1987 Denver Dynamite season

1987 Denver Dynamite season
Head coach Tim Marcum
Owner Sidney Shlenker
Home field McNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record 4–2
Division place 1st
Playoff finish Won ArenaBowl I (Gladiators) 45–16
Timeline
Previous season Next season
none 1989

The 1987 Denver Dynamite season was the first season for the Denver Dynamite. Businessman and owner of the Denver Nuggets, Sidney Shlenker announced the forming of the Denver Dynamite.[1] The franchise played in the inaugural four-team "demonstration" season of 1987.[1] Despite the team and league's doubters,[2] the Dynamite tied for the best record in the league with the Pittsburgh Gladiators, going 4–2. On August 1, 1987 the team participated in ArenaBowl I, which they won 45–16 over the Gladiators.[1] The Dynamite were lead on offense by quarterback Whit Taylor,[3] and wide receiver Gary Mullen (Mullen won ArenaBowl I MVP).[1][4] After winning the ArenaBowl, Head Coach Tim Marcum was named the league's first ever Coach of the Year.[1] After leading the Dynamite to the Despite averaging the league's best attendance with over 12,000 a game,[1] it did not return for the league's second season due to Shlenker refusing to abide by the AFL's financial rules.[1]

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Results Game site
Final score Team record
1 June 20 at Chicago Bruisers W 52–44 (OT) 1–0 Rosemont Horizon
2 June 27 at Washington Commandos L 20–36 1–1 Capital Centre
3 July 3 Washington Commandos W 73–57 2–1 McNichols Sports Arena
4 July 11 Pittsburgh Gladiators L 32–49 2–2 McNichols Sports Arena
5 July 17 at Pittsburgh Gladiators W 32–31 3–2 Civic Arena
6 July 24 Chicago Bruisers W 52–35 4–2 McNichols Sports Arena

Standings

1987 Arena Football League Standings
Team W L T PCT PF PA PF (Avg.) PA (Avg.) STK
xy-Pittsburgh Gladiators 4 2 0 .667 268 199 44.6 33.1 L 2
x-Denver Dynamite 4 2 0 .667 261 252 43.5 42 W 2
Washington Commandos 2 4 0 .333 288 273 48 45.5 W 1
Chicago Bruisers 2 4 0 .333 217 310 36.1 51.6 L 1

y – clinched regular-season title

x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Round Date Opponent Results Game site
Final score Team record
ArenaBowl I August 1 at Pittsburgh Gladiators W 45–16 1–0 Civic Arena

Roster

1987 Denver Dynamite roster
Quarterbacks

Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs

  • -- William Cotman
  •  1 Gary Mullen
  • -- Richard Rodgers
  • -- Clyde Skipper
  • 40 Steve Trimble
 Running Backs/Linebackers

Offensive Linemen/Defensive Linemen

 Wide Receivers/Linebackers

Kickers

  • -- Marty Coyne
  • -- Lazlo Mike-Mayer
  • -- Marco Morales

Rookies in italics
Roster updated February 1, 2013
22 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS

→ More rosters

Stats

Offense

Quarterback

Player Comp. Att. Comp% Yards TD's INT's Rating
Whit Taylor7613855.1105021893.6
Stuart Mitchell307440.54197271.8
Marty Mornhinweg3475300095.8

Running Backs

Player Car. Yards TD's
Chris Brewer12561
Durell Taylor8390
Stuart Mitchell13343
Whit Taylor11231
Richard Prather6232
Marty Mornhinweg190
Steve Trimble1−30

Wide Receivers

Player Rec. Yards TD's
Gary Mullen2650211
Durell Taylor252836
Chris Brewer212554
Steve Trimble203405
Richard Prather8651
Richard Rodgers7491
William Cotman170
Whit Taylor1−20

Defense

Player Tackles Solo Assisted Sack INT Yards TD's
William Cotman 26.5 24 5 0 1 10 0
Keith Smith 23 22 2 5 0 0 0
Gary Mullen 21 20 2 0 2 23 0
Steve Trimble 19 17 4 0 1 0 0
Richard Prather 16 15 2 0 0 0 0
Rob DeVita 12.5 9 7 6 0 0 0
Clyde Skipper 12 12 0 0 2 10 0
Chris Brewer 12 9 6 0 0 0 0
Kelly Kirchbaum 11 9 4 0 0 0 0
Chuck Harris 9 6 6 3 0 0 0
Patrick Cain 7 7 0 3 0 0 0
Richard Rodgers 6.5 5 3 0 2 23 0
Larry Friday 6.5 6 1 0 0 0 0
Jon Norris 5 4 2 2 0 0 0
Phil Forte 3 3 0 1 0 0 0
Durell Taylor 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
Lazlo Mike-Mayer 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
Marco Morales 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

Special Teams

Kick Return

Player Ret Yards TD's
Durell Taylor 28 516 0
Chris Brewer 7 85 0
Steve Trimble 4 18 0
Gary Mullen 2 18 0
William Cotman 1 30 0
Phil Forte 1 5 0
Clyde Skipper 1 0 0
Kelly Kirchbaum 0 0 0

Kicking

Player FGM 4pg FGA Pct. XPM 2pt XPA Pct. Pts.
Marco Morales 2 0 12 16.7 11 0 18 61.1 17
Lazlo Mike-Mayer 0 0 8 0.0 8 0 11 72.7 8
Marty Coyne 0 0 2 0.0 0 0 5 0 0

Awards

Position Player Award All-Arena team
Head Coach Tim Marcum Coach of the Year –
Fullback/Linebacker Chris Brewer none 1st
Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Gary Mullen none 1st
Quarterback Whit Taylor none 2nd
Fullback/Linebacker Durell Taylor none 2nd
Offensive/Defensive Lineman Patrick Cain none 2nd
Offensive/Defensive Lineman Kelly Kirchbaum none 2nd

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Joey Bunch (October 22, 2012). "Denver Dynamite exploded in Arena League’s first season, then fizzled out". The Denver Post. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  2. ↑ Buddy Martin (June 20, 1987). "Arena football: Try to avoid the temptation". Star-News. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  3. ↑ Brent Wiseman (December 2, 2003). "Whit Taylor to be honored as "SEC Legend"". www.vanderbilt.scout.com. MSN. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Arena Football League Championship : Taylor Leads Dynamite, 45–16". Los Angeles Times. August 2, 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2013.

External links