Cleveland Thunderbolts

Cleveland Thunderbolts
Cleveland Thunderbolts
	Established Cleveland, Ohio; and Columbus, Ohio
League/conference affiliations
	Arena Football League (1991–1994) Northern Division (1992); American Conference (1993–1994);
	Current uniform
Team colors	Black, purple, silver, white;
Personnel
Owner(s)	John J. Kuczek (Cleveland)
Head coach	Earle Bruce
Team history
	Columbus Thunderbolts (1991); Cleveland Thunderbolts (1992–1994);
Championships
	League championships (0);
	Conference championships (0);
	Division championships (0);
Playoff appearances (1)
	1992;
Home arena(s)
	Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (1991); Richfield Coliseum (1992–1994);

The Cleveland Thunderbolts were an

Richfield Coliseum. The team was moved to Cleveland by John J. Kuczek.^[1]

History

Columbus Thunderbolts

Established as the Columbus Thunderbolts and playing its home games at the

Cleveland after 1991 season in the Arena Football League in 1991

.

Perhaps the highlight of the team's one year in

Michael Bishop

ran for 459 yards. The team was sold to John Kuczak and relocated to Cleveland.

Cleveland Thunderbolts

The Thunderbolts operated in the

National Professional Soccer League. The team qualified for the playoffs in the 1992 season, but was relocated to Columbus after the 1994

campaign.

Early in the T-Bolts short existence in Cleveland, John Kuczek was implicated in a federal securities fraud case in Florida. Prior to the team's second season in 1993, Kuczek divested himself of ownership in the club and placed it in a trust for his grandchildren. Son Jeff continued as the front office leader of the organization. Kuczek was ultimately convicted on one count of the indictment. The day before he was due to begin serving his sentence in February 1995, he committed suicide in a Salem, Ohio hotel room.^[2]

Revival of the AFL in Columbus and Cleveland

Thirteen years after the Thunderbolts played their lone season in Columbus, the city would see the AFL return when the Columbus Destroyers relocated from Buffalo and played five seasons (2004–2008) at Nationwide Arena. After a 10-year hiatus, the team was relaunched for the 2019 season.

Cleveland was also without an arena football team for 13 years until the

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

.

Season-by-season

Notable players

All-Arena players

The following Thunderbolts players were named to All-Arena Teams:

OL/DL Willie Fears (1)

Notable coaches

Head coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 1994 Arena Football League season.

Name	Term	Regular Season				Playoffs		Awards
Name	Term	W	L	T	Win%	W	L	Awards
Dave Whinham	1991-1993	6	26	0	.188	0	1
Earle Bruce	1994	2	10	0	.167	0	0

Notes

The team appeared on the game
EA Sports Arena Football as a hidden bonus team, as well as the sequel Arena Football: Road to Glory
.

References

^ "John Kuczek, insurance man, arena football owner". Pittsburgh Power-Gazette. February 6, 1995. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
^ "John Kuczek, insurance man, arena football owner". Pittsburgh Power-Gazette. February 6, 1995. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

External links

[1] "John Kuczek, insurance man, arena football owner". Pittsburgh Power-Gazette. February 6, 1995. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

[2] "John Kuczek, insurance man, arena football owner". Pittsburgh Power-Gazette. February 6, 1995. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

[1]

[2]