San Jose SaberCats
San Jose SaberCats 
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| City: | San Jose , California | ||
| Founded: | 1994 | ||
| League (): | AFL (1995-2008, 2011-2015) | ||
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| Greatest successes | |||
| AFL : 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 | Playoff participations | ||
| AFL : 2002, 2004, 2007, 2015 | League champions | ||
| Stadion | |||
| Surname: |
SAP Center (1995–2008, 2011–2015) |
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| Address: | 525 West Santa Clara Street, San Jose, California | ||
| Capacity: | 17,562 | ||
| Data status | |||
| 28th July 2017 | |||
The San Jose SaberCats were an arena football team in the Arena Football League from San José, California , who played their home games at the SAP Center .
history
The SaberCats were founded in 1994 by the three businessmen David Frey, Ramune Ambrozaitis and their husband John Fry. They paid just $ 750,000 for the franchise instead of the usual $ 1.25 million.
San Jose was one of the most successful franchises in AFL history. They were able to reach the playoffs 16 times and won the ArenaBowl four times . The SaberCats lost the first game in their franchise history on May 12, 1995 37:43 against the Arizona Rattlers at home in front of 15,105 spectators.
After the AFL paused for a year after the 2008 season and started again in 2010, the SaberCats only decided to start again for the 2011 season.
In the next three seasons, the audience numbers went down a bit, although 2015 was the last time ArenaBowl Champion was won.
After the 2015 season, the AFL surprisingly announced the dissolution of the SaberCats. They had only announced new additions for the upcoming season in the past few weeks. No official statement was made on their official homepage either.
Season statistics
| year | team | league | S. | N | Playoffs reached | Playoff round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 8th | 4th | Yes | N quarterfinals vs. Orlando Predators 37:55 |
| 1996 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 6th | 8th | No | |
| 1997 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 8th | 6th | Yes | N quarterfinals vs. Iowa Barnstormers 59:68 |
| 1998 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 7th | 7th | Yes | N quarterfinals vs. Tampa Bay Storm 46:65 |
| 1999 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 6th | 8th | No | |
| 2000 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 12 | 2 | Yes | S quarterfinals vs. Oklahoma Wranglers 63:40 N semifinals vs. Nashville Kats 42:51 |
| 2001 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 10 | 4th | Yes | S quarterfinals vs. Arizona Rattlers 68:49 N semifinals vs. Nashville Kats 47:71 |
| 2002 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 13 | 1 | Yes | S quarter-finals vs. Tampa Bay Storm 66:41 S semi-finals vs. Orlando Predators 52:40 S ArenaBowl XVI vs. Arizona Rattlers 52:14 |
| 2003 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 12 | 4th | Yes | S quarterfinals vs. Georgia Force 69:48 N semifinals vs. Arizona Rattlers 49:66 |
| 2004 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 11 | 5 | Yes | S quarterfinals vs. Tampa Bay Storm 56:52 S semifinals vs. Chicago Rush 49:35 S ArenaBowl XVIII vs. Arizona Rattlers 69:62 |
| 2005 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 9 | 7th | Yes | N quarterfinals vs. Colorado Crush 48:56 |
| 2006 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 10 | 6th | Yes | S quarterfinals vs. Arizona Rattlers 62:48 N semifinals vs. Chicago Rush 56:59 |
| 2007 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 13 | 3 | Yes | S quarterfinals vs. Colorado Crush 76:67 S semifinals vs. Chicago Rush 61:49 S ArenaBowl XXI vs. Columbus Destroyers 55:33 |
| 2008 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 11 | 5 | Yes | S quarter-finals vs. Colorado Crush 64:51 S semi-finals vs. Grand Rapids Rampage 81:55 N ArenaBowl vs. Philadelphia Soul 56:59 |
| 2009 | AFL suspended game operations that year | |||||
| 2010 | SaberCats stopped playing | |||||
| 2011 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 7th | 11 | No | |
| 2012 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 12 | 6th | Yes | N quarterfinals vs. Arizona Rattlers 48:51 |
| 2013 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 13 | 5 | Yes | N quarterfinals vs. Arizona Rattlers 49:59 |
| 2014 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 13 | 5 | Yes | S quarterfinals vs. Spokane Shock 55:28 N semifinals vs. Arizona Rattlers 56:72 |
| 2015 | San Jose SaberCats | AFL | 17th | 1 | Yes | S quarter-finals vs. Portland Thunder 55:28 S semi-finals vs. Arizona Rattlers 70:67 S ArenaBowl XXVIII vs. Jacksonville Sharks 68:47 |
Audience development
| year | team | Audience average |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | San Jose SaberCats | 14,108 |
| 1996 | San Jose SaberCats | 15,182 |
| 1997 | San Jose SaberCats | 14,581 |
| 1998 | San Jose SaberCats | 14,401 |
| 1999 | San Jose SaberCats | 14,035 |
| 2000 | San Jose SaberCats | 13,648 |
| 2001 | San Jose SaberCats | 14,102 |
| 2002 | San Jose SaberCats | 13,498 |
| 2003 | San Jose SaberCats | 15,532 |
| 2004 | San Jose SaberCats | 13,138 |
| 2005 | San Jose SaberCats | 13,719 |
| 2006 | San Jose SaberCats | 12,891 |
| 2007 | San Jose SaberCats | 13,278 |
| 2008 | San Jose SaberCats | 12,998 |
| 2009 | Game operations in AFL suspended | |
| 2010 | SaberCats stopped playing | |
| 2011 | San Jose SaberCats | 9,440 |
| 2012 | San Jose SaberCats | 10.126 |
| 2013 | San Jose SaberCats | 9.096 |
| 2014 | San Jose SaberCats | 8,483 |
| 2015 | San Jose SaberCats | 8,814 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sports shorts. Retrieved July 28, 2017 .
- ^ San Jose SaberCats Team History - 1995 | ArenaFan.com. Retrieved July 28, 2017 .
- ^ San Jose Saber Cats are back in business. In: The Mercury News. June 16, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2017 .
- ^ David Barclay: San Jose SaberCats Owners Call It Quits Due to AFL Dysfunction. December 9, 2015, accessed July 28, 2017 .
- ^ San Jose SaberCats Team History - 1995 | ArenaFan.com. Retrieved July 28, 2017 .
- ↑ AFL Arena Football History - Year By Year - 2011. ArenaFan.com, accessed July 17, 2017 .