New York/New Jersey Hitmen

New York/New Jersey Hitmen

Founded	1999
Folded	2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Based in	East Rutherford, New Jersey
Home stadium	Giants Stadium
Head coach	Rusty Tillman
General manager	Drew Pearson
Owner(s)	World Wrestling Federation
League	XFL
Division	Eastern
Colors	Royal blue, silver, black^[1]

The New York/New Jersey Hitmen were an American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Hitmen were the members of the Eastern Division of the XFL. The team played their home games in Giants Stadium of the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

History

The team's general manager was former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, and New Jersey native, Drew Pearson.

The Hitmen were part of the Eastern Division with the Birmingham Thunderbolts, Orlando Rage and Chicago Enforcers. They finished in 3rd place with a 4-6 record. The head coach was former NFL assistant Rusty Tillman, who was not a fan of the league's gimmicks or personalities – specifically commentator Jesse Ventura, who called him "Gutless Rusty" on a regular basis, as he felt that Tillman's coaching style was too timid. Tillman, ever the professional, brushed off the jabs by Ventura and refused to respond. In the end, Ventura's attempts to goad him failed.

The Hitmen were one of the teams to play in the XFL's inaugural game. Tens of millions of viewers watched the Hitmen, who displayed a stunning lack of competence against the Las Vegas Outlaws in the contest (including a particularly ugly missed field goal and numerous miscues from starting quarterback and New York native Charles Puleri), lose 19–0. The Hitmen's poor performance in that game was a major factor in fan backlash against the league in the weeks that followed and a prime example of the league's failure to live up to expectations; the team benched Puleri in favor of Wally Richardson by Week 3 in hopes of salvaging the season.

The Hitmen's average attendance of roughly 28,000 fans per game was second-highest in the league, behind only the San Francisco Demons.

Revival

In December 2018, a revival of the XFL announced its intent to return to East Rutherford. The new team was named the New York Guardians.

Season

Season records
Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
2001	4	6	0	3rd Eastern	--

Schedule

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue
1	February 3	at Las Vegas Outlaws	L 0–19	0–1	Sam Boyd Stadium
2	February 11	Birmingham Thunderbolts	L 12–19	0–2	Giants Stadium
3	February 18	Orlando Rage	L 12–18	0–3	Giants Stadium
4	February 24	at Chicago Enforcers	W 13–0	1–3	Soldier Field
5	March 3	Los Angeles Xtreme	L 7–22	1–4	Giants Stadium
6	March 11	at San Francisco Demons	W 20–12	2–4	Pacific Bell Park
7	March 17	Memphis Maniax	W 16–15	3–4	Giants Stadium
8	March 25	at Orlando Rage	L 12–17	3–5	Florida Citrus Bowl
9	March 31	Chicago Enforcers	L 18–23	3–6	Giants Stadium
10	April 8	at Birmingham Thunderbolts	W 22–0	4–6	Legion Field

Standings

Eastern Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Orlando Rage	8	2	0	.800	207	162	L1
Chicago Enforcers	5	5	0	.500	163	178	W1
New York/New Jersey Hitmen	4	6	0	.400	110	145	W1
Birmingham Thunderbolts	2	8	0	.200	131	217	L7

^[2]

Roster

**2001 New York/New Jersey Hitmen final roster**

	Quarterbacks 7 Charles Puleri 14 Wally Richardson Running backs 28 Mike Archie 38 Joe Aska 27 Michael Blair 24 Dino Philyaw Wide receivers 85 Kirby Dar Dar 80 Zola Davis 29 Anthony DiCosmo Tight ends 88 Ryan Collins 87 Marcus Hinton 86 Bob Rosenstiel		Offensive linemen 62 Ben Cavil G 51 Eric Cole C -- Harvey Goins -- Robert Hunt C 77 Curtis McGee T 61 Juan Porter G 64 Troy Stark G Defensive linemen 92 James Cotton DE 78 Christian Maumalanga DT 92 Israel Raybon DE 95 Dwayne Sabb DE 70 Henry Slay DT		Linebackers 99 Vernon Crawford 52 Haven Fields 67 Ben Hanks 57 Ron Merkerson 60 Bernard Russ Defensive backs 31 Butler By'not'e 21 Donnie Caldwell 26 Joey Eloms 35 Tyree Talton 34 Mark Tate 30 Brad Trout 17 Damen Wheeler Special teams 2 Leo Araguz K/P		Reserve lists 22 Keith Elias FB Practice squad 90 Tim Beauchamp DE 1 Chris Brantley WR 81 Fred Brock WR 91 Lamont Bryant DE 50 David Camacho OT 11 Corte McGuffey QB 46 Tawambi Settles DB 66 Greg Vettorino G/C Rookies in italics , 7 practice squad

Team leaders

Rushing yards: 328, Joe Aska.

Receiving yards: 404, Kirby Dar Dar.

Passing yards: 804, Wally Richardson.

Staff

2001 New York/New Jersey Hitmen staff

Front office

Vice president/general manager – Drew Pearson
Director of operations – Joe Mack
Director of player personnel – David Catapano

Head coaches

Head coach – Rusty Tillman

Offensive coaches

Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Greg Briner
Running backs – Joe Lombardi
Tight ends/offensive line – Edwin Bailey

Defensive coaches

Defensive coordinator – David Catapano
Defensive line – Bill Urbanik
Linebackers – Tony Mottola
Secondary – Mike Dietzel

Special teams

Special teams coordinator – Paul Butcher
Head athletic trainer – Keith Abrams

^[3]

References

^ "New York/New Jersey Hitmen Logo Sheet". SSUR.org. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
^ "XFL Standings". USA Today. May 12, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
^ 2001 New York/New Jersey Hitman Media Guide. XFL. pp. 3–11.

XFL (2001)

Eastern Division

Teams	Birmingham Thunderbolts Chicago Enforcers New York/New Jersey Hitmen Orlando Rage
Head coaches	Gerry DiNardo Ron Meyer Rusty Tillman Galen Hall
Stadiums	Legion Field Soldier Field Giants Stadium Citrus Bowl

Western Division

Teams	Las Vegas Outlaws Los Angeles Xtreme Memphis Maniax San Francisco Demons
Head coaches	Jim Criner Al Luginbill Kippy Brown Jim Skipper
Stadiums	Sam Boyd Stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Pacific Bell Park

This page was last edited on 31 January 2024, at 05:06

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