Orlando Thunder

Orlando Thunder
General information
Founded1991
Folded1992
HeadquarteredOrlando, Florida
ColorsLime Green, Royal Blue, Light Blue, Yellow, White[1]
         
League / conference affiliations
World League of American Football

The Orlando Thunder was a member of the World League of American Football from 1991 to 1992. The team played their games in the 70,000 seat Florida Citrus Bowl, and was coached by Don Matthews in 1991 and Galen Hall in 1992. The team's most visible point was their colors – the League wanted to develop new colors which hadn't been used for teams before, hence the vermilion and green that the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks wore, and the fluorescent green jerseys that the Thunder sported.

The team's general managers were Lee Corso and Dick Beam. In 1991 the team played to a 5–5 record, and in 1992 the team had an outstanding 8–2 record, and made it to the World Bowl II championship game before losing to the Sacramento Surge 21–17. The Thunder's attendance figures fell from over 19,000 per game in its first year to just over 16,000 per game in 1992. The team folded after the 1992 season with the rest of the WLAF's North American operations. The league would later use the team's name (but not its colors or history) for the Berlin Thunder.

Notable players include Kerwin Bell and Scott Mitchell, a left-handed quarterback who went on to play in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions and Dan Sileo, who went on to become a famous sports talk radio host.

In 2006, readers of ESPN's Uni Watch column voted the team's jersey 2nd worst football jersey of all time.[2]

Season-by-season

Season League Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
1991 WLAF 5 5 0 .500 2nd (North American East) – – — Out of playoffs.
1992 WLAF 8 2 0 .800 1st (North American East) 1 1 .500 Lost to Sacramento Surge in World Bowl '92
Total 13 7 0 .650 1 1 .500

1991 season

1991 Orlando Thunder season
General managerLee Corso & Dick Beam
Head coachDon Matthews
Home stadiumFlorida Citrus Bowl
Results
Record5–5
Division place2nd (North American East)
PlayoffsOut of playoffs
Pro BowlersN/A

Personnel

Staff

1991 Orlando Thunder staff
Front office
  • Majority Owner – Raj Bhathal
  • General Manager – Lee Corso
  • Director of Player Personnel – Jeff Beathard

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator – Dan Daniel
  • Defensive Line – Pete Catan

Strength and conditioning

Roster

1991 Orlando Thunder roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

  • 80 Dennis Smith
  • 85 Dewayne Harrison
 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

  • 72 Robert Presbury DE
  • 70 Winfred Bryant DE
  • 94 Charles Jackson NT
  • 91 Duane Duncum OLB/DE
 Linebackers
  • 57 Wayne Davis ILB
  • 55 Matt Devine ILB
  • 56 Wayne Dickson OLB
  • 95 Willie Walker OLB
  • 58 Greg Carpenter MLB

Defensive backs

Special teams

Operation Discovery
  • 94 Helmut Joder DE
  • 82 Steffen Nagurski WR
  • 53 Dirk Reessing LB


Rookies in italics

Results

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Source
1 March 25 San Antonio Riders W 35–34 1–0 Florida Citrus Bowl 21,714 [3]
2 March 30 Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks W 58–20 2–0 Florida Citrus Bowl 20,811 [4]
3 April 6 at London Monarchs L 12–35 2–1 Wembley Stadium 35,327 [5]
4 April 14 at Barcelona Dragons L 13–33 2–2 Montjuic Stadium 40,875 [6]
5 April 21 Birmingham Fire L 6–31 2–3 Florida Citrus Bowl 21,249 [7]
6 April 27 at New York/New Jersey Knights L 6–42 2–4 Giants Stadium 30,046 [8]
7 May 4 Frankfurt Galaxy L 14–17 2–5 Florida Citrus Bowl 11,270 [9]
8 May 11 Sacramento Surge W 45–33 3–5 Florida Citrus Bowl 20,048 [10]
9 May 20 at Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks W 20–14 4–5 Carter–Finley Stadium 4,207 [11]
10 May 27 at Montreal Machine W 33–27 OT 5–5 Olympic Stadium 23,493 [12]

1992 season

1992 Orlando Thunder season
General managerLee Corso & Dick Beam
Head coachGalen Hall
Home stadiumFlorida Citrus Bowl
Results
Record8–2
Division place2nd (North American East)
Playoffs1–1 (.500), Lost to Sacramento Surge in World Bowl '92
Pro BowlersN/A

Personnel

Staff

1992 Orlando Thunder staff
Front office
  • Majority Owner – Raj Bhathal
  • Chief Operating Officer/General Manager – Dick Beam
  • Director of Player Personnel – Pete Levine
  • Director of Public Relations – John Giantonio

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches


Roster

1992 Orlando Thunder roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

  • 89 Michael Titley

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Operation Discovery

Rookies in italics

Results

Week Date Opponent Results Game site Attendance Source
Final score Team record
1 March 22 Ohio Glory W 13–9 1–0 Florida Citrus Bowl 10,622 [13]
2 March 28 at Montreal Machine L 29–31 1–1 Olympic Stadium 36,022 [14]
3 April 5 at Ohio Glory W 28–3 2–1 Ohio Stadium 31,232 [15]
4 April 12 New York/New Jersey Knights W 39–21 3–1 Florida Citrus Bowl 31,191 [16]
5 April 19 Montreal Machine W 16–8 4–1 Florida Citrus Bowl 8,310 [17]
6 April 25 at Frankfurt Galaxy W 38–0 5–1 Waldstadion 38,104 [18]
7 May 3 at San Antonio Riders W 39–21 6–1 Bobcat Stadium 12,555 [19]
8 May 9 London Monarchs W 9–0 7–1 Florida Citrus Bowl 20,268 [20]
9 May 17 at Birmingham Fire L 23–24 7–2 Legion Field 15,186 [21]
10 May 23 Barcelona Dragons W 13–10 8–2 Florida Citrus Bowl 12,223 [22]
Postseason
Semifinal May 30 Birmingham Fire W 45–7 9–2 Florida Citrus Bowl 28,746 [23]
World Bowl June 6 vs. Sacramento Surge L 17–21 9–3 Olympic Stadium 43,759 [24]

References

  1. ^ "Team Colors – WLAF". SSUR.org. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
  2. ^ "ESPN.com: Page 2 : The ugliest ducklings in sports". www.espn.com.
  3. ^ Banks, Don (March 26, 1991). "Thunder has lightning start in winning WLAF opener". St. Petersburg Times. p. 5C. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Fay, Bill (March 31, 1991). "Bell, Thunder bolt by Skyhawks 58–20". The Tampa Tribune. p. S-13. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Duncan, John (April 7, 1991). "More glory on the grid". The Observer. p. 47. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Undefeated Barcelona rolls". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. April 15, 1991. p. 3C. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Diaz, George (April 22, 1991). "Thunder's blunders let Fire rage out of control". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 1C. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Menscher, Scott (April 28, 1991). "Knights all alone at the top". The Herald Statesman. p. 43A. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Kernan, Sean (May 5, 1991). "Late collapse by Thunder opens the door for Galaxy". The News-Journal. p. 6C. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Hayes, Matt (May 12, 1991). "Thunder finds its feet in defeat of Surge". The Florida Times-Union. p. D-11. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Huffman, Dane (May 21, 1991). "Skyhawks give tough effort in loss". The News and Observer. p. C1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Thunder, Machine make most of final game". The Standard. May 28, 1991. p. 22. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Hornack, Ken (March 23, 1992). "Thunder ruins Lary Little's coaching debut in WLAF". The News-Journal. p. C1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ MacDonald, Ian (March 29, 1992). "Nittmo kick thrills 36,022 fans". The Gazette. p. C1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Ohio Glory remains winless". Sidney Daily News. Associated Press. April 6, 1992. p. 4B. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Greene, Jerry (April 13, 1992). "Thunder strike at Knights' QBs". The Orlando Sentinel. p. C1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Woods, Mark (April 20, 1992). "Thunder sack Machine 16–8". Florida Today. p. 6C. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Johnson, Thunder tackle Galaxy 38–0". Florida Today. April 26, 1992. p. C1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Thunder capitalize against Riders 39–21". The Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. May 4, 1992. p. 8C. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Diaz, George (May 10, 1992). "Thunder roll past plunging Monarchs, 9–0". The Orlando Sentinel. p. C1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Tutor, Phillip (May 18, 1992). "Weird and wild for Fire". The Anniston Star. p. 1B. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Hornack, Ken (May 24, 1992). "Bennett comes through in clutch, helps Thinder win season finale". The News-Journal. p. 3D. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Sims, Neal (May 31, 1992). "Thunder rolls, and Fire's out". The Birmingham News. p. B1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ MacDonald, Ian (June 7, 1992). "Sacramento surges to World Bowl". The Gazette. p. C1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
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