New York Knights (arena football)
| New York Knights | |
|---|---|
| Established 1988 Folded 1988 Played in Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York | |
_Logo.jpg){kind=logo} | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
Arena Football League (1988)
| |
Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Navy, red, black, white |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | Russell Berry |
| Head coach | Jim Valek |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) Prior to 2005, the AFL did not have conference championship games | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Home arena(s) | |
| |
The New York Knights were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in New York City. They played in the league for one season, 1988. They played their home games at Madison Square Garden. After going 2–10 overall in their only season the team ceased operations. The league then went several years before attempting to re-enter the nation's largest media market with the New York CityHawks.
History
[edit]The Knights became an expansion team of the Arena Football League in 1988.[1] The team announced Jim Valek as the first coach in franchise history.[1] The team featured a couple of players from the 1987 New York Giants replacement team, including starting quarterback Jim Crocicchia and his primary receiver Edwin Lovelady, but its desire to fans was questioned before the team began playing games.[2] The Knights won their first game in franchise history, 60–52 over the Los Angeles Cobras.[1] During the Knights home opener, a fight erupted in the stands, and items were thrown on the field.[3] After winning the season opener, the Knights lost 4 straight games before returning home to a smaller crowd, losing 22–36 to the Cobras.[4] The Knights would lose 8 straight games before they defeated the Cobras 40–30 in Los Angeles.[5] The team folded after a disappointing 2–8 season.[6][7]
Notable players
[edit]Roster
[edit]| New York Knights roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Wide receivers/Defensive backs
|
Fullbacks/Linebackers
Offensive linemen/Defensive linemen
|
Wide receivers/Linebackers
Kickers *** Patrick Ragusa *** Injured Reserve
Rookies in italics → More rosters | ||||
All-Arena players
[edit]The following Knights players were named to All-Arena Teams:
- WR/DB Vince Courville
- OL/DL Quinton Knight
Head coaches
[edit]| Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
| Jim Valek | 1988 | 2 | 10 | 0 | .167 | 0 | 0 | |
Season results
[edit]| ArenaBowl Champions | ArenaBowl Appearance | Division Champions | Playoff Berth |
| Season | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | ||||||
| New York Knights | ||||||||
| 1988 | AFL | - | — | 6th | 2 | 10 | ||
| Total | 2 | 10 | (includes only regular season) | |||||
| 0 | 0 | (includes only the postseason) | ||||||
| 2 | 10 | (includes both regular season and postseason) | ||||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c William N. Wallace (May 9, 1988). "Improvisation Lies at the Heart of Arena Football". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ^ Damian Becker (May 10, 1988). "Any arena football fans here?". The Evening News. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
- ^ "In New York, arena football mirrors NHL". Record-Journal. May 12, 1988. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
- ^ William N. Wallace (June 7, 1988). "Knights Lose, 36-22; Slip to Last Place". The New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
- ^ Lonnie White (July 3, 1988). "Arena Football League Knights Follow Bouncing Ball to Victory Over Cobras". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
- ^ Tarik El-Bashir (April 7, 1997). "Arena Team Is Returning to the Garden". The New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
- ^ "Arena Football may be sacked". The Bulletin. December 9, 1988. Retrieved March 27, 2013.