1987 Pittsburgh Gladiators season

1987 Pittsburgh Gladiators season
Head coach	Joe Haering
Home field	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Results
Record	4–2
League place	1st
Playoff finish	Lost ArenaBowl I (Dynamite) 16-45
Team MVP	Russell Hairston

The 1987 Pittsburgh Gladiators season was the first season for the Gladiators. They finished 4–2 and lost a 45–16 game against the Denver Dynamite in ArenaBowl I.^[1]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site
			Final score	Team record
1	June 19	Washington Commandos	W 48–46	1–0	Civic Arena
2	June 26	at Chicago Bruisers	W 60–23	2–0	Rosemont Horizon
3	July 2	Chicago Bruisers	W 49–14	3–0	Civic Arena
4	July 11	at Denver Dynamite	W 49–32	4–0	McNichols Sports Arena
5	July 17	Denver Dynamite	L 31–32	4–1	Civic Arena
6	July 23	at Washington Commandos	L 31–52	4–2	Capital Centre

Standings

1987 Arena Football League Standings
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

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site
			Final score	Team record
ArenaBowl I	August 1	Denver Dynamite	L 16–45	0–1	Civic Arena

Roster

1987 Pittsburgh Gladiators roster
Quarterbacks  7 Brendan Folmar  9 Mike Hohensee -- Kevin Russell -- Stan Yagiello Wide receivers/Defensive backs 95 Greg Best 27 Joel Gueli 23 Russell Hairston 31 John McClennon  8 Ricky Mitchell 28 Jim Rafferty 29 Rodney Richmond 30 Mike Stoops	Running Backs/Linebackers 45 Creig Federico -- Mike Powell Offensive Linemen/Defensive Linemen 85 Earnest Adams 9_ Scott Dmitrenko -- George Miller 54 Craig Walls 67 Thomas Weaver -- Willis Yates	Wide Receivers/Linebackers None Kickers -- Lee Larson Rookies in italics Roster updated February 4, 2013 20 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS → More rosters

Stats

Offense

Quarterback

Player	Comp.	Att.	Comp%	Yards	TD's	INT's	Rating
Brendan Folmar	119	205	58.0	1349	21	9	85.2
Mike Hohensee	32	55	58.2	483	7	1	111.4
Kevin Russell	2	3	66.7	11	0	0	72.9
Stan Yagiello	0	3	0.0	0	0	0	39.6

Running Backs

Player	Car.	Yards	TD's
Creig Federico	10	21	1
Brendan Folmar	14	13	2
Mike Hohensee	3	11	1
Scott Dmitrenko	3	6	1
Mike Stoops	1	3	0
John McClennon	1	2	0
Ricky Mitchell	2	1	0
Mike Powell	1	−1	0
Stan Yagiello	2	−3	0

Wide Receivers

Player	Rec.	Yards	TD's
Russell Hairston	67	1126	18
Joel Gueli	22	232	3
John McClennon	22	131	1
Jim Rafferty	20	170	2
Creig Federico	12	54	2
Mike Powell	5	81	2
Kevin Russell	2	11	0
Ricky Mitchell	1	21	0
Greg Best	1	11	0
George Miller	1	6	0

Defense

Player	Tackles	Solo	Assisted	Sack	INT	Yards	TD's
Joel Gueli	31	29	4	3	4	31	1
Craig Walls	19	15	8	13	0	0	0
Russell Hairston	17.5	16	0	0	4	50	1
Creig Federico	17	12	10	3	0	0	0
Scott Dmitrenko	15	13	4	3	0	0	0
Mike Stoops	14.5	11	7	0	1	0	0
John McClennon	12.5	9	7	0	1	5	0
Ricky Mitchell	11	10	2	2	0	0	0
Jim Rafferty	10.5	8	2	0	2	4	0
Thomas Weaver	9	7	4	3	1	2	0
Earnest Adams	8	6	4	5	0	0	0
Mike Powell	6	5	2	0	0	0	0
Greg Best	6	6	0	0	0	0	0
Willis Yates	5	4	2	6	0	0	0
Lee Larsen	2.5	2	1	0	0	0	0

Special Teams

Kick Return

Player	Ret	Yards	TD's
Joel Gueli	24	464	2
Jim Rafferty	10	69	0
John McClennon	5	80	0
Scott Dmitrenko	1	26	0
Mike Stoops	1	5	0

Kicking

Player	FGM	4pg	FGA	Pct.	XPM	2pt	XPA	Pct.	Pts.
Lee Larsen	6	0	21	28.6	13	0	28	46.4	31

Awards

Position	Player	Award	All-Arena team
Wide receiver/Defensive back	Russell Hairston	Most Valuable Player	1st
Offensive/Defensive lineman	Craig Walls	none	1st
Wide receiver/Defensive back	Joel Gueli	none	2nd

References

1. "Arena Football League Championship : Taylor Leads Dynamite, 45–16". Los Angeles Times. August 2, 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2013.

External links

• 1987 Pittsburgh Gladiators season at arenafan.com