AFL History Online Information and Betting Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

» Events » Arena Football History

AFL betting odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

Arena Football League   The Arena Football League (AFL) was founded in 1987 as an American football indoor league. The AFL's attendance has increased dramatically over the last few years, rising to an average of 12,400 people per game in 2005.   The AFL also maintains a minor league called af2.   History   While he was watching the Major Indoor Soccer all-star game at Madison Square Garden in 1981, it occurred to James E. Foster that, if soccer could be scaled down for an indoor arena, American football could, too.   On the back of a manila envelope, he sketched a diagram of a half-size football field over the outline of a hockey rink.   But the sketch didn't become a reality until April 26, 1986, when Arena Football made its debut in a "test game" in Rockford, Illinois, between the Rockford Metros and the Chicago Politicians.

The response encouraged Foster to stage a "showcase game" on Feb. 26, 1987, between the Chicago Bruisers and Miami Vise at Chicago's Rosemont Horizon. The game drew 8,257 spectators. Foster then organized the Arena Football League with four teams, the Chicago Bruisers, Pittsburgh Gladiators, Denver Dynamite and Washington Commandos, which began play on June 19 of that year. ESPN televised the league's first championship game, in which the Dynamite beat the Gladiators, 45-16, before 13,232 fans at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena.

 

Denver and Washington dropped out after the season, but the AFL added new franchises representing Detroit, Los Angeles, New England, and New York in 1988, when ESPN broadcast a game of the week as well as the semi-final playoff games and the ArenaBowl championship game. Originally, the AFL essentially owned all of the teams, signed players to contracts, and parceled them out. In 1990, though, Foster and his partners in Gridiron Enterprises were granted a patent for the "Arena Football Game System," They then began selling licenses allowing investors to own and operate AFL teams.

 

 

Although the AFL has gone through many franchise movements, it has grown steadily since 1990. In 1996, the league surpassed 1 million in attendance for the first time and it's gone over that mark every season since then.

 

The National Football League in 1999 agreed to an option to purchase a minority equity interest in the AFL over a three-year period. Since then, owners of four NFL teams, the Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins, have begun operating AFL franchises. Another AFL team is backed jointly by Denver Broncos ownership and former Bronco quarterback John Elway.

 

In 2000, a developmental league, arenafootball2, began operating with 15 teams, mostly in the Southeast and Midwest. It has since expanded to 27 teams.

The AFL currently has 16 teams, 12 of which make the playoffs, based on their records during the 16-game regular season. Four of those teams get byes, while the other eight play first-round games. The playoffs culminate in the ArenaBowl.

 

The Rules

 

The Field: An indoor padded surface 85 feet wide and 50 yards long with eight-yard endzones. Goal posts are nine-feet wide with a crossbar height of 15 feet (NFL goalposts are 18 1/2 wide with the crossbar at 10 feet). The goalside rebound nets are 30 feet wide by 32 feet high. The bottom of the nets are eight feet above the ground. Sideline barriers are 48 inches high and made of high density foam rubber.

The Equipment: The official football is the same size and weight as the National Football League ball. Each ball is manufactured by Spalding Sporting Goods.

The Players and Formations: Eight players on the field; 20-man active roster; four-man inactive roster. Substitution: The league originally allowed only 2 substitutions per quarter, however starting in 2007 the AFL instituted free substitution, which almost completely removes the ironman aspect from the game. Formation: Four (4) offensive players must line up on the line of scrimmage. Three (3) defensive players must be down linemen (in a three of four-point stance). Only the "Mac Linebacker" may blitz on either side of the center. Alignment is two (2) or more yards off the line of scrimmage. No stunting or twisting. Offensive motion in the backfield: One receiver may go in a forward motion before the snap.

Timing: Four 15 minute quarters with a 15-minute halftime. The clock stops for out-of-bounds plays or incomplete passes only in the last minute of each half or when the referee deems it necessary for penalties, injuries or timeouts. Each team is allowed three (3) time-outs per half.

Movement of the Ball and Scoring: Four (4) downs are allowed to advance the ball ten (10) yards for a first down, or to score. Six (6) points for a touchdown. One (1) point for a conversion by place kick after a touchdown, two (2) points for a conversion by drop kick and two (2) points for successful run or pass after a touchdown. Three (3) points for a field goal by placement or four (4) points for a field goal by drop kick. Two (2) points for a safety.

The Kicking: Kickoffs are from the goal line. Kickers may use a one-inch tee. Punting is illegal. On fourth down, a team may go for a first down, touchdown or field goal. The receiving team may field any kickoff or missed field goal that rebounds off the net. Any kickoff untouched which is out of bounds will be placed at the 20-yard line or the place where it went out of bounds, whichever is more advantageous to the receiving team. If a kickoff goes beyond the end zone and stays in bounds (such as kicking it into the field goal "slack net" or if the ball goes under the net), the ball will come out to the 5-yard line. The same is true if a missed field goal attempt goes beyond the end zone and under the net.

Passing: Passing rules in Arena Football are the same as outdoor NCAA Football in which receivers must have one foot inbounds. A unique exception involves the rebound nets. A forward pass that rebounds off of the endzone net is a live ball and is in play until it touches the playing surface.

Overtime Rules: Overtime periods are 15 minutes during the regular season and the playoffs. Each team gets one possession to score. If, after each team has had one possession and one team is ahead, that team wins. If the teams are tied after each has had a possession, the next team to score wins.

Arena Bowl Past Winners

 

Year	Bowl	Championship Result	Winning Coach	Site
1987	I	Denver 45, Pittsburgh 16	Tim Marcum	Pittsburgh
1988	II	Detroit 24, Chicago 13	Tim Marcum	Chicago
1989	III	Detroit 39, Pittsburgh 26	Tim Marcum	Detroit
1990	IV	Detroit 51, Dallas 27	Perry Moss	Detroit
1991	V	Tampa Bay 48, Detroit 42	Fran Curci	Detroit
1992	VI	Detroit 56, Orlando 38	Tim Marcum	Orlando
1993	VII	Tampa Bay 51, Detroit 31	Lary Kuharich	Detroit
1994	VIII	Arizona 36, Orlando 31	Danny White	Orlando
1995	IX	Tampa Bay 48, Orlando 35	Tim Marcum	St. Petersburg
1996	X	Tampa Bay 42, Iowa 38	Tim Marcum	Des Moines
1997	XI	Arizona 55, Iowa 33	Danny White	Phoenix
1998	XII	Orlando 62, Tampa Bay 31	Jay Gruden	Tampa
1999	XIII	Albany 59, Orlando 48	Mike Dailey	Albany
2000	XIV	Orlando 41, Nashville 38	Jay Gruden	Orlando
2001	XV	Grand Rapids 64, Nashville 42	Michael Trigg	Grand Rapids
2002	XVI	San Jose 52, Arizona 41	Darren Arbet	San Jose
2003	XVII	Tampa Bay 43, Arizona 29	Tim Marcum	Tampa Bay
2004	XVIII	San Jose 69, Arizona 62	Darren Arbet	Phoenix
2005	XIX	Colorado Crush 51, Georgia Force 48	Mike Dailey	Las Vegas
2006	XX	Chicago Rush 69, Orlando Predators 61	Mike Hohensee	Las Vegas

 

Arena Bowl MVPs

 

Year	Player, Team, Pos
1987	Gary Mullen, Denver, WR
1988	Steve Griffin, Detroit, WR/DB
1989	George LaFrance, Detroit, WR/DB
1990	Art Schlichter, Detroit, QB
1991	Jay Gruden, Tampa Bay, QB
1992	George LaFrance, Detroit, OS
1993	Jay Gruden, Tampa Bay, QB
1994	Sherdrick Bonner, Arizona, QB
1995	George LaFrance, Tampa Bay, OS
1996	Stevie Thomas, Tampa Bay, WR/LB
1997	Donnie Davis, Arizona, QB
1998	Rick Hamilton, Orlando, FB/LB
1999	Eddie Brown, Albany, OS
2000	Connell Maynor, Orlando, QB
2001	Terrill Shaw, Grand Rapids, OS
2002	John Dutton, San Jose, QB
2003	Lawrence Samuels, Tampa Bay, WR/LB
2004	Mark Grieb, San Jose, QB
2005	Willis Marshall, Colorado, WR/DB
2006	Matt D'Orazio, Chicago, QB (Off.)
2006	Dennison Robinson, Chicago, DB (Def.)

Sportsbook Expert Columns
	Super Bowl XLII Odds: Is Brady stoppable? - WagerWeb Sportsbook Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook All the pundits can list the number of things the Giants must do well in Sunday's Super Bowl XLII to win, but in reality it's pretty simple: If New England QB Tom Brady has his usual stellar game, the Pats read full article...
	Super Bowl XLII Odds: Eli key for Giants - Wager Web Sportsbook Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook Just think, the last time the Patriots and Giants met, Eli Manning was an unproven, undependable quarterback.Now he is the toast of the Big Apple.Yes, Peyton's little brother is the main reason the Giants read full article...
	Super Bowl XLII Odds: The coaches - Wager Web Sportsbook Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook Despite both coming off as joyless, gruff coaches, the Patriots' Bill Belichick and the Giants' Tom Coughlin actually are rather friendly with each other.Both were assistants under Bill Parcells on the lat read full article...
	Super Bowl XLII Odds: The kickers - WagerWeb Sportsbook Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook Being as the Patriots have won their past three Super Bowls by a field goal, it seems prudent to look at New England's and New York's kickers for Sunday's game.The Pats don't have Adam Vinatieri to count o read full article...