The Los Angeles Wildcats (LA Wildcats) was a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and was an owned-and-operated member of the second XFL. The Wildcats played their home games at Dignity Health Sports Park. On March 8, 2020, the Wildcats played their final game against the Tampa Bay Vipers, which was the final XFL game before the league suspended operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Los Angeles Wildcats | |
|---|---|
 Current season | |
| Established 2018 Folded 2020 (2022 Officially) | |
 | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
| XFL | |
Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Black, red, light orange[1] |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | Alpha Entertainment, LLC |
| President | Heather Brooks Karatz |
| Head coach | Winston Moss |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Home stadium(s) | |
| Dignity Health Sports Park Carson, California | |
History
editOn December 5, 2018, Los Angeles was announced as one of eight cities that would join the newly reformed XFL, as well as Seattle, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Dallas.[2] On May 7, 2019, Winston Moss was announced as the team's head coach.[3] On August 21, 2019, the team revealed its name, logos, and identity as the Los Angeles Wildcats, alongside the rest of the XFL teams.[4] A secondary logo was released August 24.
On October 15, 2019, the Wildcats announced their first player in team history, being assigned former Birmingham Iron Quarterback Luis Perez, who was later traded to the New York Guardians.[5]
On February 8, 2020, the team played its first game losing to the Houston Roughnecks 37–17 in Houston.[6] Chad Kanoff scored the first touchdown in franchise history with a scramble left for a five-yard score.[7] On February 23, 2020, the Wildcats earned their first win in franchise history, defeating the DC Defenders 39–9.[8] On March 8, 2020, the Wildcats came from behind to win against the Tampa Bay Vipers 41–34 in what was the final game of the 2020 iteration of the XFL. On March 12, 2020, The XFL announced that the remainder of the 2020 XFL season had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished with a 2–3 record. On April 10, 2020, the XFL suspended operations, with all of the league's employees, players, and staff terminated.[9]
On July 24, 2022, the XFL announced its reactivation for the 2023 season, and confirmed that the Wildcats would not return for that season. On October 31, 2022, the league announced that the Wildcats' place in the league was taken by the San Antonio Brahmas.
Final Roster
edit| Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
| ||||||
Staff
edit
|
| |||||
Player History
editCurrent NFL Players
edit| XFL Season | Pos | Name | NFL Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | OT | Storm Norton | Atlanta Falcons |
| 2020 | QB | Josh Johnson | Baltimore Ravens |
Notable Players
edit| XFL Season | Pos | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | RB | DuJuan Harris | Former Green Bay Packers Running Back |
| 2020 | P | Colton Schmidt | Former Buffalo Bills Punter |
| 2020 | K | Nick Novak | Former San Diego Chargers Kicker |
Coach History
editHead Coach history
edit| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| Los Angeles Wildcats | ||||||||||
| 1 | Winston Moss | 2020 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | - | - | - | |
Offensive Coordinator history
edit| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| Los Angeles Wildcats | ||||||||||
| 1 | Norm Chow | 2020 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | - | - | - | |
Defensive Coordinator history
edit| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | Win % | GC | W | L | ||||
| Los Angeles Wildcats | ||||||||||
| 1 | Pepper Johnson | 2020 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | - | - | - | |
| 2 | Winston Moss | 2020 | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | - | - | - | |
Rivalries
editOverall Regular Season Record vs. Opponents
edit| Team | Record | Win % |
|---|---|---|
| Vegas Vipers | 1-0 | 1.000 |
| DC Defenders | 1-0 | 1.000 |
| Houston Roughnecks | 0-1 | .000 |
| Orlando Guardians | 0-1 | .000 |
| Arlington Renegades | 0-1 | .000 |
| Seattle Sea Dragons | 0-0 | N/A |
| St. Louis Battlehawks | 0-0 | N/A |
Records
edit| All-time WIldcats leaders | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leader | Player | Record | Years with Wildcats | |
| Passing Yards | Josh Johnson | 1,092 passing yards | 2020 | |
| Passing Touchdowns | Josh Johnson | 11 passing touchdowns | 2020 | |
| Rushing Yards | Elijah Hood | 78 rushing yards | 2020 | |
| Rushing Touchdowns | Martez Carter | 2 rushing touchdowns | 2020 | |
| Receiving Yards | Nelson Spruce | 267 receiving yards | 2020 | |
| Receiving Touchdowns | Tre McBride | 4 receiving touchdowns | 2020 | |
| Receptions | Nelson Spruce | 20 receptions | 2020 | |
| Tackles | Ahmad Dixon | 45 tackles | 2020 | |
| Sacks | Cedric Reed | 3.0 sacks | 2020 | |
| Interceptions | Mike Stevens | 2 Interceptions
2 Interceptions |
2020
2020 | |
| Coaching wins | Winston Moss | 2 wins | 2020 | |
Market overview
editLos Angeles is one of two cities to have also hosted a team in the original XFL, the other being New York/New Jersey; the Los Angeles Xtreme was the champion of the earlier XFL in the league's only season. (A third broader megalopolis, Central Florida, has also hosted teams in both the 2001 and 2020 incarnations of the league.)
As television networks have traditionally required alternative leagues to field teams in New York and Los Angeles to secure television coverage without brokering the airtime,[10][11] Southern California has a long history of alternative professional teams. In addition to the Xtreme, the city has hosted: the Los Angeles Avengers, LA KISS, Anaheim Piranhas and Los Angeles Cobras in the Arena Football League; the Los Angeles Express in the USFL; the Southern California Sun in the World Football League; the Orange County Ramblers and short-lived Long Beach Admirals in the Continental Football League; and numerous teams in the Pacific Coast Professional Football League in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Wildcats were in one of the most heavily crowded sports markets in the United States, competing for sports dollars against two NFL teams (Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers), two NHL teams (Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks), two NBA teams (Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers), multiple NCAA Division I college basketball and college football programs, and in March and April, both the LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC in MLS and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels in the MLB
References
edit- ^ "Los Angeles Wildcats' uniforms, helmet". XFL.com (Press release). December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- ^ Noto, Anthony (December 5, 2018). "XFL picks Houston as an inaugural city, announces stadiums". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- ^ Markazi, Arash (May 7, 2019). "Winston Moss, who played for L.A. Raiders, to be named coach and GM of L.A.'s XFL team". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- ^ The XFL team name and logo reveal, retrieved 2019-08-21
- ^ Florio, Mike (2019-10-15). "XFL announces its eight allocated quarterbacks". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- ^ "Los Angeles Wildcats fall to Houston Roughnecks in XFL opener". Los Angeles Times. 2020-02-09. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ "XFL Live Stats". stats.xfl.com. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
- ^ "Wildcats roll to first win in upset over Defenders, 39-9". NFL.com. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ Seifert/Yates, Kevin/Field (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, lays off employees and has no plans for 2021 season". www.ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
- ^ These failings aside, Byrne's observations on the league's extraordinary capacity for self-destruction are right on target. He painstakingly details the myriad problems: the overly restrictive TV contract with ABC in which the USFL was left powerless(...)
- ^ Taube was the first USFL owner to notice the rather stringent clauses in the league's television contract with ABC, and fought hard over the league's three years to get them renegotiated.