The Washington Warthogs were a professional

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

team in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

(CISL) from 1994 to 1997. They played their home games in the

USAir Arena The Capital Centre (later USAir Arena and US Airways Arena) was an indoor arena in the eastern United States, located in Landover, Maryland, a suburb east of Washington, D.C. Opened in late 1973, it closed in 1999, and was demolished in 200 ...

Landover, Maryland Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 25,998. Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the so ...

, an arena they shared with the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

, and the

Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown's athletics department fields 23 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the National C ...

. Team owner

Abe Pollin Abraham J. Pollin (December 3, 1923 – November 24, 2009) was the owner of a number of professional sports teams including the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Washington Mystics in the Women's National Basketbal ...

also operated the Bullets and Capitals. The Warthogs featured the league's only female player, first with Colette Cunningham and then

Kristine Lilly Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey (; born July 22, 1971) is an American retired soccer player. She was a member of the United States women's national team for 23 years and is the most-capped football player in the history of the sport (men's or wome ...

replaced her the next year. Jim Gabarra was the team's coach from 1994 to 1997 and also played as a player–coach for his first three seasons. The four seasons that the Warthogs played in Washington they average attendance was 6,489 per game. Some games were televised on HTS. The two top players of the team over its history were

Denison Cabral Denison Cabral is a retired Brazilian-American soccer forward /midfielder who played professionally in the Continental Indoor Soccer League, NPSL II, National Professional Soccer League and USISL. He played three games for the United States nation ...

and

Dante Washington Dante Deneen Washington (born November 21, 1970, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American former soccer player who played as a striker. Washington played college soccer at Radford University, and was named a first team All-American in 1991. He ...

. Both went on to strong outdoor careers with Washington playing in

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

, and both later played for the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with t ...

of the

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

. Kyle Glasgow was the only fan elected to the Warthog hall of fame. The team employed teenage cheerleaders, named the "Warthog Girls", crowd entertainers, and a soccer clinic to draw families and younger fans to attend games.

Notable players

* Colette Cunningham *

Bozhidar Iskrenov Bojidar Georgiev Iskrenov ( bg, Божидар Гeopгиeв Искренов, born 1 August 1962), nicknamed Gibona (Гибона means "The Gibbon"), Gibi (Гиби) and The Joy of the People (Радостта на народа), is a former Bu ...

Irad Young Irad Young ( he, עירד יאנג; born 25 March 1971) is a retired Israeli-American professional Association football, football (soccer) player. Playing for George Mason University he set the school's career assist record. After college he playe ...

References

{{Continental Indoor Soccer League Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Continental Indoor Soccer League teams Soccer clubs in Washington, D.C. Soccer clubs in Maryland 1994 establishments in Maryland 1997 disestablishments in Maryland Association football clubs established in 1994 Association football clubs disestablished in 1997