The Dallas Vigilantes were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Dallas, Texas. Like its AFL predecessor, the Dallas Desperados, the Vigilantes played at the American Airlines Center.[1] The Vigilantes and the Jacksonville Sharks began play in the 2010 season, the first after the league's restructuring. The franchise was owned by former Tampa Bay Storm owner Peter C. Kern[1][2] and was managed by Stephen Evans. Vigilantes games were broadcast on the radio on 1190 AM and television coverage was provided by Time Warner Cable Sports.
| Dallas Vigilantes | |
|---|---|
| Established 2009 Folded 2011 Played in American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas | |
 | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
Arena Football League (2010–2011)
| |
Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Black, cardinal, white |
| Mascot | Rascal the Raccoon |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | Peter “Woody” Kern, Bo Kern |
| Head coach | Clint Dolezel |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Playoff appearances (0) | |
| 1 2011 | |
| Home arena(s) | |
| |
History
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2019) |
The Vigilantes did not carry on the name of Dallas' previous AFL team, the Dallas Desperados, because of a unique ownership situation with the former team.[3] Although the new AFL owns the former AFL team assets (hence the Arizona Rattlers, Chicago Rush, Cleveland Gladiators, Orlando Predators, Tampa Bay Storm, and Utah Blaze names going over to the new AF1),[4] former Desperados owner Jerry Jones (who also owns the NFL's Dallas Cowboys) retained the team's branding rights after it folded.[2] Jones had based most of the Desperados branding on that of the Cowboys, including the colors, prominent use of a star in the logo, and a Cowboys "Double Star" logo on the front of the Desperados' jerseys, thus making the Cowboys and Desperados branding very difficult to separate. Not willing to risk such complicated legal action, and apparently unwilling to revive the Fort Worth Cavalry (another former AFL team that played in the region that coincidentally was owned by Kern), the Vigilantes chose a new name. The Vigilantes' original logo incorporated a skull and crossbones, the flag of Texas, a cowboy hat, and revolvers. The logo was stripped down for 2011, consisting of the skull and the cowboy hat from the original logo.
The Vigilantes were left off the schedule for the 2012 season without any announcement of either the team's suspension or cessation of operations, but have never been involved in any aspect of the Arena Football League subsequently and are considered to be defunct.
Season-by-season
editPlayers of note
editFinal roster
edit| Dallas Vigilantes roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Fullbacks Wide receivers |
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Kickers |
Injured Reserve
League suspension
| |||
Individual awards
edit| Receiver of the Year | |||
| Season | Player | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Tiger Jones | WR | |
All-Arena players
editThe following Vigilantes players were named to All-Arena Teams:
- FB Derrick Ross (1)
- WR Tiger Jones (1)
- OL Phil Bogle (1)
- DL Dusty Bear (1)
All-Ironman players
editThe following Vigilantes players were named to All-Ironman Teams:
- WR/KR King Franklin (1)
References
edit- ^ a b "Dallas Vigilantes to bring arena football, intimidating logo to AAC". Dallas Morning News. February 4, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
- ^ a b Crisp, Scott (January 7, 2010). "Arena Football Set For Return To Dallas". KXAS-TV. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ Wilonksy, Robert (February 4, 2010). "If Nothing Else, the AFL's Dallas Vigilantes Now Have the City's Most Interesting Logo". Unfair Park. Dallas Observer.
- ^ "Court approves sale of AFL assets to AF1". ArenaFan.com. December 8, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2009.