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. The franchise played in the inaugural four-team "demonstration" season of 1987. Despite the team and league's doubters, 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, and wide receiver Gary Mullen (Mullen won ArenaBowl I MVP). 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
Playoffs Round Date Opponent Results Game site Final score Team record ArenaBowl I August 1 at Pittsburgh Gladiators W 45–16 1–0 Civic Arena
Roster 1987 Denver Dynamite roster Quarterbacks Stuart Mitchell Marty Mornhinweg Whit Taylor
Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs William Cotman Gary Mullen Richard Rodgers Clyde Skipper Steve Trimble Running Backs/Linebackers Chris Brewer Rob DeVita Richard Prather Durell Taylor
Offensive Linemen/Defensive Linemen Patrick Cain Phil Forte Chuck Harris Kelly Kirchbaum Jon Norris Keith Smith Wide Receivers/Linebackers Larry Friday
Kickers Marty Coyne Lazlo Mike-Mayer Marco Morales
Rookies in italics Roster updated February 1, 2013 22 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS
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Stats
Offense
Quarterback Player Comp. Att. Comp% YardsTD's INT's Rating Whit Taylor7613855.1105021893.6 Stuart Mitchell307440.54197271.8 Marty Mornhinweg3475300095.8
Running backs Player Car. Yards TD's Chris Brewer12561 Durell Taylor8390 Stuart Mitchell13343 Whit Taylor11231 Richard Prather6232 Marty Mornhinweg190 Steve Trimble1−30
Wide receivers Player Rec. Yards TD's Gary Mullen2650211 Durell Taylor252836 Chris Brewer212554 Steve Trimble203405 Richard Prather8651 Richard Rodgers7491 William Cotman170 Whit Taylor1−20
Defense Player Tackles Solo Assisted Sack INT Yards TD's William Cotman 26.5 24 5 0 1 10 0 Keith Smith 23 22 2 5 0 0 0 Gary Mullen 21 20 2 0 2 23 0 Steve Trimble 19 17 4 0 1 0 0 Richard Prather 16 15 2 0 0 0 0 Rob DeVita 12.5 9 7 6 0 0 0 Clyde Skipper 12 12 0 0 2 10 0 Chris Brewer 12 9 6 0 0 0 0 Kelly Kirchbaum 11 9 4 0 0 0 0 Chuck Harris 9 6 6 3 0 0 0 Patrick Cain 7 7 0 3 0 0 0 Richard Rodgers 6.5 5 3 0 2 23 0 Larry Friday 6.5 6 1 0 0 0 0 Jon Norris 5 4 2 2 0 0 0 Phil Forte 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 Durell Taylor 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 Lazlo Mike-Mayer 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 Marco Morales 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Special teams
Kick return Player Ret Yards TD's Durell Taylor 28 516 0 Chris Brewer 7 85 0 Steve Trimble 4 18 0 Gary Mullen 2 18 0 William Cotman 1 30 0 Phil Forte 1 5 0 Clyde Skipper 1 0 0 Kelly Kirchbaum 0 0 0
Kicking Player FGM 4pg FGA Pct. XPM 2pt XPA Pct. Pts. Marco Morales 2 0 12 16.7 11 0 18 61.1 17 Lazlo Mike-Mayer 0 0 8 0.0 8 0 11 72.7 8 Marty Coyne 0 0 2 0.0 0 0 5 0 0
Awards Position Player Award All-Arena team Head coach Tim Marcum Coach of the Year – Fullback/Linebacker Chris Brewer none 1st Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Gary Mullen none 1st Quarterback Whit Taylor none 2nd Fullback/Linebacker Durell Taylor none 2nd Offensive/Defensive Lineman Patrick Cain none 2nd Offensive/Defensive Lineman Kelly Kirchbaum none 2nd
References
External links 1987 Denver Dynamite page at ArenaFan.com