New Orleans Thunder

New Orleans Thunder
Founded 1999
League Regional Football League (1999)
Based in New Orleans, Louisiana
Arena Tad Gormley Stadium
Head coach Buford Jordan

The New Orleans Thunder was a professional American football team that played during the 1999 season as part of the Regional Football League. They played their home games at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans' City Park. The team was announced as one of the league's charter members on February 25, 1999.[1] For their lone season, Rex Stevenson would serve as head coach for the preseason and first two games before being replaced with former Saints' player Buford Jordan who completed the season as the Thunder's head coach.[2]

Although the team was scheduled to play a 14 game season, poor attendance and sagging revenues would prove too much for the new league. As a result, the team would finish with a record of 2-6 for its lone season. After the season was completed, the team looked at relocating to Birmingham, Alabama, however the move never came to fruition and the team was disbanded.[3]

The Thunder played in the only RFL game ever televised, on May 8, 1999, at Mobile against the eventual-champion Admirals. The contest was shown on WHNO, a mainly-religious station in New Orleans.

1999 season schedule

Date Opponent Home/Away Result
April 17 Mobile Admirals Home Lost 42-14
April 24 Ohio Cannon Away Lost 34-0
May 1 Mississippi Pride Home Lost 30-14
May 8 Mobile Admirals Away Lost 23-6
May 16 Shreveport-Bossier Southern Knights Home Lost 31-14
May 22 Houston Outlaws Away Lost 31-12
June 5 Mississippi Pride Away Won 12-7
June 5 Shreveport-Bossier Southern Knights Away Won by forfeit

References

  1. ↑ Staff reporters (February 26, 1999). "3 Tulane women get CUSA honors". The New Orleans Times-Picayune. pp. D11.
  2. ↑ Williams, Darrell (April 28, 1999). "Former Saint Jordan to coach Thunder". The New Orleans Times-Picayune. pp. D4.
  3. ↑ Crowley, Gene. "Will Birmingham join the Regional Football League?". Retrieved 2007-03-26.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.