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| Date | August 1, 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Arena | Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Gary Mullen, WR/DB, Denver
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| Attendance | 13,232 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Winning coach | Tim Marcum | ||||||||||||||||||
| Losing coach | Joe Haering | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Bob Rathbun, Lee Corso | ||||||||||||||||||
Arena Bowl '87 (or Arena Bowl I) was the Arena Football League's first Championship Game. It was played on August 1, 1987, at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the game, the #2 Denver Dynamite defeated the #1 Pittsburgh Gladiators by a score of 45–16.
Coming into the game, with both teams finishing their seasons at 4–2, the Gladiators hosted the ArenaBowl due to their high attendance during the regular season.[1] During the regular season the team split their games, with the Gladiators winning in Denver 49–32, but lost at home by a score of 32–31.[2]
The first half of ArenaBowl I was not a competitive game, as the Dynamite came out leading at the half by a score of 18–0. The Dynamite scored the first 32 points and shut out the Gladiators for 3 quarters before Gladiators quarterback Mike Hohensee found Russell Hairston on an 11-yard pass. The Dynamite were paced on offense by wide receiver Gary Mullen, who had nine receptions for 123 yards and 3 touchdowns, earning him MVP honors.
- ^ "Gladiators get ArenaBowl I". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. July 25, 1987. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
- ^ Gary Tuma (July 27, 1987). "Ready or not, here come ArenaBowl I". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 14, 2014.