The Washington Commandos were an

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

team based in

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

. The Commandos were founded in 1987 and were an inaugural member of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL), and were based in

Landover, Maryland Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 25,998. Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the so ...

. After not playing during the 1988 season, the team returned for the 1989 season as the Maryland Commandos. Following the 1989 season, the Commandos moved to

, where they once again became known as the Washington Commandos. The team never achieved much success at either of its locations, winning four games in three seasons, including a winless 1989 season.

History

Inaugural season (1987)

The Commandos had the honor of playing in the first AFL regular season game on June 19, 1987, losing to the Pittsburgh Gladiators 48–46 at the Civic Arena. The Commandos picked up their first win in franchise history the following week, when they defeated the Denver Dynamite, by a score of 36–20 in their home opener. The Commandos finished the season with a 2–4 record, a disappointment, but the team was in every game except one, losing three games by a total of six points.

Move to Maryland (1989)

After a one-year hiatus, the Commandos returned to play in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

and operated as the "Maryland Commandos", playing their only home game that year at the same venue as in 1987, Landover's Capital Centre. The team went 0–4 in the abbreviated 'travelin' season of 1989. The Commandos coaching staff consisted of Ray Willsey,

Mike Hohensee Michael Louis Hohensee (born February 22, 1961) is a former professional football quarterback who played in the United States Football League, Canadian Football League, National Football League and Arena Football League. He most recently the hea ...

, Mike Dailey, and

Jerry Kurz Jerry B. Kurz (born June 21, 1949) is a founding father of the now-defunct Arena Football League. He was one of the earliest leaders of Arena football, and was part owner of Gridiron Enterprises, original owner of the proprietary, formerly patent ...

. Hohensee, Dailey, and Kurz would all become members of the

Arena Football Hall of Fame The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the official Hall of Fame of the Arena Football League (AFL). The inaugural class was announced in 1998 and the Hall was not formally organized until 2011. Prior to 2011, there were four classes: 1998–200 ...

Return to Virginia (1990)

The team returned to the Washington name for their final season in 1990. They were coached by Hohensee, who had been promoted from his assistant position. The Commandos started the season 0–3. In 1987 and 1989, the team played its home games at the Capital Centre (later known as USAir Arena) in

. For the 1990 season, the team was based at the

Patriot Center EagleBank Arena (originally the Patriot Center) is a 10,000-seat arena in the eastern United States, on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington, D.C. Opened in 1985, it is the home of Patr ...

on the campus of George Mason University in

Return of the AFL in Washington

In 1999,

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

owner

Daniel Snyder Daniel Marc Snyder (born November 23, 1964) is an American businessman and owner of the Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He bought the team, then known as the Washington Redskins, ...

announced that he would bring an expansion team to DC to be called the Washington Warriors. (At the time, there was speculation in the media that Snyder actually wanted to change the name of the Redskins to the Warriors, due to the controversy over the NFL's team monicker.) But after a ten-year wait and the AFL's canceling its season in 2009, that never materialized. In 2016, it was announced that Ted Leonsis of Monumental Sports, owner of the NBA's

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

, WNBA's

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference ...

and the NHL's

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

was launching an expansion franchise that would play at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC in 2017.AFL Lands New Team in Nation's Capital
ArenaFootball.com, March 10, 2016 The

Washington Valor The Washington Valor were a professional arena football team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2017 to 2019. The team's home arena was the Capital One Arena. The Valor were owned by Monumental Sports ...

began to play in 2017.

Notable players

Final roster

Arena Football League Hall of Famers

All-Arena players

The following Commandos players were named to All-Arena Teams: *QB

Rich Ingold Richard Ingold (May 15, 1963 – February 15, 2017) was an Arena Football League (AFL) quarterback who played with the Washington Commandos and the Detroit Drive. He holds the all-time record for most career head coaching wins in af2 history, c ...

(1) *WR/DB Dwayne Dixon (1),

Lenny Taylor Leonard Moore Taylor (born February 15, 1961) is a former wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and the Arena Football League (AFL). Biography Taylor was born Leonard Moore Taylor on February 15, 1961, in Miami, Florida. Caree ...

(1), Chris Armstrong (1) *OL/DL Jon Roehlk (1), Michael Witteck (1), Chuck Harris (2) *K Dale Castro (1)

Head coaches

Season-by-season results

References

External links

Washington Commandos at ArenaFan.com

Maryland Commandos at ArenaFan.com
{{Defunct Arena Football League franchises 1987 establishments in Maryland 1987 disestablishments in Maryland 1990 establishments in Virginia 1990 disestablishments in Virginia