1987 Chicago Bruisers season

Arena Football League team season
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The 1987 Chicago Bruisers season was the first season for the arena football franchise. The Bruisers took a chance with a young team that averaged 25 years of age.[1] The Bruisers' lost their first game in franchise history, 44–52 in overtime, to the Denver Dynamite.[2] The Bruisers struggled in their second game, giving up 45 points in the first half before losing 23–60 to the Pittsburgh Gladiators.[3] Despite getting off to a 2–3 start, the Bruisers had an opportunity to make it to ArenaBowl I with a win in the final week of the season against the Dynamite.[4] The Bruisers however would lose 35–52. They finished with a record of 2–4 and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Results Game site
Final score Team record
1 June 20 Denver Dynamite L 44–52 (OT) 0–1 Rosemont Horizon
2 June 22 Pittsburgh Gladiators L 23–60 0–2 Rosemont Horizon
3 July 2 at Pittsburgh Gladiators L 14–49 0–3 Civic Arena
4 July 10 Washington Commandos W 37–36 1–3 Rosemont Horizon
5 July 16 at Washington Commandos W 64–61 2–3 Capital Centre
6 July 24 at Denver Dynamite L 35–52 2–4 McNichols Sports Arena

Standings

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Team W L T PCT PF PA PF (Avg.) PA (Avg.) STK
y-Pittsburgh Gladiators 4 2 0 .667 268 199 44.6 33.1 L 2
x-Denver Dynamite 4 2 0 .667 261 252 43.5 42 W 2
Washington Commandos 2 4 0 .333 288 273 48 45.5 W 1
Chicago Bruisers 2 4 0 .333 217 310 36.1 51.6 L 1

y – clinched regular-season title

x – clinched playoff spot

Roster

1987 Chicago Bruisers roster
Quarterbacks

Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs

  • 34 Stephen Finch
  • -- Daryl Hart
  • 21 Troy Hill
  • 40 Terry Hinn
  • -- Mike McDade
  • 21 Durwood Roquemore
  • -- Ken Sanders
  •  1 Reggie Smith
 Running Backs/Linebackers
  • 82 Osia Lewis
  • -- Reggie Oliver
  • 25 Eddie Phillips
  • 32 Billy Stone
  • -- Fred Stone
  • -- Dennis Washington

Offensive Linemen/Defensive Linemen

  • 42 Dane Griffin
  • 65 Brent Johnson
  • 60 Eric Larkin
  • -- William Logan
  • -- Mike McCurry
  • -- Mark Rodenhauser
 Wide Receivers/Linebackers
  • 25 Richard Rodgers

Kickers

Rookies in italics
Roster updated February 5, 2013

Stats

Offense

Passing

Player Comp. Att. Comp% Yards TD's INT's Rating
Mike Hold, Jr. 66 139 47.5 787 16 4 82
Sean Payton 5 14 35.7 47 0 3 6.3

Rushing

Player Car. Yards TD's
Billy Stone 25 139 4
Mike Hold, Jr. 25 97 2
Eddie Phillips 13 65 1
Mike McDade 1 1 0
Terry Hinn 1 0 0
Sean Payton 1 −16 0

Receiving

Player Rec. Yards TD's
Reggie Smith 18 185 3
Stephen Finch 12 160 3
Mike McDade 12 120 2
Durwood Roquemore 11 99 1
Richard Rodgers 7 135 4
Ken Sanders 3 31 1
Daryl Hart 2 57 2
Terry Hinn 2 14 0
Mike Hold, Jr. 1 12 0
Eddie Phillips 1 8 0
Billy Stone 1 7 0
Troy Hill 1 6 0

Defense

Player Tackles Solo Assisted Sack INT Yards TD's
Fred Stone 37 26 22 3 0 0 0
Durwood Roquemore 36 35 2 0 2 21 0
Daryl Hart 23.5 18 11 0 3 47 0
Terry Hinn 23 22 2 5 1 2 0
Stephen Finch 20 16 8 0 2 45 1
Brent Johnson 19 17 4 0 0 0 0
Osia Lewis 16 14 4 3 0 0 0
Richard Rodgers 16 14 4 0 0 0 0
Mike McDade 14 14 0 0 0 0 0
Troy Hill 10.5 8 5 0 0 0 0
Eddie Phillips 10.5 7 7 0 0 0 0
Mike McCurry 8.5 6 5 3 0 0 0
Dane Griffin 8 5 6 2 0 0 0
Dennis Washington 6 5 2 0 0 0 0
Reggie Smith 5 4 2 0 1 14 0
Eric Larkin 4.5 2 5 0 0 0 0
Reggie Oliver 3.5 3 1 0 0 0 0
Ken Sanders 3 3 0 0 0 0 0
Mark Rodenhauser 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Nick Mike-Mayer 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
William Logan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Special teams

Kick return

Player Ret Yards TD's
Reggie Smith 19 305 1
Terry Hinn 8 153 0
Stephen Finch 5 85 0
Mike McDade 4 34 0
Troy Hill 2 25 0
Richard Rodgers 2 18 0
Dennis Washington 1 9 0
Billy Stone 1 8 0
Durwood Roquemore 1 0 0
Daryl Hart 1 0 1

Kicking

Player FGM 4pg FGA Pct. XPM 2pt XPA Pct. Pts.
Nick Mike-Mayer 7 0 26 26.9 19 0 24 79.2 40
Mike Hold, Jr. 0 0 1 0.0 0 1 1 0.0 2

Awards

Position Player Award All-Arena team
Fullback/linebacker Billy Stone Ironman of the Year 1st
Offensive/Defensive lineman Brent Johnson none 1st
Kicker Nick Mike-Mayer none 1st
Wide receiver/defensive back Reggie Smith none 2nd

References

  1. ^ "And Now, Your Chicago Bruisers". Chicago Tribune. June 16, 1987. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  2. ^ Linda Young (June 22, 1987). "So Far, So Good For Arena Football". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  3. ^ Linda Young (June 28, 1987). "Pittsburgh Bombs Bruisers". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  4. ^ "Arena Football Officials Truly A Calculating Bunch". Chicago Tribune. July 24, 1987. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
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Chicago Bruisers
  • Founded in 1987
  • Folded in 1989
  • Based in Rosemont, Illinois
Franchise
Arenas
Head coaches
Playoff appearances (2)
ArenaBowl appearances (1)
Hall of Fame members
Seasons (3)
1980s