Buffalo Destroyers
| Columbus Destroyers | |||||
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Established 1999 Folded 2008 |
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Last uniform
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| Personnel | |||||
| Owner(s) |
Jim Renacci, Joey Galloway |
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| Head coach | Pat Sperduto | ||||
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| Championships | |||||
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League championships (0) |
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Conference championships (1) |
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Division championships (N1) |
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| Home arena(s) | |||||
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Nationwide Arena (2004–2008) HSBC Arena (1999–2003) |
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Arena Football League (1999–2008)
Conference championships (1)
The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was founded in 1999 as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in 2004. They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of ten seasons of play. The Destroyers played their home games in Columbus' Nationwide Arena. Their last coach was Pat Sperduto.
The Buffalo Destroyers began play during the 1999 AFL season, playing their home games at HSBC Arena (now known as KeyBank Center), and were owned by Buffalo-area businessman Mark Hamister. The team was founded, in part, because of fears that a lease expiration could have led to the demise or relocation of the NFL's Buffalo Bills, the city's largest sports franchise. Those fears were unfounded as a multiyear lease deal to keep the Bills in Western New York was signed shortly thereafter and remained in effect long after the Destroyers left Buffalo (the lease was again renewed in 2012). The name "Destroyers" came from a naming contest and alluded to the naval ship of the same name, one of which sits outside the HSBC Arena in the nearby Buffalo Naval and Serviceman's Park.
The Destroyers initially attracted high attendance levels, but a lack of winning early on caused attendance to decline, something from which the team never recovered. Among the members of the inaugural roster was former NFL kicker Bjorn Nittmo. The first head coach, Dave Whinham, was fired in the middle of the Destroyers' second season after an abysmal 1-17 record. Former Buffalo Bills player Ray Bentley was selected as his replacement; however, he couldn't lead the Destroyers to a winning season. The closest he came was in 2001, when his team started 6-3 but would end the season on an 0-5 skid to just barely miss the playoffs. The team had another 6-8 season, this time enough to make the playoffs but lost in the first round, in 2002. Bentley abruptly resigned after that season to take a job in broadcasting, and Ron Selesky, a respected personnel man was hired to replace him. Selesky's record in 2003 was a lackluster 5-11. Jerry Crafts, former Bills offensive lineman, played for the Destroyers in 2001 and served most notably as nose tackle, anchoring one of the league's better defenses.
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