Anaheim Piranhas

AFL defunct
name = Anaheim Piranhas

founded = 1994
folded = 1997
prior names = Las Vegas Sting
championships = none

History

Las Vegas Sting (1994-1995)

The Las Vegas Sting was a team which competed in the Arena Football League during the 1994 and 1995 seasons. Their home games in 1994 were played in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and they were moved to the Thomas and Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for the 1995 season. The team was relocated to Anaheim, California prior to the start of the 1996 season, at which time it was renamed the Anaheim Piranhas.

Anaheim Piranhas (1996-1997)

The Sting competed in the 1994 and 1995 seasons of Arena Football before relocating to Anaheim prior to the 1996 campaign. The Piranhas played their home games at Arrowhead Pond, also the home of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim of the National Hockey League. The team was not an overwhelmingly successful draw in the high-overhead Southern California market and folded after the conclusion of the 1997 season. The team's folding is partially because the team's owner, David Baker, became commissioner, and had to focus on running the league as a whole.

Trivia

The Sting hosted the Cleveland Thunderbolts in a nationally-televised game on June 17, 1994, the same day O.J. Simpson led Los Angeles police on the most closely watched pursuit in American history.

Notable Players

*Mark Grieb - QB
*John Kaleo - QB
*Bryan Reeves - WR
*Mike Wilpolt - WR/DB

eason-by-season

-
colspan="6" align="center" | Las Vegas Sting
-
1994 || 5 || 7 || 0 || 4th AC || Lost Week 1 (Albany Firebirds)
-
1995 || 6 || 6 || 0 || 3rd AC Western || --
-
colspan="6" align="center" | Anaheim Piranhas
-
1996 || 9 || 5 || 0 || 2nd AC Western || Lost Week 1 (Tampa Bay Storm)
-
1997 || 2 || 12 || 0 || 3rd AC Western || --
-!Totals || 22 || 32 || 0
colspan="2"| (including playoffs)
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

External links

* [http://www.arenafootball.com AFL Official Website]
* [http://www.arenafan.com/teams/?page=history&team=29 Las Vegas Sting at ArenaFan.com]
* [http://www.arenafan.com/teams/?page=history&team=24&year=1997 Anaheim Piranhas at ArenaFan.com]