Utah Blaze
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Utah Blaze was a professional
arena 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
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, Utah and competed in the West Division of 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 ...
. Home games were played at the
EnergySolutions Arena Vivint Arena (stylized as vivint arena), formerly known as Delta Center, EnergySolutions Arena and Vivint Smart Home Arena, is an indoor arena located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Asso ...
. In 2013, the team did not submit proper documentation to remain in the AFL and the entire roster was reassigned to other teams in the league.


History


The original Utah Blaze (2006–08)

In September 2004, Commissioner C. David Baker announced that
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, Utah was awarded an
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 ...
(AFL) franchise for the 2006 season. The Utah Blaze began play on January 28, 2006, on the road against 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 ...
. The team was coached by longtime
Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...
coach
Danny White Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is a former quarterback and 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 Compass Media Networks' ...
and played its home games at the
EnergySolutions Arena Vivint Arena (stylized as vivint arena), formerly known as Delta Center, EnergySolutions Arena and Vivint Smart Home Arena, is an indoor arena located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Asso ...
in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, home of the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
's
Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
. The team was owned by automobile businessmen John Garff, Robert Garff, and Brett Hopkins. In their first season, the Blaze had the highest average attendance in the Arena Football League, with 15,498 fans per game. They narrowly edged out Philadelphia's 15,463. Prior to the 2006 season, the Blaze had said EnergySolutions Arena held 13,000 fans due to poor sight lines in most of the building. After 16,705 people attended the home opener, that figure was changed to near 15,000. The Blaze topped that figure 5 of the 8 games their first season. The offense was led by quarterback
Joe Germaine Joseph Berton Germaine (born November 16, 1975) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft after playing college football at Ohio State. Germaine earned a Super Bowl ...
and star wide receiver
Siaha Burley Siaha Burley (born July 16, 1977) is an American former arena football wide receiver and former head coach. He played college football at UCF Knights football, UCF and was also the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks from 2017 to 2019 before re ...
. On Saturday, February 11, 2006, the Blaze lost to the
New York Dragons The New York Dragons were a professional arena football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Dragons participated in the Arena Football League's (AFL) National Conference as a member of the Eastern Division. The team was founded in ...
84–81 in the second highest scoring game in the history of the Arena Football League. The Blaze's performance was also the second highest score for a losing team in the AFL's 20-year history. Despite a losing record of 7–9, the Blaze got into the playoffs as an AC Wildcard (the conference's No. 6 seed). Unfortunately, the newly formed Blaze were given the boot as they lost to the
Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...
with a final score of 57–34. The team's mascot was a dalmatian named "Chief". The Blaze were winners of the league"Commissioners Award" in 2006 and won the "Support Staff of the Year Award" in back-to-back seasons (2006–2007), an award that goes to the league's best training and equipment staff, which was headed by Hagen Featherstone and Kevin Seamans in the inaugural season and Kevin Seamans and Darin Featherstone in 2007. During the 2008 season the Blaze became the first, and only, professional football team to record three 1,500-yard receivers in the same season, with
Huey Whittaker Hubert Alton George "Huey" Whittaker (born June 19, 1981) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at South Flori ...
, J.J. McKelvey, and
Aaron Boone Aaron John Boone (born March 9, 1973) is an American baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 13 seasons from 1997 through 2009. As a player, ...
. This also marks the first time three players each caught 120 or more passes in the same season. Upon the AFL's suspension of operations, the Blaze did so for the same time period.


AFL folding and AIFA (2009)

The second Utah Blaze organization was originally the Utah Valley Thunder, a member of the
American Indoor Football Association American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...
during the 2009 season. During their lone season in the AIFA, they were based in
Orem, Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Me ...
, and played their home games at the
McKay Events Center The UCCU Center (originally known as the McKay Events Center), is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of Utah Valley University in southwest Orem, Utah, United States. It was built in 1996 and is home to the Utah Valley Wolverines basketball team. ...
. They finished at a respectable 11–3, finishing second in the Western Division and qualifying for a playoff berth before losing to the Wyoming Cavalry in the Western Divisional playoff.


AFL revival and return of the Blaze (2010–2013)

On September 28, 2009, the Thunder announced their intention to join
Arena Football 1 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 N ...
for the 2010 season and beyond, also announcing relocation to the E Center (now
Maverik Center The Maverik Center, originally known as the E Center, is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose arena located in West Valley City, Utah, United States. Construction on the arena started in 1996 and was completed in time to hold its first event on September ...
) in
West Valley City West Valley City is a city in Salt Lake County and a suburb of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 140,230 at the 2020 census, making it the second-largest city in Utah. The city incorporated in 1980 from a large, quic ...
. Over two months later, on December 8, AF1 was awarded the original AFL's assets after they submitted the highest bid in a
bankruptcy court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy c ...
auction. Current AF1 teams were given the right to adopt the former AFL teams' identities, but initially, Utah chose to brand as the "Utah Thunder." The Blaze's previous owner attempted to claim the Blaze logo as his own, but was unsuccessful in doing so. Finally, on January 26, 2010, the team announced it would indeed be using the Blaze name and logo. Less than a month later, the AF1 announced it was going back to the former
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 ...
moniker. On January 25, 2011, the team announced in a press release that they would be moving back to the
EnergySolutions Arena Vivint Arena (stylized as vivint arena), formerly known as Delta Center, EnergySolutions Arena and Vivint Smart Home Arena, is an indoor arena located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Asso ...
. Quarterback
Tommy Grady Thomas Grady (born March 18, 1985) is an American football quarterback who primarily played in the Arena Football League (AFL). After a standout high school career at Edison High School, Grady signed with the University of Oklahoma to continu ...
set the single season touchdown record throwing his 118th against the Georgia Force, on June 23, 2012. The Blaze also clinched their first winning season in franchise history during the 2012 season. For the 2012 season the Blaze's
defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
was coined "Sack Lake City" due to their tremendous amount of pressure and
quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...
s. In a game against the
Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor American football, 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 (Des Moines, Iowa) ...
the Blaze recorded a league record 11 sacks in one game. Led by the combination of
Caesar Rayford Caesar Rayford (born March 4, 1986) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the BC Lions, Spokane Shock, Utah Blaze, Jacksonville Sharks, Calgary Stampeders, Mont ...
and Mike Lewis with 3.5 sacks each. In 2 seasons with the Utah Blaze the pair have recorded 3 All Pro Honors, along with 40 sacks combined. In March 2013, Co-Owner Kristin Murdock sold her majority ownership share of the team to Salt Lake City businesswoman, Kim Brown. In September 2013, 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 ...
announced that the Utah Blaze had not submitted paperwork to the league committing for both the 2014 and 2015 seasons. As a result, the Blaze (along with the
Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,20 ...
) were removed from the league, with Commissioner
Jerry Kurz Jerry B. Kurz (born June 21, 1949) is a founding father of the now-defunct Arena Football League. He was one of the earliest leaders of Arena football, and was part owner of Gridiron Enterprises, original owner of the proprietary, formerly patent ...
stating, "We fully expect both Chicago and Utah to return to become members of the AFL family again in the near future".


Season-by-season


Notable players


Final roster


Retired uniform numbers


Arena Football Hall of Famers


Individual awards


All-Arena players

The following Blaze players were named to All-Arena Teams: * QB
Joe Germaine Joseph Berton Germaine (born November 16, 1975) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft after playing college football at Ohio State. Germaine earned a Super Bowl ...
(1),
Tommy Grady Thomas Grady (born March 18, 1985) is an American football quarterback who primarily played in the Arena Football League (AFL). After a standout high school career at Edison High School, Grady signed with the University of Oklahoma to continu ...
(1) * WR
Siaha Burley Siaha Burley (born July 16, 1977) is an American former arena football wide receiver and former head coach. He played college football at UCF Knights football, UCF and was also the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks from 2017 to 2019 before re ...
(1),
Huey Whittaker Hubert Alton George "Huey" Whittaker (born June 19, 1981) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at South Flori ...
(1),
Aaron Boone Aaron John Boone (born March 9, 1973) is an American baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 13 seasons from 1997 through 2009. As a player, ...
(1), Aaron Lesué (1) * DL
Caesar Rayford Caesar Rayford (born March 4, 1986) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the BC Lions, Spokane Shock, Utah Blaze, Jacksonville Sharks, Calgary Stampeders, Mont ...
(1), Mike Lewis (2) * OS
Siaha Burley Siaha Burley (born July 16, 1977) is an American former arena football wide receiver and former head coach. He played college football at UCF Knights football, UCF and was also the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks from 2017 to 2019 before re ...
(1)


All-Ironman players

The following Blaze players were named to All-Ironman Teams: * OL/DL Hans Olsen (1) * WR/LB
Ryan Dennard Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an electo ...
(1)


All-Rookie players

The following Blaze players were named to All-Rookie Teams: * DL
Maurice Fountain Gregory Maurice Fountain (born September 22, 1982) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was first signed by the Manchester Wolves of AF2 as a free agent in 2007. He played college football at Clemson. Fountain has also been a memb ...


Coaches


References


External links


Utah Blaze at ArenaFan
{{Defunct Arena Football League franchises 2006 establishments in Utah 2008 disestablishments in Utah 2010 establishments in Utah 2013 disestablishments in Utah