1987 Denver Dynamite season explained

The Denver Dynamite season was the first season for the Denver Dynamite. Businessman and owner of the Denver Nuggets, Sidney Shlenker announced the forming of the Denver Dynamite.^[1] The franchise played in the inaugural four-team "demonstration" season of 1987. Despite the team and league's doubters,^[2] the Dynamite tied for the best record in the league with the Pittsburgh Gladiators, going 4–2. On August 1, 1987, the team participated in ArenaBowl I, which they won 45–16 over the Gladiators. The Dynamite were led on offense by quarterback Whit Taylor,^[3] and wide receiver Gary Mullen (Mullen won ArenaBowl I MVP).^[4] After winning the ArenaBowl, Head Coach Tim Marcum was named the league's first ever Coach of the Year. After leading the Dynamite to the Despite averaging the league's best attendance with over 12,000 a game, it did not return for the league's second season due to Shlenker refusing to abide by the AFL's financial rules.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site
			Final score	Team record
1	June 20	at Chicago Bruisers	W 52–44 (OT)	1–0	Rosemont Horizon
2	June 27	at Washington Commandos	L 20–36	1–1	Capital Centre
3	July 3	Washington Commandos	W 73–57	2–1	McNichols Sports Arena
4	July 11	Pittsburgh Gladiators	L 32–49	2–2	McNichols Sports Arena
5	July 17	at Pittsburgh Gladiators	W 32–31	3–2	Civic Arena
6	July 24	Chicago Bruisers	W 52–35	4–2	McNichols Sports Arena

Standings

y – clinched regular-season title

x – clinched playoff spot

Stats

Offense

Quarterback

Player	Comp.	Att.	Comp%	Yards	TD's	INT's	Rating
Whit Taylor	76	138	55.1	1050	21	8	93.6
Stuart Mitchell	30	74	40.5	419	7	2	71.8
Marty Mornhinweg	3	4	75	30	0	0	95.8

Running backs

Player	Car.	Yards	TD's
Chris Brewer	12	56	1
Durell Taylor	8	39	0
Stuart Mitchell	13	34	3
Whit Taylor	11	23	1
Richard Prather	6	23	2
Marty Mornhinweg	1	9	0
Steve Trimble	1	−3	0

Wide receivers

Player	Rec.	Yards	TD's
Gary Mullen	26	502	11
Durell Taylor	25	283	6
Chris Brewer	21	255	4
Steve Trimble	20	340	5
Richard Prather	8	65	1
Richard Rodgers	7	49	1
William Cotman	1	7	0
Whit Taylor	1	−2	0

Defense

Player	Tackles	Solo	Assisted	Sack	INT	Yards	TD's
	26.5	24	5	0	1	10	0
	23	22	2	5	0	0	0
	21	20	2	0	2	23	0
	19	17	4	0	1	0	0
	16	15	2	0	0	0	0
	12.5	9	7	6	0	0	0
	12	12	0	0	2	10	0
	12	9	6	0	0	0	0
	11	9	4	0	0	0	0
	9	6	6	3	0	0	0
	7	7	0	3	0	0	0
	6.5	5	3	0	2	23	0
	6.5	6	1	0	0	0	0
	5	4	2	2	0	0	0
	3	3	0	1	0	0	0
	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
	1	1	0	0	0	0	0

Special teams

Kick return

Player	Ret	Yards	TD's
	28	516	0
	7	85	0
	4	18	0
	2	18	0
	1	30	0
	1	5	0
	1	0	0
	0	0	0

Kicking

Player	FGM	4pg	FGA	Pct.	XPM	2pt	XPA	Pct.	Pts.
	2	0	12	16.7	11	0	18	61.1	17
	0	0	8	0.0	8	0	11	72.7	8
	0	0	2	0.0	0	0	5	0	0

Awards

Position	Player	Award	All-Arena team
Head Coach		Coach of the Year	–
Fullback/Linebacker		none	1st
Wide Receiver/Defensive Back		none	1st
Quarterback		none	2nd
Fullback/Linebacker		none	2nd
Offensive/Defensive Lineman		none	2nd
Offensive/Defensive Lineman		none	2nd

External links

• 1987 Denver Dynamite page at ArenaFan.com

Notes and References

1. News: Denver Dynamite exploded in Arena League’s first season, then fizzled out . October 22, 2012 . Joey Bunch . The Denver Post . January 23, 2013.
2. News: Arena football: Try to avoid the temptation . June 20, 1987 . Buddy Martin . Star-News . January 28, 2013.
3. Web site: Whit Taylor to be honored as "SEC Legend" . December 2, 2003 . Brent Wiseman . MSN . www.vanderbilt.scout.com . January 28, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120303230513/http://vanderbilt.scout.com/2/208320.html . 2012-03-03 . dead .
4. News: Arena Football League Championship : Taylor Leads Dynamite, 45–16 . August 2, 1987 . Los Angeles Times . February 1, 2013.