - QB
- Johnnie Harris - DS
- Tramain Jones - DS
- John Kaleo - QB
- George LaFrance - OS
- Pat O'Hara - QB
- Tracey Perkins - WR/DB, DS
- Lawrence Samuels - WR/LB
- Freddie Solomon - OS
- Shane Stafford - QB
- Mike Sutton - OL/DL
- Stevie Thomas - OS. WR/LB
- Rod Williams - OL/DL
- Peter Tom Willis - QB
[edit] External links
| Arena Football League | |||
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| American Conference | National Conference | ||
| Central Division Chicago Rush |
Western Division Arizona Rattlers |
Eastern Division Columbus Destroyers |
Southern Division Austin Wranglers |
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