The Washington Commandos were an

arena football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, an ...

team based in

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

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

(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 ...

. 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 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

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 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 ...

, 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.

Return to Virginia (1990)

The team returned to the Washington name for their final season in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. 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 Patriot ...

on the campus of

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

owner

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

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 Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an op ...

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 Theodore John Leonsis (born January 8, 1957) is an American businessman. He is a former senior executive with America Online (AOL) and the founder, chairman, and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NHL's Washington Capitals, ...

of Monumental Sports, owner of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

, 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 of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

and the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

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

was launching an

expansion franchise 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 ...

that would play at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC in 2017., 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 Ted Leonsis throug ...

played from 2017 until 2019, when the league was suspended.

Notable players

Final roster

Arena Football League Hall of Famers

All-Arena players

The following Commandos players were named to

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

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, ...

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

Lenny Taylor Leonard Moore Taylor (born February 15, 1961) is an American former professional football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and Arena Football League (AFL). Biography Taylor was born Leonard Moore Taylor on February 15, 1961 ...

(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 American football teams established in 1987 American football teams disestablished in 1987 American football teams established in 1990 American football teams disestablished in 1990