New York Dragons
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For current information on this topic, see 2008 New York Dragons season |
| New York Dragons | ||
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| Conference | National | |
| Division | Eastern | |
| Year founded | 1995 | |
| Home arena | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | |
| City, State | Uniondale, New York | |
| Head Coach | Weylan Harding | |
| ArenaBowl championships | none | |
| Conference titles | none | |
| Division titles | 8: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005 |
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| Wild Card berths | 3: 1995, 2001, 2006 |
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The New York Dragons are an Arena Football League team who were formed in 1995 as the Iowa Barnstormers. In 2001, the team relocated to New York. They currently play in the Eastern Division of the National Conference.
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[edit] History
The team is based in suburban Uniondale, New York at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, also home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League.
[edit] Iowa Barnstormers (1995-2000)
They had been based in Des Moines, Iowa from 1995 to 2000, as the Iowa Barnstormers. The team had been successful in Iowa, having reached the ArenaBowl in 1996 and 1997, as well as developed NFL superstar Kurt Warner, but the need for a more modern venue as well as the league's desire for a larger market led to the move despite two failed past attempts in New York, the New York Knights (1988) and the New York CityHawks (1997-1998), both of which played at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. The team was purchased by Charles Wang, who is also the Islanders' majority owner.
The Arena Football organization did award an af2 franchise to Iowa for the 2001 season also called the Barnstormers, but that team folded after that season. The Barnstormers were noted for their unique uniforms, which in keeping with the aviation theme included the depiction of goggles on the helmets, wings on the shoulders of the jerseys, and propellers on the pants legs. The primary figures in the original Iowa organization were Jim Foster, the inventor of Arena Football and Kurt Warner, the quarterback who went on to play for the St. Louis Rams and win both the NFL MVP and Super Bowl XXXIV MVP.
Aside from the league's desire to re-enter the New York market, another major reason cited for the team's relocation was the inadequacy of their Des Moines venue, the Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium, also known as "The Barn". Most of the seats in this venue were located directly along the sidelines as is typical of high school sports venues. The Barnstormers organization constantly lobbied for the construction of a better facility during their time in Des Moines, to no avail.
In 2005, the Wells Fargo Arena opened in Des Moines, directly across from what the locals call "Vets", as part of the newly expanded Iowa Events Center. A new Barnstormers af2 franchise will begin play there for the 2008 season.
[edit] New York Dragons (2001-present)
Nassau Coliseum, where the franchise relocated, is generally regarded as one of the most marginal venues currently used in major American professional sports, and is often proposed for replacement, so the improvement of the situation with regards to a venue has been fairly minimal to this point. In late September of 2004, Islanders' ownership announced an ambitious project to renovate the Coliseum, surrounding it with housing units and construction of an adjacent tower, resembling a lighthouse, at a total cost of over $200 million (US). Since then, the lighthouse has been taken out of the design plan.
The New York Dragons currently compete in the Eastern Division of the National Conference. They are coached by former Barnstormer defensive back Weylan Harding. In the 2006 season Weylan Harding became the winningest Arena Football league coach in his first two seasons as a coach, winning twenty games throughout the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
The Dragons have one of the biggest stars in Arena Football today, Aaron Garcia. Garcia, a quarterback, has the honor of most touchdown passes in a game (11), and second most touchdown passes in a season (104 in 2001). Through his 10 year career, he has thrown over 800 touchdown passes.
The Dragons set the league record for most points in a game, scoring 99 against the Carolina Cobras on July 7, 2001, surpassing the previous record of 91, which had been set by the New Jersey Red Dogs in 1997 against the Texas Terror. It also set a record for the most points scored in one game (167).
On Saturday, February 11, 2006, the Dragons won against the expansion team Utah Blaze 84-81 on the road and they made AFL history for the second-most points scored in one game with 165.
The Dragons official mascot is a dragon named Sparky[1], who is also the mascot of the NHL's New York Islanders.
[edit] Historic moments
- On Saturday, July 7, 2001, in a Week 13 home game against the Carolina Cobras, QB Aaron Garcia has a prolific performance. He would throw a league-best 11 touchdown passes in the highest scoring game in league history. The Dragons would win the game 99-68. This is at #11 on the AFL's 20 Greatest Highlights Countdown.[2]
- On June 2, 2007, Aaron Garcia became only the 4th man to ever record 800 touchdown passes. He joins the list with Clint Dolezel, Sherdrick Bonner, and Andy Kelly.
[edit] Season-by-season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa Barnstormers | |||||
| 1995 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2nd AC Central | Won Week 1 (Arizona) Lost Week 2 (Orlando) |
| 1996 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1st AC Central | Won Week 2 (St. Louis) Won Semifinals(Albany) Lost ArenaBowl X (Tampa Bay) |
| 1997 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1st AC Central | Won Week 2 (San Jose) Won Semifinals (Orlando) Lost ArenaBowl XI (Arizona) |
| 1998 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 3rd AC Central | -- |
| 1999 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1st AC Central | Won Week 1 (Milwaukee) Lost Week 2 (Orlando) |
| 2000 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1st AC Central | Lost Week 2 (Nashville) |
| New York Dragons | |||||
| 2001 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2nd NC Eastern | Lost Week 1 (Toronto) |
| 2002 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 4th NC Eastern | -- |
| 2003 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 1st NC Eastern | Won Week 1 (Chicago) Lost Week 2 (Orlando) |
| 2004^ | 9 | 7 | 0 | 1st NC Eastern | -- |
| 2005 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 1st NC Eastern | Lost Week 1 (Orlando) |
| 2006 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 2nd NC Eastern | Lost Week 1 (Georgia) |
| 2007 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 4th NC Eastern | -- |
| *2008 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 4th NC Eastern | -- |
| Totals | 121 | 97 | 0 | (including playoffs) | |
* = Current Standing
^Despite winning their division in 2004, the Dragons failed to make the playoffs.
[edit] Head Coaches
- 1995-2003: John Gregory, 66-48
- 2003-2004: Todd Shell, 17-15
- 2005-: Weylan Harding, 25-23
[edit] Current Roster
| Uniform # | Player | Position | Height | Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86 | Chris Anthony | WR/LB | 6' 3" | 200 |
| 21 | Angel Estrada | WR/DB | 6' 3" | 210 |
| 57 | Ricky Hall | OL/DL | 6' 3" | 205 |
| 26 | Will Holder | DB | 6' 1" | 200 |
| 65 | Joe Laudano | OL/DL | 6' 2" | 285 |
| 51 | Ivory McCoy | FB/LB | 6' 4" | 255 |
| 55 | Craig Moore | OL/DL | 6' 4" | 340 |
| 64 | John Nix | DL | 6' 1" | 310 |
| 7 | Billy Parker | DB | 6' 0" | 195 |
| 42 | Jeremiah Pharms | FB/LB | 6' 2" | 250 |
| 1 | Idris Price | FB/LB | 6' 2" | 240 |
| 76 | Greg Randall | OL/DL | 6' 6" | 335 |
| ?? | Josh Shaw | DL | 6' 3" | 310 |
| 3 | Kevin Swayne | WR | 6' 2" | 190 |
| 5 | Jamar Toombs | FB/LB | 6' 1" | 255 |
| 11 | Carter Warley | K | 6' 0" | 195 |
| 99 | Paul White | OL/DL | 6' 1" | 290 |
[edit] Notable players
- Chris Anthony - WR/LB
- Rob Bironas - K
- Kevin Clemens - FB/LB
- DaShane Dennis - DS
- Mike Furrey - OS
- Aaron Garcia - QB
- Latrez Harrison - WR/LB
- Will Holder - WR/DB
- Mike Horacek - WR/LB
- Willis Jacox - FB/LB
- Kevin Kaesviharn - WR/DB
- Billy Parker - DS
- Dahnel Singfield - DS
- Kevin Swayne - OS
- Kurt Warner - QB
[edit] AFL Hall of Famers
- Jon Roehlk
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- New York Dragons Official Website
- FireBreathingFootball.Com
- Iowa Barnstormers at ArenaFan.com
- New York Dragons at ArenaFan.com
- Lockview Highschool's Homepage* This school adapted the dragon logo as their own.
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Iowa Barnstormers/New York Dragons seasons
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| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
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