The Arizona Rattlers are a professional

indoor American football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

team based in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. They are currently members of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...

(IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

and were the third oldest active franchise in the AFL until their departure in 2016. They play their home games at

Footprint Center Footprint Center (formerly known as America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena and Phoenix Suns Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Built in the regional population center of the southwestern United Sta ...

in downtown Phoenix, but have occasionally played at Gila River Arena (now

Desert Diamond Arena Desert Diamond Arena (originally Glendale Arena and formerly Jobing.com Arena and Gila River Arena) is an indoor multi-purpose entertainment arena located in Glendale, Arizona. The venue anchors the 223-acre, $1 billion Westgate Entertainment D ...

) in neighboring

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

when their primary home has been unavailable. The Rattlers are led by head coach

Kevin Guy Kevin Guy (born December 6, 1972) is an arena football coach and former wide receiver and defensive back who is the head coach for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played his college football at the University of West ...

. Since the team's establishment in 1992, the Rattlers have won ten division titles and have played in nine ArenaBowl Championship games, winning championships in 1994, 1997, 2012, 2013, 2014. The Rattlers also won the 2017 United Bowl in their first season in the IFL.

History

Founding and White era (1991–2004)

In 1987, it was speculated that the

, area would be a target for the newly formed

(AFL). On September 11, 1991, it was announced that

Jerry Colangelo Jerry Colangelo (born November 20, 1939) is an American businessman and sports executive. He formerly owned the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, the Arizona Sandsharks of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, the Ari ...

had been awarded an expansion franchise in the AFL in Phoenix. Colangelo, owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns, first approached

Frank Kush Frank Joseph Kush (January 20, 1929 – June 22, 2017) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Arizona State University from 1958 to 1979, compiling a record of 176–54–1. Kush was also the head coach of th ...

to coach his team, but Kush declined the invitation. In October 1991, the team announced that former

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

quarterback

Danny White Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is a former quarterback and Punter (football), punter for the Dallas Cowboys and an American football coach in the Arena Football League. He has been the color commentator for Cowboys games on Compas ...

would be the franchise's first head coach. In December 1991, the team announced that they would be named the Arizona Rattlers after more than 250 people suggested that the team's nickname should be the Rattlers, while 55% of their responders picked "Arizona" over "Phoenix". In 1992, the Rattlers began with their first two games on the road, and won their home debut in front of a sell-out crowd of 15,505 at

America West Arena Footprint Center (formerly known as America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena and Phoenix Suns Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Built in the regional population center of the southwestern United Sta ...

by a score of 56–31 over the

Sacramento Attack ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. In 1994, the Rattlers captured their first ArenaBowl championship, with a 36–31 victory over the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

. In December 1999,

Gene Nudo Gene Nudo (born April 13, 1958) is a former Arena Football League (1987–2008), Arena Football League Coach (sport), coach for the Arizona Rattlers He had a career record of 13-21, including a 1-1 mark in the postseason. 2011 Inducted into the A ...

, White and Will Meris pursued the purchase of the Rattlers from Colangelo.

Kevin Guy coaching era (2008–present)

In 2008, it was announced that Brett Bouchy would become the new owner of the Arizona Rattlers. After the Rattlers had a 4–12 record in 2007, Brett Bouchy hired Kevin Guy as the new Arizona Rattlers head coach in the 2008 season and the Rattlers improved to an 8–8 record and clinched playoff berth for the first time since 2006, but lost in the first round. In August 2009, numerous media outlets began reporting that the AFL was folding permanently and would file for

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debto ...

. The league released a statement on August 4 to the effect that while the league was not folding, it was suspending league operations indefinitely. Despite this, several of the league's creditors filed papers to force a Chapter 7 liquidation if the league did not do so voluntarily. This request was granted on August 7, though converted to a

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

reorganization on August 26. However Brett Bouchy and a group of investors planned to launch a new league called Arena Football 1 and helped the Arizona Rattlers and the Orlando Predators to become two of the four teams to survive and return in 2010 with Arena Football 1. In early 2010, it was announced that Arena Football 1 was granted the trademarks to the AFL brand and was renamed the Arena Football League. In 2011, after Brett Bouchy was able keep both the Arizona Rattlers and the Orlando Predators alive, he was forced to let go of ownership to one of the teams and that became the Arizona Rattlers. On May 12, 2011, Ron Shurts became the new majority owner of the Rattlers franchise. In , the Rattlers won 16 games in the regular season, a league-record for wins in a single regular season. In the playoffs, by winning the National Conference championship, they clinched a berth in

ArenaBowl XXIV ArenaBowl XXIV was the 24th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League (AFL). The American Conference champion, Jacksonville Sharks, defeated the National Conference champion, Arizona Rattlers, 73–70. It was played on August 12, ...

. They lost the game to the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...

when Jacksonville quarterback Aaron Garcia threw a game-winning touchdown pass on the game's final play. The Rattlers redeemed themselves the following season, winning

ArenaBowl XXV ArenaBowl XXV was the 25th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion, Arizona Rattlers, defeated the American Conference champion, Philadelphia Soul, 72–54. The game was played on August 10, 201 ...

over the

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featu ...

to win their first title in 15 years. In 2013, the Rattlers and Soul met again in

ArenaBowl XXVI ArenaBowl XXVI was the 26th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion Arizona Rattlers, defeated the American Conference champion Philadelphia Soul, 48–39. The game was played on August 17, 2013 ...

, with the Rattlers winning yet again, 48–39. This made them the first team since 1995 to win back-to-back championships, and the first team in history to beat the same team for both titles. In 2014, the Rattlers went 15–3 in the regular season after a 14-game winning streak to start the season, and defeated the

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cava ...

in ArenaBowl XXVII by a score of 72–32, becoming the first team in AFL history to win three consecutive AFL championships since the

Detroit Drive The Massachusetts Marauders were a professional arena football team that was based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1994. The team was established in Detroit in 1988, as the Detroit D ...

of 1988–1990, as well as establishing the largest margin of victory (40 points) in an ArenaBowl. In 2015, the Rattlers went 14–4 in the regular season and made it to the Conference Championships but lost to the

San Jose Sabercats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

70–67, a team which had twice beaten them in the regular season. This ended their streak of consecutive ArenaBowl appearances at four. In 2016, the Rattlers went 13–3 in the regular season, then blew out the Portland Steel and the Cleveland Gladiators en route to their fifth ArenaBowl appearance in six years, only to lose to the Philadelphia Soul.

Move from the AFL to the IFL

On October 17, 2016, the Rattlers announced they had left the AFL and joined the

for the 2017 season. Owner Ron Shurts said that it was possible that the AFL would have to go on hiatus in 2017, and wasn't sure the fans would return in 2018 if that happened. The move made Phoenix by far the largest market in the IFL. They made their IFL debut on February 17, 2017, at the defending six-time IFL Champions

Sioux Falls Storm The Sioux Falls Storm are a professional indoor football team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Storm joined the original Indoor Football League as an expansion team in 1999 as the Sioux Falls Cobras, and first took the field for the 2000 ...

, but lost 40–29. On June 24, 2017, the Rattlers faced the

Nebraska Danger The Nebraska Danger was a professional indoor football team based in Grand Island, Nebraska, and a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team was founded in 2011 by Charlie Bosselman as an expansion member of the IFL. The Danger played ...

in the Intense Conference Championship and won 62–36. They defeated the reigning champion

50–41 in the 2017 United Bowl on July 8, 2017. On April 29, 2018, the Rattlers defeated the Cedar Rapids Titans 84–83 and earned their 300th win in franchise history. The Rattlers went on to qualify for the 2018 United Bowl, but lost to the

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The ...

. In 2019, the Rattlers went undefeated through the regular season with a 14–0 record. At the end of the season, their playoff games were moved to Gila River Arena after the Talking Stick Resort Arena closed for renovations. The Rattlers lost to the Sioux Falls Storm 56–53, with coach Guy heavily blaming officiating. With Talking Stick Resort Arena planned to be closed through the 2020 season and possibly into the 2021 season, the Rattlers agreed to a lease at Gila River Arena in the interim. After their 2020 season was cancelled during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and the 2021 season was pushed back, the Rattlers announced they would be returning to downtown Phoenix for their 2021 season home games at

, formerly known as Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Notable players

Current roster

Retired uniform numbers

Arena Football League Hall of Famers

Individual awards

All-Arena players

The following Rattlers players have been named to All-Arena Teams: * QB

Sherdrick Bonner Sherdrick Deon "Sed" Bonner (born October 19, 1968) is a former American football quarterback who played fifteen seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL). High school years Bonner attended Azusa High School in Azusa, California and was a stude ...

(5),

Nick Davila Nick Davila (born May 22, 1985) is an arena football quarterback who is currently a free agent. A three-time AFL champion, and three-time MVP, he also played for the Arizona Rattlers from 2010 to 2016. Davila is of Mexican American descent. He is ...

(5) * FB

Odie Armstrong Odie Armstrong (born September 30, 1981) is a former American football fullback. He played college football at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Orlando Predators in 2008. Early life Armstr ...

(2), Mykel Benson (1) * FB/LB Bob McMillen (2) * WR

Rod Windsor Rodrickus Windsor (born April 24, 1985) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Western New Mexico University. College career Rod began his college career at Garden City Community Coll ...

(6),

Maurice Purify Maurice "Mo" Purify (born January 17, 1986) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Nebraska. Purify also play ...

(1) * WR/DB Cedric Tillman (1),

Randy Gatewood Randy Gatewood (born January 31, 1973) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League and Arena Football League (1987–2008), Arena Football League. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 19 ...

(6) * WR/LB Hunkie Cooper (4) * OL Kyle Young (2), Brennen Carvalho (1),

Michael Huey J. Michael Huey (born October 24, 1950) is an American drummer and producer, earning 18 Gold / Platinum Top Ten Awards. He has played with a diverse group of artists in genres including Rock/Pop/Country/R&B such as Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Juice ...

(3), Billy Eisenhardt (1), Jordan Mudge (1) * DL Anttaj Hawthorne (2), Clifford Dukes (1), Mike McAdoo (1),

Damien Borel Damien Borel (born June 1, 1993) is an American football defensive lineman who is currently a free agent. He attended (and played football at) Woodland High School and Butte College. In 2012, while at Butte, he tallied 69 tackles and 19 sacks. B ...

(1), Dimetrio Tyson (1) * OL/DL Doc Wise (1),

Bryan Henderson Bryan Henderson (born April 11, 1977) is a former American football defensive lineman who played six seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Arizona Rattlers, Austin Wranglers, Utah Blaze, Kansas City Brigade, Grand Rapids Rampage a ...

(1) * LB

Tyre Glasper Tyre Glasper (born April 14, 1987) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and attended Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, Michigan. Early y ...

(3) * DB Virgil Gray (2), Arkeith Brown (2), Marquis Floyd (1),

Jeremy Kellem Jeremy Kellem (born June 6, 1989) is an American football defensive back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Middle Tennessee State University and attended Deerfield Beach High School in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He ha ...

(1) * K

Fabrizio Scaccia Fabrizio Scaccia (born August 21, 1984) is an American football placekicker who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Arizona Rattlers as a street free agent in 2010. He attended Indian River State College, a school that did not have ...

(1), Garrett Lindholm (1) * OS Hunkie Cooper (2), Calvin Schexnayder (2), Chris Horn (1) * DS Cecil Doggette (1) * KR Virgil Gray (1)

All-IFL players

The following Rattlers players have been named to All-IFL Teams: * QB Drew Powell (2) * RB Darrell Monroe (1) * WR Jerrod Harrington (1), Jarrod Harrington (1), Braxton Haley (1) * OL Lamar Mady (3), Damian Love (1), Steven Gurrola (1), Kenny Thomas (1) * DL Chris McAllister (1), Nikolaus D'Avanzo (1), Lance McDowell (1) * LB Treyvon Williams (1) * LB/DB Davontae Merriweather (1) * DB

Allen Chapman Allen Chapman (born August 18, 1974) is an American soccer referee and member of PRO. He lives in Utah. Chapman regularly referees matches for Major League Soccer, and has done so since 2012. During an August 2016 USL match in New Jersey, ...

(2), Davontae Merriweather (1), Dillon Winfrey (2), Tyrell Pearson (1) * K Sawyer Petre (1), Jimmy Camacho (1), Ernesto Lacayo (1)

All-Ironman players

The following Rattlers players have been named to All-Ironman Teams: * WR/DB

(2) * WR/LB Hunkie Cooper (3) * OL/DL Stacy Evans (1), Wendall Gaines (2)

All-Rookie players

The following Rattlers players have been named to All-Rookie Teams: * QB

Chad May Chad May (born September 28, 1971) is a former American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings in the National Football League in 1995 and the Arizona Cardinals in 1996. He joined the World League of American Football's Frankfurt Galaxy ...

* WR Tandon Harvey * WR/LB Chris Horn * OL/DL Stacy Evans, Wendall Gaines,

Notable coaches

Head coaches

''Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2019 Indoor Football League season.''

Staff

Team ownership

The Arizona Rattlers introduced Ron Shurts as the team's new majority owner on May 12, 2011. "I have been an Arizona Rattlers season ticket holder since day one and attended the first Arizona Rattlers game at America West Arena. I believe in the team and the Arena Football League," said Shurts. "I want to bring the passion and excitement for Rattlers football back to US Airways Center and the Valley." "Downtown Phoenix continues to grow and the Rattlers will be an integral part of the affordable, family-fun entertainment that the Suns and the Mercury are providing the local community," Shurts added.

Season-by-season

Media

1992–1995

The Very first broadcaster of the Rattlers was KUTP UPN-45. They would televise home & away games, whichever games were not picked up by ESPN, to include playoff games.

1996–2003

KASW-TV WB6 WB61 took over broadcasting the Rattlers.

2004–2008

Starting in the 2004 season, the Arizona Rattlers partnered with FOX Sports Arizona (now

Bally Sports Arizona Bally Sports Arizona (BSAZ) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts pr ...

). That first season, they televised 4 games. When the 2005 season came, the Arena Football League announced a partnership with FOX Sports Regional Networks to televise games regionally. In addition, the Arizona Rattlers announced they would also produce games with FOX Sports Arizona separate from the League contract.

2010

After the cancellation of the 2009 season and return of the Arena Football League. The Arizona Rattlers announced a new broadcast deal with KAZT-TV AZTV 7 to broadcast up to eight games of the 2010 season. The partnership ended after one season after KAZT would not renew their broadcast partnership with the Rattlers in the 2011 season.

2011

After major changes of ownership throughout the 2011 season the Arizona Rattlers announced a new broadcast deal in mid season to return to FOX Sports Arizona with some games carried on FOX Sports Arizona Plus.

2012–2014

As the 2012 season approached the Arizona Rattlers would again announced that they would be moving their broadcasts to a new home this time to Cox7 Arizona with longtime Arizona sports caster Kevin Ray and Dale Hellestrae calling the game in the booth with Chris Harris on the sidelines and Lindsay Smith on Social Media. Cox7 was known as the Rattlers best broadcaster by televising all nine of their home games including selected away games that were simulcasted to other teams broadcasts. Cox7 also did Pregame Shows with the Rattlers before every home game showing documentaries and Talking LIVE before the game. The Partnership became a major success for Cox7 the Arizona Rattlers later extended their contract with Cox7 through the 2014 season when the announcement was made in November 2012.

2015–2016

After the major success with Cox7 Arizona, the Rattlers would not renew with the station after their contract expired in the 2014 season and announced they would move their broadcasts back to FOX Sports Arizona, broadcasting up to only 3 home games and one playoff game on FOX Sports Arizona Plus. However, the Rattlers still carried over the same broadcast team from Cox7 Arizona with Kevin Ray, Dale Hellestrae and Chris Harris calling the game. The Rattlers were also seen on National broadcasts on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

and

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known a ...

until 2016 when they left the AFL.

2017–2018

All Indoor Football League games are streamed live on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. Their games were also still aired on FOX Sports Arizona and FOX Sports Arizona Plus.

2019

In 2019, Arizona Rattlers aired all home games on The CW Phoenix for the 2019 season. The 2019 United Bowl, which was being hosted by the Arizona Rattlers, was televised by FOX Sports Arizona Plus. All Arizona Rattlers games were also streamed on YouTube.

2021

In 2021, Rattler home games began airing on KPHE-TV LATV 44 in Phoenix with Floyd Simmons and

on play-by-play and Joe Pequeno as sideline reporter. All games continue to be streamed on YouTube. All games are also being broadcast on the radio on KQFN The Fanatic AM 1580, FM 99.3 and FM 95.9. KQFN, The Fanatic Designated as Rattlers' 2021 Radio Home
Steven Cusumano, Arizona Rattlers website, April 12, 2021 All telecasts were produced by Simmons Media Group.

2022

In 2022, the Arizona Rattlers broadcasts returned to YurView (Formerly Cox7 Arizona), with Floyd Simmons and

continuing to call the games along with Joe Pequeno sideline reporting. All telecasts continued to be produced by Simmons Media Group. Also during the 2022 season, YurView became the new official broadcast home for the Tucson Sugar Skulls. Marking the first time ever the Rattlers and Sugar Skulls telecasts air on the same TV station. .

References

External links

*
Arizona Rattlers at ArenaFan.com
{{Phoenix, Arizona 1992 establishments in Arizona