History of the Arena Football League in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. originally had one of the 1987 AFL charter teams called the Washington Commandos. The team played its home games during its first season at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland in 1987. The Commandos did not play in 1988, but returned as the Maryland Commandos the following season. The team moved to Virginia in 1990, again as the Washington Commandos and played at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. The team was folded after the 1990 season. Later, Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder tried to launch an expansion team called the Washington Warriors, but could not get the trademarks[1] and was eventually abandoned.[2]

Washington Commandos (1987–1989)

The Commandos had the honor of playing in the first AFL regular season game on June 19, 1987, losing to the Pittsburgh Gladiators 48–46 at the Civic Arena.[3][4] The Commandos picked up their first win in franchise history the following week, when they defeated the Denver Dynamite, by a score of 36–20 in their home opener.[5] The Commandos finished the season with a 2–4 record,[6] a disappointment, but the team was in every game except one, losing three games by a total of six points.

After a one-year hiatus, the Commandos returned to play in 1989 and operated as the "Maryland Commandos", playing their sole home game that year at the same venue as in 1987, Landover's Capital Centre.[7] The team went 0–4 in the abbreviated 'travelin' season of 1989. The Commandos coaching staff consisted of Ray Willsey, Mike Hohensee, Mike Dailey, and Jerry Kurz. Hohensee, Dailey and Kurz would all go on to become members of the Arena Football Hall of Fame.

The team returned to the Washington name for their final season in 1990. They were coached by Hohensee, who had been promoted from his assistant position.[8] The Commandos started the season 0–3.[9]

In 1987 and 1989, the team played its home games at the Capital Centre (later known as USAir Arena) in Landover, Maryland. For the 1990 season, the team was based at the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.[10]

Washington Valor (2017–2019)

In 1999, Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder announced that he would bring an expansion team to DC to be called the Washington Warriors.[11] (At the time, there was speculation in the media that Snyder actually wanted to change the name of the Redskins to the Warriors, due to the controversy over the NFL's team monicker.) But after a ten-year wait and the AFL's canceling its season in 2009, that never materialized.[12]

On February 10, 2016, The Washington Post and radio station WTOP-FM first broke the story that Monumental Sports and Entertainment (Ted Leonsis, chairman), which also owns the NBA's Washington Wizards, WNBA's Washington Mystics, and NHL's Washington Capitals, were "close to a deal" in bringing a new Arena Football League expansion franchise to the Capital One Arena.[13][14] On March 10, 2016, AFL commissioner Scott Butera announced that the deal was finalized and that the new Washington, D.C., team would begin play in 2017.[15] The official website, Facebook and Twitter pages launched on March 15, 2016. On July 14, 2016, the teams name was announced as the Washington Valor with the teams colors being red, white and blue.[16] Jerseys and helmets designs were released on December 10, 2016. Valor owners Monument Sports and Entertainment also acquired a franchise in Baltimore on November 14, 2016.[17] The team's name was later revealed as the Baltimore Brigade. The Valor's first game was on April 7, 2017, in the Verizon Center against the Brigade. The Valor were the first AFL franchise to play in the DC market since the Commandos.[18] On July 28, 2018 the Washington Valor upset the Baltimore Brigade 69–55 at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore in Arena Bowl XXXI, despite having won only two regular-season games in 2018. Washington QB Arvell Nelson was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

In a January 2019 interview with Forbes, Leonsis noted that the Valor were not particularly successful in regard to finances, and that he mainly used the team and its Baltimore counterpart to experiment with ideas to later use with his more prominent sports properties such as the Wizards, Mystics, and Capitals.[19] Following the 2019 season, the AFL announced it had shut down the operations of local teams and was looking into becoming a traveling league. However, the league filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations entirely in November 2019.

See also

References
  1. Dave McKenna (April 29, 1995). "Warriors, Come In to Play!". Washington City Paper.
  2. Scott Allen (February 11, 2016). "'Washington Maul' and 12 other name ideas for D.C.'s future Arena Football League team". The Washington Post.
  3. "Arena Football Debuts". The New York Times. June 21, 1987. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  4. Gary Tuma (June 20, 1987). "Gladiators smashing in 48-46 win". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  5. "Commandos win home-opener". The Free Lance-Star. June 29, 1987. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  6. "Commandos 52, Gladiators 31". www.apnewsarchive.com. Associated Press. July 24, 1987. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  7. Kevin James Shay (September 3, 2013). "Arena Football League considering putting team at proposed Shady Grove venue". www.gazette.net. Post-Newsweek Media, Inc./Gazette.Net. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  8. Tom Boggie (June 9, 1990). "Firebirds Host Commandos In Arena Football Opener". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  9. David Fink (June 23, 1990). "Barretta leads Glads over Commandos". Pittsburgh Post=Gazette. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  10. "ArenaFan Online : Washington Commandos - Team History - 1990". www.arenafan.com. ArenaFan.
  11. Are You Ready for the Washington Warriors?, Bryan Curtis, Slate.com, May 6, 2002
  12. Cheap Seats Daily: Washington Warriors Won’t Ever Play in the AFL?, Dave McKenna, Washington City Paper, August 5, 2009
  13. Ted Leonsis close to securing Arena Football League team to play at Verizon Center, Jonathan O'Connell and Dan Steinberg, Washington Post, February 10, 2016
  14. Ted Leonsis to announce D.C. is getting an Arena Football League team, Scott Allen, The Washington Post, March 10, 2016
  15. AFL Lands New Team in Nation's Capital, ArenaFootball.com, March 10, 2016
  16. Russell, Jake. "And the name of D.C.'s arena football team is … the Washington Valor". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
  17. NEWSROOM MONUMENTAL SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES AFL TEAM TO PLAY IN BALTIMORE, Monumental Sports and Entertainment website, November 14, 2016
  18. Scott Allen (March 10, 2016). "Ted Leonsis to announce D.C. is getting an Arena Football League team". The Washington Post.
  19. NBA London 2019: Wizards owner Ted Leonsis on why the NBA is the most valuable league. Forbes (January 17, 2019). Retrieved January 18, 2019.
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