Toronto Phantoms
Toronto Phantoms / New England Sea Wolves / New York CityHawks 
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|---|---|---|---|
| City: |
-> New York City Hawks (1997–1998)
-> New England Sea Wolves (1999-2000) -> Toronto Phantoms (2001-2002) |
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| Founded: | 1997 | ||
| League (): | AFL (1997-2002) | ||
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| Greatest successes | |||
| AFL : 2000, 2001, 2002 | Playoff participations | ||
| AFL : - | League champions | ||
| Stadion | |||
| Surname: |
Madison Square Garden (1997-1998) Hartford Civic Center (1999-2000) Air Canada Center (2000-2002) |
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| Data status | |||
| 23rd July 2017 | |||
The Toronto Phantoms were an arena football team in the Arena Football League from Toronto , Ontario , Canada . The New York City franchise was originally founded as New York CityHakws . Two years later the franchise moved to Hartford and called itself New England Sea Wolves , before moving one last to Toronto.
history
New York City Hawks (1997-1998)
The franchise was founded in 1997 as New York CityHawks. It was the second franchise in New York after the New York Knights in 1988.
The two seasons were a disappointment. Only five games were won in two seasons. Missed the playoffs both times. But not only the sporting results left a lot to be desired, but also the number of spectators. Only 6,500 spectators wanted to watch the CityHawks games on average, almost 40% below the AFL average.
After the 1998 season, the franchise was relocated to Hartford and renamed New England Sea Wolves.
According to an online poll, the CityHawks have the least popular name in AFL history.
New England Sea Wolves (1999-2000)
The two seasons as Sea Wolves were also less successful. In 2000 they reached the playoffs, but failed in the wild card game against the Oklahoma Wranglers . After that season, the franchise was relocated again, this time to Toronto. The Canadian Football League (CFL) was not enthusiastic about the move. According to then league president Jeff Giles , the AFL initially announced that the AFL program would never harm the CFL or compete.
Toronto Phantoms (2001-2002)
The Toronto Phantoms marked a fruitless attempt to enter the Canadian market with the Arena Football League. The team, which was now part of Rogers Communications , played in the 2001 and 2002 seasons and was then disbanded. After all, the franchise was able to move into the quarterfinals of 2001 for the first time in its history, but was subject to the Nashville Kats there .
All home games were played at the Air Canada Center , home of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League , the Toronto Raptors , the National Basketball Association and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League . The biggest rivals were the Buffalo Destroyers .
The Toronto Phantoms logo shows a grim reaper with the word Toronto with the word Phantoms above it on his scythe. The name was derived from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Phantom of the Opera , which was performed at the Canon Theater in Toronto.
Season statistics
| year | team | league | S. | N | Playoffs reached | Playoff round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | New York City Hawks | AFL | 2 | 12 | No | |
| 1998 | New York City Hawks | AFL | 3 | 11 | No | |
| 1999 | New England Sea Wolves | AFL | 5 | 9 | No | |
| 2000 | New England Sea Wolves | AFL | 8th | 6th | Yes | N Wild Card Game vs. Oklahoma Wranglers 38:52 |
| 2001 | Toronto Phantoms | AFL | 8th | 6th | Yes | S Wild Card Game vs. New York Dragons 64:57
N quarterfinals vs. Nashville Kats 38:45 |
| 2002 | Toronto Phantoms | AFL | 5 | 9 | Yes | N quarterfinals vs. Orlando Predators 46:49 |
Audience development
| year | team | Audience average |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | New York City Hawks | 6,372 |
| 1998 | New York City Hawks | 6,662 |
| 1999 | New England Sea Wolves | 7,429 |
| 2000 | New England Sea Wolves | 6.128 |
| 2001 | Toronto Phantoms | 6,921 |
| 2002 | Toronto Phantoms | 6,974 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ 1997–1998 New York City Hawks - Fun While It Lasted. In: Fun While It Lasted. August 21, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2017 .
- ↑ Articles about New York Cityhawks - tribune digital-thecourant. Retrieved July 23, 2017 .
- ^ The 24 Worst Arena Football League Team Names . In: Ranker . ( ranker.com [accessed July 23, 2017]).
- ↑ Toronto is new haunt for AFL Phantoms . In: CBC News . ( cbc.ca [accessed July 23, 2017]).
- ↑ Toronto is new haunt for AFL Phantoms . In: CBC News . ( cbc.ca [accessed July 23, 2017]).
- ↑ Rodney McKissic: BENTLEY Resigns FROM THE DESTROYER. In: The Buffalo News. October 17, 2002, accessed July 23, 2017 .
- ↑ New York City Hawks Team History - 1997 | ArenaFan.com. Retrieved July 23, 2017 .
- ↑ AFL Arena Football History - Year By Year - 1997 | ArenaFan.com. Retrieved July 23, 2017 .