Brendan Arthur Folmar (born April 2, 1964) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

who played three seasons with the

Pittsburgh Gladiators The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

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 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

California University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, California (abbreviated as PennWest California) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in California, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus had an enrollment of 2,717 as of fall 2024. Founded in 1852 ...

. He was also a member of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL).

Early life

Brendan Arthur Folmar was born on April 2, 1964, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. He attended California Area High School in Coal Center, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1982. He was a two-time team MVP in both football and basketball.

College career

Folmar was a member of the California Vulcans football team from 1983 to 1986. He was the backup to All-American Kevin Russell from 1983 to 1984. He completed two of four passes for 15 yards and one touchdown in 1984. He was then the team's starter from 1985 to 1986. In 1985, Folmar passed for 1,891 yards and 11 touchdowns while also rushing for 365 yards and six touchdowns, earning second-team All-

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

(PSAC) honors. His senior year in 1986, Folmar completed 176 of 338 passes (52%) for 2,245 yards and 18 touchdowns and also scored seven rushing touchdowns, leading the PSAC in total offense. He garnered All-PSAC and

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

honorable mention All-American recognition that season. Folmar graduated with a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1986. He was inducted into the California University of Pennsylvania Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

1987 NFL draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Ma ...

, Folmar signed with the

of the newly-formed

(AFL). He began the AFL's inaugural 1987 season as the backup to

Mike Hohensee Michael Louis Hohensee (born February 22, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the United States Football League (USFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), National Football League (NFL) and Arena Football Lea ...

but became the starter after Hohensee was injured early in the season. Folmar played in all six regular season games, completing 119 of 205 passes (58.0%) for 1,349 yards, 21 touchdowns, and nine interceptions while rushing for two touchdowns as well. The Gladiators finished the regular season with a 4–2 record, clinching homefield advantage in ArenaBowl I. Hohensee returned as the starter in the ArenaBowl but was benched for Folmar after the Denver Dynamite went ahead 18–0. The Gladiators eventually lost 45–16. On September 23, 1987, Folmar signed with the

of the

(NFL) during the

1987 NFL players strike The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and president ...

. He played in one game for the Lions without recording any statistics. He was released on October 19, 1987, after the strike ended. Folmar returned to the Gladiators in 1988 and played in all 12 games for them, splitting time with Mike Hohensee. Folmar totalled 101 completions on 195 passing attempts (51.8%) for 1,126 yards, 22 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, and one rushing touchdown. The Gladiators finished with a 6–6 record and lost to the

Detroit Drive The Massachusetts Marauders were a professional arena football team that was based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1994. The team was established in Detroit in 1988, as the Detroit ...

in the first round of the playoffs. Folmar appeared in all eight games for the Gladiators in 1990, splitting time with Larry Barretta. Folmar completed 93 of 159 passes (58.5%) for 1,029 yards, 11 touchdowns, and eight interceptions while scoring two rushing touchdowns as well. The Gladiators finished with a 3–5 record and lost to the Drive in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Personal life

Folmar spent time playing

flag football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

after his pro career and was the starter for the Tuner’s Tavern Flag Football team from

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

that were state and national finalists in 1997 and 1998. He was also an education coordinator at Poplar Springs Hospital in Virginia.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Folmar, Brendan Living people 1964 births Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama American football quarterbacks California Vulcans football players Pittsburgh Gladiators players Detroit Lions players NFL replacement players 20th-century American sportsmen