Denver Dynamite (arena football)

The Denver Dynamite were an arena football team based in Denver, Colorado. The team began play in 1987 as a charter member of the Arena Football League. The team was brought in by businessman Sidney Shlenker and the team achieved success instantly, winning the first ever ArenaBowl under future AFL Hall of Fame coach Tim Marcum. After sitting out the 1988 season, the Dynamite were purchased by investment banker Gary Graham for $125,000. Graham then hired former NFL and AFL coach Babe Parilli to lead the team. Under Parilli, the Dynamite would return to the playoffs every season, but failed to return to the ArenaBowl. After the 1991 season, the franchise was sued by their public relations firm and filed for bankruptcy. They played their home games at McNichols Sports Arena. The team's logo was a bundle of dynamite sticks with a burning fuse.

This article is about the former Arena Football League franchise. For the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL-Pro) soccer club, see Denver Dynamite (soccer).
Denver Dynamite
Established 1987
Folded 1991
Played in McNichols Sports Arena
in Denver, Colorado
Denver Dynamite logo
League/conference affiliations
Arena Football League (1987, 1989–1991)
Team colorsBlue, yellow, white
              
Personnel
Owner(s)Sidney Shlenker; Gary Graham
Head coachTim Marcum; Babe Parilli
Team history
  • Denver Dynamite (1987, 1989–1991)
Championships
League championships (1)
Conference championships (0)
Prior to 2005, the AFL did not have conference championship games
Division championships (0)
Prior to 1992, the AFL did not have divisions
Playoff appearances (4)
Home arena(s)

History

1987
Main article: 1987 Denver Dynamite season

In 1987, businessman and then-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 led 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] 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]

1989
Main article: 1989 Denver Dynamite season

The franchise was restarted in 1989, with the ownership purchased by Englewood, Colorado investment banker Gary Graham for $125,000.[1] Graham's first move was to hire former NFL and AFL coach, Babe Parilli as the team's head coach.[5] The team struggled to earn money during the 1989 season due to only hosting one home game.[1] The team finished with a 3–1 regular season record, and lost in the first round of the playoffs, 37–39 to the Gladiators.[6]

1990
Main article: 1990 Denver Dynamite season

With the same coaching staff in place from 1989, the Dynamite got off to a hot 4–1 start during the 1990 season. The Dynamite would finish the season with a record of 4-4, good enough to clinch the 3rd seed. The team lost 25–26 to the semi-finals to the Dallas Texans.[7] The attendance had been steadily rising during the season, with the final home game's attendance listed at 10,587. This was later found to be skewed as around 3,000 people were admitted for free.[1] The AFL stepped in and began to question the Dynamite operations and financial stability as some of the player's checks began to bounce during the season.[1] Graham cited that the only problem came from a bookkeeping error.[1]

1991
Main article: 1991 Denver Dynamite season

Despite the financial turmoil that occurred the season before, the Dynamite once again fielded a team in 1991. The team finished 6–4 during the regular season,[8] again clinching the 3rd seed for the playoffs. The team lost to the relocated Gladiators, who became the Tampa Bay Storm, in the semi-finals. After the season, the franchise filed for bankruptcy after being sued by their public relations firm.[1] When he learned of the situation in Denver, AFL commissioner Jim Foster has this to say, "Three things can happen. One, he finds a buyer, or we find him a buyer, and the team stays in Denver. Two, a buyer is found and moves to another city. Three, no one is interested and the franchise goes down."[1] The Dynamite went up for sale, but with the city far more interested trying to attract investors to land a Major League Baseball franchise (Colorado Rockies), the team did not attract potential buyers.[1]

Future of the Dynamite and arena football in Denver

The owners retained the rights to operate an Arena Football franchise, however, which they sold in 1996 to a Nashville, Tennessee-based group which started the first Nashville Kats franchise (later the Georgia Force) the next year.[1]

Denver received a new arena football team in 2003, when the Colorado Crush, owned by Pat Bowlen and John Elway, was established.[1] That franchise has since folded and the Crush name was acquired by the Indoor Football League team for its name change in 2015 from the Colorado Ice, leading many to wonder if the Dynamite may return to the AFL in the future.

Notable players

Final roster
Denver Dynamite roster
Quarterbacks

Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs

 Running Backs/Linebackers
  • -- Willie Cannon
  • -- John El-Masry
  •  3 Marshall Foreman

Offensive Linemen/Defensive Linemen

 Wide Receivers/Linebackers

Kickers

Rookies in italics
Roster updated January 23, 2013
23 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS

→ More rosters

Arena Football Hall of Famers
Denver Dynamite Hall of Famers
No. Name Year Inducted Position(s) Years w/ Dynamite
??Fred Gayles2002WR/DB1989
1Gary Mullen1998WR/DB1987
73Joe March2000OL/DL1991
--Tim Marcum1998Head Coach1987

Individual awards
Kicker Player of the Year
Season Player Position
1991Rusty FrickeK

All-Arena players
Main article: Colorado Arena Football Awards and Records

The following Dynamite players were named to All-Arena Teams:

Notable coaches

Head coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 1991 Arena Football League season.

Name Term Regular Season Playoffs Awards
W L T Win% W L
Tim Marcum 1987 4 2 0 .667 1 0 Coach of the Year
Babe Parilli 1989-1991 13 9 0 .591 0 3 Coach of the Year (1989)

Media
  • The team appeared on the game EA Sports Arena Football as a hidden bonus team.

Season-by-season
Main article: List of Denver Dynamite seasons
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References
  1. 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. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  4. "Arena Football League Championship : Taylor Leads Dynamite, 45-16". Los Angeles Times. August 2, 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  5. "ON THE SIDELINES : Parilli Named Dynamite Coach". Los Angeles Times. June 27, 1989. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  6. "1989 Denver Dynamite Team History". www.arenafan.com. ArenaFan. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  7. "1990 Denver Dynamite Team History". www.arenafan.com. ArenaFan. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  8. "1991 Denver Dynamite Team History". www.arenafan.com. ArenaFan. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
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