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Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks

{{Short description|World League of American Football team}}

{{unreferenced|section|date=November 2022}}

{{Infobox American football team

| name = Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks

| bgcolor = #981E32 | fontcolor = white

| helmet =

| logo = Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks.png

| league = World League of American Football (NFL Europe)

| founded = 1991

| closed = 1991

| field = Carter–Finley Stadium

| location = Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.

| colors = Red, Kelly Green, Black, White{{cite web |title=Team Colors – WLAF|url=http://www.ssur.org/research/TeamColors/Football_Outdoor/WorldLeagueOfAmericanFootball/WorldLeagueOfAmericanFootball.htm |work=SSUR.org |accessdate=January 17, 2010 }}
{{Color box|#981E32|border=darkgray}} {{Color box|#008542|border=darkgray}} {{Color box|#000000|border=darkgray}} {{Color box|#FFFFFF|border=darkgray}}

| mascot =

| coach =

| record = Regular Season: 0–10

}}

The Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks were an American football team headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina that played for one season in 1991 in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The name was inspired by the Wright brothers' flights on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The three jet-trails and three planes in flight, as well as the triangle design in the logo, represented the three points of the Research Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill). The team's cheerleaders were known as the "Kittyhawks."

The name was chosen by Raleigh citizens, the choices being the Skyhawks, Daredevils, or Rogues as published in the News and Observer. The Skyhawks' home field was N.C. State's Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Then-Charlotte Hornets owner George Shinn owned the franchise, and the head coach was former NFL player and N.C. State alumnus Roman Gabriel.

The team had a 0–10 record in the 1991 season and averaged 12,066 spectators per game due in part to the lack of beer sales, which were not allowed at (technically) on-campus Carter–Finley Stadium. During the 1991 season, the three Europe-based teams dominated the franchises in North America. In mid season, the Skyhawks came close to beating the Frankfurt Galaxy in Germany, but lost 30-28 to a team that was coached by Jack Elway and finished the season 7-3, considered by some as the league's second best. The Skyhawks folded after their lone season of 1991. To replace them for the 1992 season, the WLAF established a new franchise in Columbus, Ohio, naming it the Ohio Glory. After a two year hiatus, the league resumed in 1995 with new focus as NFL Europe.

The Skyhawks' lack of success did not sour the NFL on the whole state, as in 1995, Charlotte welcomed the expansion Carolina Panthers franchise. Professional sports would return to the Triangle area eight years later when the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL moved there from Greensboro, North Carolina to play ice hockey in their newly constructed arena.

Season-by-season

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:center; width:50em"
rowspan="2" | Season

! rowspan="2" | League

! colspan="5" | Regular season

! colspan="4" | Postseason

Won

! Lost

! Ties

! Win %

! Finish

! Won

! Lost

! Win %

! Result

1991

| WLAF

| 0

| 10

| 0

| .000

| 4th {{small|(North American East)}}

| –

| –

| —

| —

colspan="2" | Total

! 0

! 10

! 0

! .000

!

! –

! –

! —

!

Personnel

=Staff=

{{NFLE staff

|Year=1991

|Team=Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks

|BC1=#981E32

|FC1=white

|BDC1=#008542

|Front Office=

  • Owner – George Shinn
  • Vice President/Administration – Wayne Thompson
  • Director of Player Personnel – Ernie Driscoll

|Head Coaches=

|Offensive Coaches=

  • Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs – Johnnie Walton
  • Receivers/Special Teams – Jim Popp
  • Offensive Line – Buck Fowler

|Defensive Coaches=

|Strength and Conditioning=

}}

=Roster=

{{WLAF roster

|Year=1991

|Team=Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks

|BC1=#981E32

|FC1=white

|BDC1=#008542

|Quarterbacks=

{{NFLplayer|link=no|14|Mark Maye}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|11|Bobby McAllister}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no| 6|Joe Pizzo}}

|Running Backs=

{{NFLplayer|28|Sean Doctor}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|21|John Burch}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|30|Bren Lowery}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|20|Darryl McGill}}

|Wide Receivers=

{{NFLplayer|80|Marvin Hargrove}}

{{NFLplayer|84|Clarkston Hines}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|89|Andre Johnson}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|82|Clarence Seay}}

|Tight Ends=

{{NFLplayer|link=no|81|Joe Meerten}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|85|Kevin Sprinkles}}

|Offensive Linemen=

{{NFLplayer|link=no|64|Terry Gray|G}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|72|Kelly John-Lewis|T}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|60|Jason Kuipers|G}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|51|Wood Myers|T}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|68|Ruffin Rodrigue|G/T}}

{{NFLplayer|53|Paul Wulff|C}}

{{NFLplayer|76|Chuck Whelpley|G}}

|Defensive Linemen=

{{NFLplayer|link=no|73|David Ammons|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|97|Webbie Burnett|NT}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|94|Anthony Butts|NT}}

{{NFLplayer|75|Jon Carter|d=American football|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|95|Tony Gunn|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|77|Erwin Grabisna|DE}}

|Linebackers=

{{NFLplayer|link=no|52|Ezekial Gadson}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|61|Steve Glasson}}

{{NFLplayer|96|Troy Stedman}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|98|Rafe Wilkinson}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|59|Shawn Woodson}}

|Defensive Backs=

{{NFLplayer|link=no|24|Chris Barber|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|47|Ray Jackson|S}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|29|Gerald Mack|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|26|Pat McGuirk|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|23|Brian McPhatter|S}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|31|Peda Samuel|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|41|Richard Smith|S}}

|Special Teams=

{{NFLplayer|link=no| 7|Troy Faunce|P}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no| 3|Wilson Hoyle|K}}

|Operation Discovery=

{{NFLplayer|link=no|22 {{flagicon|NOR|size=12px}}|Nicolay Aslaksen|RB}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no| 1 {{flagicon|AUS|size=12px}}|Peter Bush|P}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|55 {{flagicon|URS|size=12px}}|Vladimir Gerogiev|LB}}

{{NFLplayer|link=no|92 {{flagicon|URS|size=12px}}|Oleg Sapego|DL}}

}}

Schedule

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks|year=1991|border=2}}"| Week

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks|year=1991|border=2}}"| Date

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks|year=1991|border=2}}"| Kickoff

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks|year=1991|border=2}}"| Opponent

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks|year=1991|border=2}}"| Result

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks|year=1991|border=2}}"| Record

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks|year=1991|border=2}}"| Venue

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks|year=1991|border=2}}"| Attendance

style="background:#fcc"

! 1

| {{dow tooltip|March 23, 1991}}

| 4:00 p.m.

| at Sacramento Surge

| L 3–9

| 0–1

| Hughes Stadium

| 15,126

style="background:#fcc"

! 2

| {{dow tooltip|March 30, 1991}}

| 8:00 p.m.

| at Orlando Thunder

| L 20–58

| 0–2

| Florida Citrus Bowl

| 20,811

style="background:#fcc"

! 3

| {{dow tooltip|April 6, 1991}}

| 8:00 p.m.

| Barcelona Dragons

| L 14–26

| 0–3

| Carter–Finley Stadium

| 17,900

style="background:#fcc"

! 4

| {{dow tooltip|April 15, 1991}}

| 8:00 p.m.

| San Antonio Riders

| L 15–37

| 0–4

| Carter–Finley Stadium

| 11,818

style="background:#fcc"

! 5

| {{dow tooltip|April 20, 1991}}

| 8:00 p.m.

| at Frankfurt Galaxy

| L 28–30

| 0–5

| Waldstadion

| 21,065

style="background:#fcc"

! 6

| April 28

| 6:00 p.m.

| at London Monarchs

| L 10–35

| 0–6

| Wembley Stadium

| 33,997

style="background:#fcc"

! 7

| May 5

| 1:00 p.m.

| New York/New Jersey Knights

| L 6–42

| 0–7

| Carter–Finley Stadium

| 10,069

style="background:#fcc"

! 8

| {{dow tooltip|May 13, 1991}}

| 8:00 p.m.

| at Montreal Machine

| L 6–15

| 0–8

| Olympic Stadium

| 20,123

style="background:#fcc"

! 9

| {{dow tooltip|May 20, 1991}}

| 8:00 p.m.

| Orlando Thunder

| L 14–20

| 0–9

| Carter–Finley Stadium

| 4,207

style="background:#fcc"

! 10

| {{dow tooltip|May 25, 1991}}

| 3:00 p.m.

| Birmingham Fire

| L 7–28

| 0–10

| Carter–Finley Stadium

| 16,335

{{cite book |title=The Official 1991 World League of American Football Media Guide}}

{{cite book |title=The Official 1992 World League Fact Book}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [http://www.footballdb.com/nfl-europe/teams/1991/raleigh-durham-skyhawks/results Team results @ the Football Database]

{{NFLE}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks}}

Category:Sports in Raleigh, North Carolina

Category:NFL Europe (WLAF) teams

Category:American football teams established in 1991

Category:American football teams disestablished in 1991

Category:Wright brothers

Category:Defunct American football teams in North Carolina

Category:1991 establishments in North Carolina

Category:1991 disestablishments in North Carolina