History: The Denver Dynamite were one of four teams to compete in Arena Football's first season. The other three teams were the Chicago Bruisers, the Pittsburgh Gladiators and the Washington Commandos. A slight variation on American football, the league has grown from those initial four teams in 1987 to its current roster of 17 teams. A competitive squad, the Dynamite never finished below .500. but had a poor overall playoff record of 1-3. Like most new sports leagues and teams, money was a big problem. The Dynamite drew well at the gate initially but could not sustain the large crowds. In one home game, a blackout occurred. Not because of the elements outside but because the Dynamite owed McNichols Arena money! Supposedly, the 1987 squad folded leaving Denver without a team for the 1988 season. A new team emerged for 1989 but eventually claimed bankruptcy in 1991. That team moved to Sacramento and became the Attack. The Mile High City would not have an arena team for another 11 years! Hopefully, the Colorado Crush will be with us for many, many years!

Best season: 1987. On August 1, 1987 the Dynamite (4-2) faced the Pittsburgh Gladiators (4-2) for the very first Arena Bowl. In front of 13,232 fans at the Pittsburgh Civic Center, the Dynamite simply exploded the lid off of the arena with a 45-16 demolition of the Gladiators. It was 32-0 after 3 quarters! The MVP for the game was Gary Mullen and the Ironman (2 way player) was Steve Trimble. Head coach Tim Marcum was coach of the year and would go on to win 6 more Arena Bowls with 3 different teams. Still coaching, Mr. Marcum is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Storm, which in fact, is the old Pittsburgh Gladiators!

Worst season: 1990. The Dynamite erupted out of the gate with a 4-1 record but finished the regular season with 3 straight losses. However, a 4-4 record was good enough for the playoffs, where they faced a new team for that year, the Dallas Texans. Unfortunately, the DD lost for the 3rd time to the Texans by one lousy point 26-25!

Logo This was an adequate logo, fairly detailed and with good, contrasting colors. One of the better logos from the early days of the AFL. For more details on the helmet evolution of the Dynamite (they had 3 different helmets designs) and other Colorado based football teams, please visit my other site: FH2I - Football Helmets to Infinity

In conclusion:I am ecstatic that Arena Football has returned to Denver after an 11 year hiatus from the Mile High City. It's an exciting and fast game to watch. I loved the Dynamite and they seem to get no recognition when people talk about championships of Colorado based teams. I hang my Denver Dynamite 1987 championship team poster in my garage that I bought from Bill's Sports Collectibles with much pride. (Now I just need to get a DD pennant!) LONG LIVE THE DENVER DYNAMITE!

Bonus! For the 1991 season, many teams in the AFL adorned uniforms by a clothing manufacturer known as Zubaz. These hideous looking uniforms cannot be missed and are some of the worst designs for any sports league. They have to be seen to believed! Kind of like multi-colored zebra stripes gone berzerk! On the shoulder pads, up the sides of the jerseys and pants. Whoa! Below are a couple of video captures that I was able to get from a 1991 contest vs. the Dallas Texans

Season  Division  W  L  T  Pct.  Pts.  OP  Coach  Result  AHA*
1987 n/a 4 2 0 .667 261 252 Tim Marcum Won Arena Bowl 1 - Denver 45 Pittsburgh 16 12,098
1988 inactive
1989 n/a 3 1 0 .750 94 97 Babe Parilli Lost in first round of playoffs - Pittsburgh 39 Denver 37 6,846
1990 n/a 4 2 0 .500 283 267 Babe Parilli Lost in first round of playoffs -Dallas 26 Denver 25 9,079
1991 n/a 6 4 0 .600 389 365 Babe Parilli Lost in first round of playoffs - Tampa Bay 40 Denver 13 6,207
Overall                    
4 years n/a 17 9 0 .654 1027 981 2 head coaches 1 Championship - Arena Bowl 1 7,163

* = Average Home Attendance

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