The Stockton Lightning were a professional

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 ar ...

team based in Stockton, California. They were members of the Western Division of the National Conference of the arenafootball2 (af2). The Lightning joined af2 2006 as an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

. They played their home games at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California and were coached by Chad Carlson. The Stockton Lightning were owned by Michael Reinsdorf.

History

The Lightning were formed 2005 and joined af2 in 2006, led by President Dan Chapman and Operator Michael Reinsdorf. The team name was announced at a November 2005 press conference at Valley Brew Restaurant, after a "Name The Team" contest and revealing of the team's black, red, gray and white colors. Richard Davis was also announced as the first head coach in franchise history. The first-year team featured players that were local to the area, they included; James Newson, Josh Wallwork, Kenyatte Morgan, and Lyndell Hawkins. Morgan was the player who recorded the first touchdown in franchise history, a seven-yard pass from

Quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Josh Blankenship, in a 41-40 loss to the eventual ArenaCup winners, the Spokane Shock. However, two weeks later, the Lightning recorded the first win in franchise history, when they beat the

Quad City Steamwheelers The Quad City Steamwheelers were a professional arena football team. They were a charter member of the AF2 and played their home games at iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. The team was founded on September 1, 1999 when the Quad Cities ...

60-46. The Lightning finished 5-11 in their first season, falling just short of playoffs. After the season, they hired new head coach Doug Murray, who was introduced to the media at a September 2006 press conference by his friend and rival head coach Fred Biletnikoff, Jr. who wore a Lightning hat. The season started the way 2006 had, with a loss on the road in Spokane. But, things turned around mid-season as they began to win games, a total of six. However, the season ended with losses in the last four games, missing the playoffs for the second straight year. The Lightning didn't improve in as they had hoped and finished 5-11. Once again, missing the playoffs. In the season, the Lightning did not improve much and finished 6-10, but with this record the team finish in 3rd on NC West and made the playoffs for the first time in team history. On the playoffs, the team lost on NC Round 1 for (

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

). On January 22, 2010 The Stockton Lightning suspended day-to-day operations for the 2010 season. The Lightning will continue to research playing opportunities after the folding of the arenafootball2 league (af2) at the conclusion of the 2009 playing season. The largest indoor football league in the country, the Arena Football League (AFL), ceased operations at the conclusion of the 2008 season and recently the AFL and af2 have formed a new league for the 2010 season, Arena Football One. Dan Chapman, president of the Stockton Lightning, released the following statement: "It is with a great deal of disappointment that the Stockton Lightning have decided to suspend operations for the upcoming 2010 football season. With the transition of the AFL and af2 developing into the new "Arena Football One" league, the proposed "lower tier" that was initially outlined did not become a reality. Furthermore, we have determined that the business model for the "upper tier", which caters to larger markets, is not financially sustainable for our organization at this time. For these reasons, we feel as though we have no other viable options to play arena football this season"

Statistics

Season-by-season records

, - , 2006 , , 5 , , 11 , , 0 , , 4th NC West , , -- , - , 2007 , , 6 , , 10 , , 0 , , 5th AC West , , -- , - , 2008 , , 5 , , 11 , , 0 , , 4th NC West , , -- , - , 2009 , , 6 , , 10 , , 0 , , 3rd NC West , , Lost NC Round 1 (

62-21) , - !Totals , , 22 , , 43 , , 0 , colspan="2",

Players of note

Manuel Wright Manuel Wright (born April 13, 1984) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2005 supplemental draft. Wright was also briefly signed to the Buffalo Bills and played for the ...

- DL * Clarence Cunningham - WR, Cutter's Catch of the Week Recipient, All-Iron Man selection *

William Welcher William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

- DE, First full time peace officer in California to simultaneously play pro football.

References

External links

Official website

Stockton Lightning at ArenaFan

{{Af2 Defunct Defunct af2 teams Defunct American football teams in California Sports in Stockton, California American football teams established in 2006 American football teams disestablished in 2009 2006 establishments in California 2009 disestablishments in California