| Fort Wayne Fusion | |
|---|---|
| Established 2006 Folded 2007 Played in Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana | |
 | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
af2 (2007)
| |
Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Burnt orange, regal purple, pearl white |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | af2 |
| General manager | Mike McCaffrey |
| Head coach | Eddie Brown |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Home arena(s) | |
The Fort Wayne Fusion was a 2007 af2 (Arena Football League's minor league) expansion team in the Midwest Division of the American Conference. They played their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which was the former home of the defunct National Indoor Football League/United Indoor Football franchise, the Fort Wayne Freedom.
After only one year of existence, the Fusion folded and a new version of the Fort Wayne Freedom was formed for the Continental Indoor Football League.
History
The franchise was announced in November, 2006 as an expansion team of the af2. Jeremy Golden was announced as the team's owner and general manager, and secured a lease with Allen County War Memorial Coliseum for home games.[1] The team also announced that Arena Football League legend, Eddie Brown, would be the team first head coach.[1] In January, the team named Mike McCaffrey as the team's General Manager to handle day-to-day operations for the Fusion.[2] In February, the team announced the team colors would be Burnt Orange, Regal Purple and Pearl White.[3] With the team struggling to find a quarterback through their exhibition games, the Fusion traded for Cody Hodges of the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz.[4] The Fusion played their first game in the af2 on March 31, 2007 against the Green Bay Blizzard, who were the then-defending American Conference champions.[5] In July, 2007, the news surfaced that Owner Jeremy Golden had been removed as the owner of the Fusion by af2 Commissioner, Jerry Kurz.[6] The Fusion finished the season 5-11,[7] but with the loss of Golden during the season, the Fusion playing again in 2008 was very remote.[8] In October, the city learned that Kurz had determined that the Fusion would not return in 2008.[9]
2007 Schedule
The Fort Wayne Fusion's schedule for the 2007 season is as follows: (Home Games in bold)
| Date | Opponent | Time (Eastern) | Location | Result | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, March 31, 2007 | vs. Green Bay Blizzard | 7:00 PM | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | W (36-28) | 1-0 | |
| Saturday, April 7, 2007 | @ Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings | 8:00 PM | CenturyTel Center | L (52-67) | 1-1 | |
| Sunday, April 15, 2007 | vs. Spokane Shock | 4:00 PM | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | W (63-56) | 2-1 | |
| Saturday, April 21, 2007 | @ Manchester Wolves | 7:05 PM | Verizon Wireless Arena | L (41-54) | 2-2 | |
| Saturday, April 28, 2007 | vs. Albany Conquest | 7:00 PM | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | L (21-35) | 2-3 | |
| Saturday, May 5, 2007 | @ Cincinnati Jungle Kats | 7:30 PM | U.S. Bank Arena | L (32-35) | 2-4 | |
| Friday, May 11, 2007 | vs. Louisville Fire | 7:30 PM | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | L (42-48) | 2-5 | |
| Saturday, May 19, 2007 | BYE WEEK | |||||
| Saturday, May 26, 2007 | vs. Tennessee Valley Vipers | 7:00 PM | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | W (56-33) | 3-5 | |
| Saturday, June 2, 2007 | @ Albany Conquest | 4:00 PM | Times Union Center | L (33-77) | 3-6 | |
| Friday, June 8, 2007 | vs. Quad City Steamwheelers | 7:30 PM | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | L (47-64) | 3-7 | |
| Saturday, June 16, 2007 | @ Louisville Fire | 7:00 PM | Freedom Hall | W (52-34) | 4-7 | |
| Friday, June 22, 2007 | @ Green Bay Blizzard | 8:30 PM | Resch Center | L (28-54) | 4-8 | |
| Saturday, June 30, 2007 | vs. Cincinnati Jungle Kats | 7:00 PM | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | W (47-25) | 5-8 | |
| Saturday, July 7, 2007 | vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers | 7:00 PM | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | L (47-48) | 5-9 | |
| Saturday, July 14, 2007 | @ Tennessee Valley Vipers | 8:30 PM | Von Braun Center | L (48-61) | 5-10 | |
| Saturday, July 21, 2007 | BYE WEEK | |||||
| Thursday, July 26, 2007 | @ Quad City Steamwheelers | 8:30 PM | iWireless Center | L (55-56) | 5-11 |
Season-by-season
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 4th AC Midwest | -- |
Final roster
| Fort Wayne Fusion roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Fullbacks
Wide receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Injured reserve
rookies in italics | |||
Coaches of note
Head coaches
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2007 af2 season.
| Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
| Eddie Brown | 2007 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 0 | 0 | |
Coaching staff
| Fort Wayne Fusion staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coach
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
| |||||
See also
References
- ^ a b "Fusion select Select-A-Seat Night". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. December 10, 2006. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
- ^ "Fort Wayne Fusion name McCaffrey GM". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. January 11, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
- ^ "Fort Wayne Fusion unveil new logos". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. February 20, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
- ^ "Fusion Trades for QB". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. March 26, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
- ^ "The Fusion Gets It Done!!". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. March 31, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
- ^ Stacy Clardie (July 18, 2007). "af2 cuts tie with Fusion lead owner". www.journalgazette.net. Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
- ^ Stay Clardie (July 27, 2007). "Fusion loss caps wild year". www.journalgazette.net. Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
- ^ Stacy Clardie (August 24, 2007). "City arena football future is still clouded in mystery". www.journalgazette.net. Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
- ^ Stacy Clardie (October 5, 2007). "Death knell for Fort Wayne Fusion?". www.journalgazette.net. Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
- ^ "Fusion partners with Summit City Radio Group". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. February 21, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
External links
- Official af2 Website Archived 2004-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
- Fort Wayne Fusion Official Stats at TheStatGuys.com[permanent dead link]
- Fort Wayne Fusion Website
- Fort Wayne Fusion at ArenaFan.com
This page was last edited on 10 April 2023, at 09:38