Jump to content

1987 Denver Dynamite season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1987 Denver Dynamite season
OwnerSidney Shlenker
Head coachTim Marcum
Home fieldMcNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record4–2
Division place1st
Playoff finishWon ArenaBowl I (Gladiators) 45–16

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 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] 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

[edit]

Schedule

[edit]
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

[edit]
Team W L T PCT PF PA PF (Avg.) PA (Avg.) STK
y-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

[edit]
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

[edit]
1987 Denver Dynamite roster
Quarterbacks

Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs

Running Backs/Linebackers

Offensive Linemen/Defensive Linemen

Wide Receivers/Linebackers

Kickers

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

More rosters

Stats

[edit]

Offense

[edit]

Quarterback

[edit]
Player Comp. Att. Comp% Yards TD's INT's Rating
Whit Taylor 76 138 55.1 1050 21 8 93.6
Stuart Mitchell 30 74 40.5 419 7 2 71.8
Marty Mornhinweg 3 4 75 30 0 0 95.8

Running backs

[edit]
Player Car. Yards TD's
Chris Brewer 12 56 1
Durell Taylor 8 39 0
Stuart Mitchell 13 34 3
Whit Taylor 11 23 1
Richard Prather 6 23 2
Marty Mornhinweg 1 9 0
Steve Trimble 1 −3 0

Wide receivers

[edit]
Player Rec. Yards TD's
Gary Mullen 26 502 11
Durell Taylor 25 283 6
Chris Brewer 21 255 4
Steve Trimble 20 340 5
Richard Prather 8 65 1
Richard Rodgers 7 49 1
William Cotman 1 7 0
Whit Taylor 1 −2 0

Defense

[edit]
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

[edit]

Kick return

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 2012-03-03. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  4. ^ "Arena Football League Championship : Taylor Leads Dynamite, 45–16". Los Angeles Times. August 2, 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
[edit]