New York Dragons
New York Dragons | |
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Established Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York | |
League/conference affiliations | |
Arena Football League (1995–2008)
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Current uniform | |
Team colors | Black, red, gold, white |
Personnel | |
Owner(s) | Steven Silva, Shanna Silva |
Head coach | Weylan Harding |
Team history | |
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Championships | |
League championships (0) | |
Conference championships (2) Prior to 2005, the AFL did not have conference championship games | |
Division championships (7) | |
Playoff appearances (10) | |
Home arena(s) | |
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The New York Dragons were a professional
History
The team was based in suburban
Iowa Barnstormers (1995–2000)
The franchise played in
The need for a more modern venue as well as the league's desire for a larger market led to the move to the New York City area, despite two failed past attempts in the region: the New York Knights (1988) and the New York CityHawks (1997–1998), both of which played at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. The team was purchased by Charles Wang, who was also the Islanders' majority owner.
The Arena Football organization did award an
Aside from the league's desire to re-enter the New York market, another major reason cited for the team's relocation was the inadequacy of their Des Moines venue, the
In 2005, the
New York Dragons (2001–2008)
On November 1, 2000, it was announced that the Iowa Barnstormers had relocated to New York as the Dragons.
The New York Dragons had competed in the Eastern Division of the National Conference. They were coached by former Barnstormer defensive back
The Dragons had one of the biggest stars in the
The Dragons set the league record for most points in a game, scoring 99 against the
On Saturday, February 11, 2006, the Dragons won against the expansion team Utah Blaze 84–81 on the road and they made AFL history for the second-most points scored in one game with 165.
On July 8, 2008 a group of investors, led by Steve Silva, announced they are buying the team from Charles Wang. With the purchase the team would change its uniforms, logo, and colors. The team also announced that the Dragons will continue to play in the Nassau Coliseum despite rumors that the Dragons would move to Manhattan and play their games at Madison Square Garden.
On September 23, 2008, the Dragons announced their new logo and color scheme. The old colors of red and yellow were replaced by green and grey.[2]
The Dragons official mascot was a dragon named Sparky,[3] who is also the mascot of the NHL's New York Islanders.
On December 14, 2008, the Arena Football League announced it would cancel the 2009 season, but hoped to return in 2010.[4]
On July 20, 2009, Sports Business Journal reported that the AFL owed approximately $14 million to its creditors and were considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Owners were also exploring the expansion franchise in Pittsburgh in order to use the expansion fees to help pay off the debts and infuse enough cash into the league to hold the 2010 season.[19] In early August 2009, numerous media outlets began reporting that the AFL was folding permanently and would file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The league released a statement on August 4 announcing that while the league is not folding, it is suspending league operations indefinitely. Several teams commented that they were still pursuing arena football in 2010 with the possibility of using the financially independent arenafootball2.[2] Despite this, several of the league's creditors have filed papers to force a Chapter 7 liquidation if the league does not do so voluntarily.[20] This request was granted on August 7, though converted to a Chapter 11 reorganization on August 26.[21]
Less than two months after the announcement, and a few weeks after the suspension forced the dissolution of af2, the Arizona Rattlers and Orlando Predators defected to Arena Football 1, a startup league consisting mostly of former af2 teams. The 16-team league expects to expand to "24 to 30" teams prior to the start of their inaugural 2010 season, and is in negotiations with at least seven other teams from the AFL to join, including the Tampa Bay Storm and the San Jose Sabercats([22] and [23]). The New York Dragons are not to be part of AF1.
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New York Dragons logo (2009, Unused)
Historic moments
- On Saturday, July 7, 2001, in a Week 13 home game against the Carolina Cobras, QB Aaron Garcia has a prolific performance. He would throw a league-best 11 touchdown passes in the highest scoring game in league history. The Dragons would win the game 99–68. This is at #11 on the AFL's 20 Greatest Highlights Countdown.[5]
- On June 2, 2007, Aaron Garcia became only the fourth man to ever record 800 touchdown passes. He joins the list with Clint Dolezel, Sherdrick Bonner, and Andy Kelly.
- On June 28, 2008, the Dragons, making the postseason even after finishing the season 8–8 (fourth in the National Eastern Division), went on to defeat the favored Dallas Desperados in the wild card round of the playoffs. Dallas finished second in the National Eastern Division with the record of 12–4, yet fell to an underdog New York team 77–63. They would go on to lose to the Philadelphia Soul in the following round, 49–48 on a last second touchdown pass that replays showed to be a questionable call.
Season-by-season
Coaches
Head coach | Tenure | Regular season record (W-L) |
Post season record (W-L) |
Most recent coaching staff | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Gregory
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1995–2003 | 66–48[6] | 6–6[6] | 1995 and 1996 Arena Football League Coach of the Year.[6] | |
Todd Shell | 2003–2004 | 17–11[7] | 1–1[7] | 2003 Arena Football League Coach of the Year[7] | |
Weylan Harding | 2005–2008 | 33–31[8] | 1–3[8] | DL / co-ST coordinator: Corey Mayfield
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Notable players
Individual awards
Offensive Player of the Year | |||
Season | Player | Position(s) | |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Aaron Garcia | QB |
All-Arena players
The following Dragons players were named to All-Arena Teams:
- QB Aaron Garcia (1)
- FB/LB Rodney Filer (1)
- WR/DB Mike Furrey (1)
- OL/DL Robert Stewart(1)
- DL Henry Taylor (1)
- OS Kevin Swayne (1)
- DB Billy Parker (1)
- DS Billy Parker (1)
All-Ironman players
The following Dragons players were named to All-Ironman Teams:
- WR/DB Mike Furrey (1)
- WR/LB Mike Horacek (1)
- OL/DL Marcus Owen (1)
- WR/DB/KR Will Holder (1)
All-Rookie players
The following Dragons players were named to All-Rookie Teams:
- WR/DB Lincoln Dupree
- OL/DL Delbert Cowsette
- DL John Nix, Farouk Adelekan
- DB Levy Brown
- DS Billy Parker, Dahnel Singfield
- WR/LB Tierre Jones
NFL players/coaches
The following players coached or played in the NFL
- QBKurt Warner
- K Rob Bironas
- K Matt Bryant
- WR Mike Furrey
- QB Danny Kanell
- WR Kevin Swayne
- QB Matt Nagy (coach)
Notes
- ^ "New York Dragons join AFL". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. November 1, 2000. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ "New York Dragons Unveil New Logo - newyorkdragons.com". newyorkdragons.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ "Sparky The Dragon". Archived from the original on 2006-04-02. Retrieved 2006-03-23.
- ^ Sachdev, Ameet (December 15, 2009). "New Chicago Rush owners offsides on taking control". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ AFL. "Countdown". AFL. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ a b c "ArenaFan Online: AFL Coaches: John Gregory". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
- ^ a b c "ArenaFan Online: AFL Coaches: Todd Shell". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
- ^ a b "ArenaFan Online: AFL Coaches: Weylan Harding". Retrieved 2008-10-25.