| Tampa Bay Storm | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| General information | |||
| Founded | 1987 | ||
| Folded | 2017 | ||
| Headquartered | Amalie Arena inTampa,Florida | ||
| Colors | Blue, gold, white | ||
| Mascot | Storm Dawg | ||
| TampaBayStorm.com | |||
| Personnel | |||
| Owner | Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment | ||
| Head coach | Ron James | ||
| President | Derrick Brooks | ||
| Team history | |||
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| Home fields | |||
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| League / conference affiliations | |||
Arena Football League (1987–2017)
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| Championships | |||
| League championships: 5 1991,1993,1995,1996,2003 | |||
| Conference championships: 1 2010 Prior to 2005, the AFL did not have conference championship games | |||
| Division championships: 5 | |||
| Playoff appearances (24) | |||
| 1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2007,2010,2013,2016,2017 | |||
TheTampa Bay Storm were a professionalarena football team based inTampa,Florida, US. It played in theArena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania, and operated as thePittsburgh Gladiators. The franchise was one of the original four that launched theArena Football League for its inaugural season in 1987. The club was relocated to theTampa Bay area for the 1991 season, being the last of the original teams to either fold or leave its market. After 26 years in the Tampa market, the team ceased operations in December 2017.
The team actually played outside Tampa in nearbySt. Petersburg from 1991 to 1996, then in Tampa until 2008, after which point the AFL suspended operations and did not return until the 2010 season following the league's restructuring. It had been in the same city for longer than any other AFL team. During its tenure the franchise won fiveArenaBowl championships. With 241 wins, the Storm had won far more games than any other team in AFL history. After the team dissolved in 2017,indoor football in theTampa Bay area was succeeded by theTampa Bay Tornadoes who began to play in2021 in theAmerican Arena League.
The club was last owned byJeffrey Vinik, also the owner of theNHL'sTampa Bay Lightning. Home games were played atAmalie Arena in Tampa.
The Storm holds the Arena Football League record for the longest tenure by a franchise in a single market area. It was also the last of the original four franchises (theChicago Bruisers,Denver Dynamite andWashington Commandos were the other three) to have operated in continuous existence from the formation of the league in 1987 until the present decade before ceasing operations.
Whenarena football was first announced in 1986,Jim Foster targetedPittsburgh, Pennsylvania for an inaugural franchise due to the great football tradition of the area.[2] The franchise was originally known as thePittsburgh Gladiators, and was one of the original four AFL teams formed in1987. The team was named by Robert Ninehouser whose entry for the team name was selected in 1987. They originally played their home games at thePittsburgh Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. On June 19, 1987, the Gladiators defeated theWashington Commandos 48–46 in the first ever AFL regular season game.[3] The Gladiators participated inArenaBowlsI[4] andIII,[5] losing both.[6]
The team moved toSt. Petersburg, Florida in1991, with the team taking on the "Storm" moniker. ACleveland Arena Football League franchise later bore theGladiators name; however, other than the coincidental names the two organizations shared no link in histories.
The Storm won the ArenaBowl in its first season in Tampa Bay (V) and has won four subsequent championships (VII,[7]IX,X, andXVII). Up to the 2006 season, the Storm had qualified for the playoffs in every season but one during their time in Tampa Bay.
The team played in the former ThunderDome[8][9] in St. Petersburg (now calledTropicana Field) from 1991–1996, becoming its first regular team sports tenant.[10] Since1997, the team played its home games in theAmalie Arena in Tampa and previously known as the Ice Palace, St. Pete Times Forum, and Tampa Bay Times Forum.
After the 1994 season, Greis sold the team to Peter "Woody" Kern[11] for $850,000.[12] Kern's first move as the Storm owner was the hiring of coachTim Marcum,[11] who is widely regarded as the greatest coach in arena football history.[citation needed]
On March 14, 2002, Kern had the opportunity to sell the Storm, receiving an offer from Michigan mortgage broker Thom Hopper for what was then a record price of $12 million. Hopper submitted two payments totaling $1.6 million before Kern regained possession of the team. Later in 2006, Hopper pleaded guilty to federalwire fraud charges that authorities say resulted from his attempt to buy the Storm. He was sentenced in January to nearly three years in prison and ordered to pay at least $1.8 million in restitution to a title insurance company, according to media reports.
On December 23, 2004,Sports Illustrated[13] reported that the AFL's players' union filed agrievance against the Storm. The reason was that seven of the Storm's players claimed that some of thediamonds in their 2003 AFL championship rings were fake. Six of the seven players had left the team after the 2003 season. The Storm acknowledged that some of the rings did, in fact, include cubiczirconia instead of diamonds, and that different players received greater amounts of diamonds in their rings based on their contributions that season.
The Storm ended the2006 season with a 7–9 record (4th in their division), ending a 19-year streak of playoff appearances, dating back to their days as the Gladiators and the start of theArena Football League.
In December 2007, Kern sold 51% of his stake in the Storm to Robert Nucci for just over $9.6 million, while still maintaining control of the other 49%.[12] The Storm followed a 9–7 season and first-round playoff exit in2007 with an 8–8 finish in2008. The team salvaged the .500 record by defeating theLos Angeles Avengers 72–47 in Tampa. There was no 2009 Arena Football League season due to the league's ongoing financial difficulties, which resulted in its filing forChapter 7 bankruptcy, later converted toChapter 11, leaving it uncertain if the Storm, arguably the most successful team in the history of any form ofindoor football, would ever play another game.
A new arena football league, originally called Arena Football 1, formed in 2009. The Storm was not one of the initial 16 teams announced. However,Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings owner Dan Newman mentioned that the Storm were one of at least two former AFL franchises that were being negotiated with, the other being theSan Jose SaberCats.[14] The new organization bought the rights to theintellectual property, including the team names, logos, histories, and patented rules of the old AFL in a bankruptcy auction, which allowed it to function essentially as a full successor; after this action, the name Arena Football 1 was dropped and the group resumed operating as the Arena Football League. The Storm resumed full operations for the new league's 2010 season, with some players from the former roster, and once again coached by Tim Marcum and this time owned by Tampa Bay Storm Partners LLC, a group led by Todd Boren, a previous partner with the Orlando Predators and the Arizona Rattlers. The AFL released the schedule for the season on December 31, 2009. The Storm returned during the opening weekend of the season on April 3, 2010.[15] On February 17, 2010, it was formally announced that the AF1 had adopted the former Arena Football League name.
In the2010 season the Storm went 11–5, finishing second in the South Division. In the playoffs, they earned a trip toArenaBowl XXIII, but lost to theSpokane Shock 57–69.
On February 17, 2011, Marcum would resign as head coach of the Storm less than a month before the2011 season was to begin, after having the position for 15 years. He left as the AFL's all-time winningest head coach with 211 wins.Dave Ewart was named as the team's new head coach the next day.[16][17] His resignation was sparked by an admission in a deposition related to a lawsuit he had filed against the Storm's previous owner, Robert Nucci. In that deposition, Marcum admitted to forwarding emails that were pornographic and racially tinged to other members of the Storm organization, using his work email address.[18] In April 2011, formerTampa Bay Buccaneers linebackerDerrick Brooks became a part owner and the team president for the Storm.[19] After a 7–4 start to the 2013 season, the Storm lost the final seven games of the season, but still qualified for the postseason.[20] The Storm played well in their playoff game, but came up just short against theJacksonville Sharks.[20] The team's collapse lead to the firing of Ewart.[20] One month later, the team announced they had promotedoffensive coordinator, and Storm legendLawrence Samuels to the team's head coach.[21] Samuels and the Storm mutually agreed to part ways in August 2016.[22] On October 25, 2016,Ron James was named the head coach.[23] In 2017, the Storm finished the regular season with a 10–4 record and later advanced toArenaBowl XXX, where they lost to thePhiladelphia Soul by a score of 44–40.[24][25]
In December 2017, the Storm announced it was ceasing operations due to increasing operating costs combined with decreasing team revenue. Ownership did not rule out future participation in a "stronger, reinvented AFL."[26] The Storm was the last of the original four AFL teams to cease operations.
| Tampa Bay Storm retired numbers | ||||
| N° | Player | Position | Seasons | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Jay Gruden | QB | 1991–1996 | [28] |
| 20 | Stevie Thomas | WR/LB | 1991–1999 | [29] |
| 22 | Lawrence Samuels | WR/LB | 1995–2000, 2002–2010 | [30] |
| 24 | Tracey Perkins | DS | 1991–1999 | [31] |
| 25 | George LaFrance | OS | 1994–1999 | [29] |
| 76 | Al Lucas | DL | 2003 | [32] |
| 78 | Sylvester Bembery | OL/DL | 1994–1999, 2001 | [29] |
| Tampa Bay Storm Hall of Famers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Name | Year Inducted | Position(s) | Years w/ Storm |
| 78 | Sylvester Bembery | 2011 | OL/DL | 1994–1999 2001 |
| 30 | Andre Bowden | 2014 | FB/LB | 1991–1993 1997–2001 2003–2004 |
| 7 | Jay Gruden | 1999 | QB | 1991–1996 |
| 25 | George LaFrance | 2011 | OS | 1994–1999 |
| -- | Joe March | 2000 | OL/DL | 1993–1996 |
| -- | Tim Marcum | 1998 | Head coach | 1995–2010 |
| 22 | Lawrence Samuels | 2013 | WR/LB | 1994–2000 2002–2010 |
| Omarr Smith | 2014 | WR/DB | 2003 | |
| 20 | Stevie Thomas | 2011 | WR/DB | 1991–1999 |
| 54 | Craig Walls | 1998 | OL/DL | 1987–1988 |
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| Wide Receiver of the Year | ||
| Season | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Joe Hills | WR |
The following Gladiators/Storm players were named toAll-Arena Teams:
The following Gladiators/Storm players were named to All-Ironman Teams:
The following Gladiators/Storm players were named to All-Rookie Teams:
| Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | Win% | W | L | |||
| Joe Haering[33] | 1987–1990 | 15 | 13 | .536 | 0 | 3 | |
| Darrel Jackson[34] | 1989 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | |
| Fran Curci[35] | 1991 | 8 | 2 | .800 | 2 | 0 | AFL Coach of the Year (1991),ArenaBowl winning coach(V). |
| Lary Kuharich[36] | 1992–1994 | 25 | 9 | .735 | 4 | 2 | ArenaBowl winning coach(VII) |
| Tim Marcum[37] | 1995–2010 | 140 | 77 | .645 | 16 | 10 | 2×AFL Coach of the Year (1987,1998), 3× ArenaBowl winning coach (IX,X,XVII), AFL Hall of Fame (1998), Founder's Award winner (2001) |
| Dave Ewart[38] | 2005–2006,2011–2013 | 25 | 34 | .424 | 0 | 2 | |
| Lawrence Samuels[39] | 2014–2016 | 17 | 35 | .327 | 0 | 1 | |
| Ron James[40] | 2017 | 10 | 4 | .714 | 1 | 1 | AFL Coach of the Year (2017) |
The Storm created an official cheerleading squad called the "Storm Cheerleaders."[41]
The Tampa Bay Storm games were broadcast on Storm Radio, which was on 1250-AMWHNZ. The final radio play-by-play announcer wasDarek Sharp, who was also a producer and broadcaster for AM 620 WDAE, and the radio color commentator wasIan Beckles.
Tampa Bay Storm owner Bob Gries said Wednesday that he intends to sell the franchise at the end of the season, but insisted the team would remain in the Tampa Bay area.
