1987 Chicago Bruisers season explained

Team:	Chicago Bruisers
Year:	1987
Record:	2–4
Division Place:	4th
Coach:	Ray Jauch
Stadium:	Rosemont Horizon
Playoffs:	did not qualify
Previous:	none
No Prevseason:	true

The Chicago Bruisers season was the first season for the arena football franchise. The Bruisers took a chance with a young team that averaged 25 years of age.^[1] The Bruisers' lost their first game in franchise history, 44–52 in overtime, to the Denver Dynamite.^[2] The Bruisers struggled in their second game, giving up 45 points in the first half before losing 23–60 to the Pittsburgh Gladiators.^[3] Despite getting off to a 2–3 start, the Bruisers had an opportunity to make it to ArenaBowl I with a win in the final week of the season against the Dynamite.^[4] The Bruisers however would lose 35–52. They finished with a record of 2–4 and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site
			Final score	Team record
1	June 20	Denver Dynamite	L 44–52 (OT)	0–1	Rosemont Horizon
2	June 22	Pittsburgh Gladiators	L 23–60	0–2	Rosemont Horizon
3	July 2	at Pittsburgh Gladiators	L 14–49	0–3	Civic Arena
4	July 10	Washington Commandos	W 37–36	1–3	Rosemont Horizon
5	July 16	at Washington Commandos	W 64–61	2–3	Capital Centre
6	July 24	at Denver Dynamite	L 35–52	2–4	McNichols Sports Arena

Standings

y – clinched regular-season title

x – clinched playoff spot

Stats

Offense

Passing

Player	Comp.	Att.	Comp%	Yards	TD's	INT's	Rating
Mike Hold, Jr.	66	139	47.5	787	16	4	82
Sean Payton	5	14	35.7	47	0	3	6.3

Rushing

Player	Car.	Yards	TD's
	25	139	4
Mike Hold, Jr.	25	97	2
Eddie Phillips	13	65	1
Mike McDade	1	1	0
Terry Hinn	1	0	0
Sean Payton	1	−16	0

Receiving

Player	Rec.	Yards	TD's
Reggie Smith	18	185	3
Stephen Finch	12	160	3
Mike McDade	12	120	2
Durwood Roquemore	11	99	1
Richard Rodgers	7	135	4
Ken Sanders	3	31	1
Daryl Hart	2	57	2
Terry Hinn	2	14	0
Mike Hold, Jr.	1	12	0
Eddie Phillips	1	8	0
Billy Stone	1	7	0
Troy Hill	1	6	0

Defense

Player	Tackles	Solo	Assisted	Sack	INT	Yards	TD's
	37	26	22	3	0	0	0
	36	35	2	0	2	21	0
	23.5	18	11	0	3	47	0
	23	22	2	5	1	2	0
	20	16	8	0	2	45	1
	19	17	4	0	0	0	0
	16	14	4	3	0	0	0
	16	14	4	0	0	0	0
	14	14	0	0	0	0	0
	10.5	8	5	0	0	0	0
	10.5	7	7	0	0	0	0
	8.5	6	5	3	0	0	0
	8	5	6	2	0	0	0
	6	5	2	0	0	0	0
	5	4	2	0	1	14	0
	4.5	2	5	0	0	0	0
	3.5	3	1	0	0	0	0
	3	3	0	0	0	0	0
	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Special teams

Kick return

Player	Ret	Yards	TD's
	19	305	1
	8	153	0
	5	85	0
	4	34	0
	2	25	0
	2	18	0
	1	9	0
	1	8	0
	1	0	0
	1	0	1

Kicking

Player	FGM	4pg	FGA	Pct.	XPM	2pt	XPA	Pct.	Pts.
	7	0	26	26.9	19	0	24	79.2	40
	0	0	1	0.0	0	1	1	0.0	2

Awards

Position	Player	Award	All-Arena team
		Ironman of the Year	1st
		none	1st
		none	1st
		none	2nd

Notes and References

1. News: And Now, Your Chicago Bruisers . June 16, 1987 . Chicago Tribune . January 31, 2013.
2. News: So Far, So Good For Arena Football . Linda Young . June 22, 1987 . Chicago Tribune . January 31, 2013.
3. News: Pittsburgh Bombs Bruisers . Linda Young . June 28, 1987 . Chicago Tribune . January 31, 2013.
4. News: Arena Football Officials Truly A Calculating Bunch . July 24, 1987 . Chicago Tribune . January 31, 2013.