Orlando Thunder
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| Orlando Thunder | |||||
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| Year Founded | 1991 | ||||
| Year Retired | 1992 | ||||
| City | Orlando, Florida | ||||
| Team Colors | Lime Green, Royal Blue, Light Blue, Yellow, White | ||||
| Franchise W-L-T Record | Regular Season: 13-7 Postseason: 1-1 | ||||
| Championships | |||||
| World Bowls (0)
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The Orlando Thunder was a member of the World League of American Football from 1991 to 1992 (known as NFL Europe from 1995 onwards). The team played their games in the 70,000 seat Citrus Bowl, and was coached by Don Matthews in 1991 and Galen Hall in 1992. The team's most visible point was their colors - the League wanted to develop new colors which hadn't been used for teams before, hence the vermilion and green that the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks wore, and the fluorescent green jerseys that the Thunder sported.
The team's general managers were Lee Corso and Dick Beam. In 1991 the team played to a 5-5 record, and in 1992 the team had an outstanding 8-2 record, and made it to the World Bowl II championship game before losing to the Sacramento Surge 21-17. Despite the team's success early on however, the Thunder's attendance figures fell from over 19,000 per game in its first year, to just over 16,000 per game its second year, and the team was folded.
Notable players included Joe Howard Johnson, who managed to run back a play which hadn't been blown dead for an Orlando touchdown, and Scott Mitchell, a left-handed quarterback who went on to play in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions.
Notable public relations directors include Nick Gandy 1991 and John Giantonio 1992.
The team's jersey was recently voted 2nd worst football jersey of all-time by ESPN voters.[1]
[edit] Season-By-Season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2nd North American East | -- |
| 1992 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1st North American East | Lost World Bowl II (Surge) |
| Totals | 14 | 8 | 0 | (including playoffs) | |
1991 Results
Week 1: Orlando 35, San Antonio Riders 34
Week 2: Orlando 58, Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks 20
Week 3: London Monarchs 35, Orlando 12
Week 4: Barcelona Dragons 33, Orlando 13
Week 5: Birmingham Fire 31, Orlando 6
Week 6: New York/New Jersey Knights 42, Orlando 6
Week 7: Frankfurt Galaxy 17, Orlando 14
Week 8: Orlando 45, Sacramento Surge 33
Week 9: Orlando 20, Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks 14
Week 10: Orlando 33, Montreal Machine 27 (OT)
1992 Results
Week 1: Orlando 13, Ohio Glory 9
Week 2: Montreal Machine 31, Orlando 29
Week 3: Orlando 28, Ohio Glory 3
Week 4: Orlando 39, New York/New Jersey Knights 21
Week 5: Orlando 16, Montreal Machine 8
Week 6: Orlando 38, Frankfurt Galaxy 0
Week 7: Orlando 39, San Antonio Riders 21
Week 8: Orlando 9, London Monarchs 0
Week 9: Birmingham Fire 24, Orlando 23
Week 10: Orlando 13, Barcelona Dragons 10
Semifinals: Orlando 45, Birmingham Fire 7
World Bowl II: Sacramento Surge 21, Orlando 17
[edit] External links
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