Washington Commandos
| Washington Commandos | |||||
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| Established 1987 Folded 1990 Played in Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia |
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| League/conference affiliations | |||||
| Team colors | Red, Blue, White | ||||
| Personnel | |||||
| Head coach | Mike Hohensee | ||||
| Team history | |||||
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| Championships | |||||
| League championships (0) |
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| Conference championships (0) Prior to 2005, the AFL did not have conference championship games |
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| Division championships (0) Prior to 1992, the AFL did not have division |
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| Home arena(s) | |||||
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The Washington Commandos were an Arena football team based in Fairfax, Virginia. The Commandos were founded in 1987 and were an inaugural member of the Arena Football League (AFL), and were based in Landover, Maryland. The team then became known as the Maryland Commandos after the club returned in 1989 season after not playing during the 1988 season. Following the 1989 season, the Commandos moved to Fairfax, Virginia, where they once again became known as the Washington Commandos. The team never achieved much success at either of its locations, winning a total of 4 games in 3 seasons, including a winless 1989 season.
Contents
History
Inaugural season (1987)
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The Commandos had the honor of playing in the first AFL regular season game on June 19, 1987, losing to the Pittsburgh Gladiators 46-48 at the Civic Arena.[1][2] The Commandos picked up their first win in franchise history the following week, when they defeated the Denver Dynamite, by a score of 36-20 in their home opener.[3] The Commandos finished the season with a 2-4 record,[4] a disappointment, but the team was in every game except one, losing 3 games by a total of 6 points.
Move to Maryland (1989)
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After a one-year hiatus, they returned to play in 1989 and operated as the "Maryland Commandos".[5] The team went 0-4 in the short abbreviated 'travelin' season of 1989. The Commandos coaching staff consisted of Ray Willsey, Mike Hohensee, Mike Dailey, Jerry Kurz and Rich Salzer. Hohensee, Dailey and Kurz would all go on to become members of the Arena Football Hall of Fame.
Return to Washington (1990)
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The team returned to the Washington name for their final season in 1990. They were coached by Hohensee, who had been promoted from his assistant position.[6] The Commandos started the season 0-3.[7]
In 1987 and 1989, the team played its home games at the Capital Centre (later known as USAir Arena) in Landover, Maryland. For the 1990 season the team was based at the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.[8]
Notable players
Final Roster
| Washington Commandos roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs
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Running Backs/Linebackers
Offensive Linemen/Defensive Linemen
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Wide Receivers/Linebackers
Kickers
Rookies in italics |
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Arena Football League Hall of Famers
| Washington Commandos Hall of Famers | ||||
| No. | Name | Year Inducted | Position(s) | Years w/ Commandos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | Mike Dailey | 2012 | Assistant Coach | 1989-1990 |
| -- | Dwayne Dixon | 1998 | WR/DB | 1987 |
| -- | Mike Hohensee | 2012 | Asst./Head Coach | 1989-1990 |
| 67 | Jon Roehlk | 1999 | OL/DL | 1987 |
All-Arena players
The following Commandos players have been named to All-Arena Teams:
- QB Rich Ingold (1)
- WR/DB Dwayne Dixon (1), Lenny Taylor (1), Chris Armstrong (1)
- OL/DL Jon Roehlk (1), Michael Witteck (1), Chuck Harris (2)
- K Dale Castro (1)
Notable Coaches
Head Coaches
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 1990 Arena Football League season.
| Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
| Bob Harrison | 1987 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ray Willsey | 1989 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mike Hohensee | 1990 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 0 | 0 | |
Season-by-season results
Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.
| ArenaBowl Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card Berth | League Leader |
| Season | Team | League | Division | Regular season | Postseason Results | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | |||||||||||
| Washington Commandos | ||||||||||||||
| 1987 | 1987 | AFL | -- | 3rd | 2 | 4 | 0 | |||||||
| Maryland Commandos | ||||||||||||||
| 1989 | 1989 | AFL | -- | 5th | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||||||
| Washington Commandos | ||||||||||||||
| 1990 | 1990 | AFL | 6th | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||||||||
| Totals | 4 | 14 | 0 | All-time regular season record (1987-1990) | ||||||||||
| 0 | 0 | - | All-time postseason record (1987-1990) | |||||||||||
| 4 | 14 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (1987-1990) | |||||||||||
References
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