Las Vegas Posse
Encyclopedia
The Las Vegas Posse was a Canadian Football League
team that played the 1994 season
as part of the CFL's short-lived American expansion
. The Posse was one of the least successful CFL teams, both on the field and off.
, RB Jon Volpe
, LB Greg Battle
and K Carlos Huerta
. They also had a rookie quarterback named Anthony Calvillo
, who would later go on to become the all-time leader in passing yards in all of professional football. The franchise also had an experienced coaching staff with Head Coach, Ron Meyer
who had previous coaching experiences with UNLV and in the NFL, and also had future Winnipeg
Blue Bombers
coach Jeff Reinebold
as one of their Assistant Coaches. Carlos Huerta won the Jackie Parker Trophy
as the Most Outstanding Rookie of the West Division that year.
The Posse started with wins over the Sacramento
Gold Miners
and Saskatchewan
Roughriders
, but things quickly went downhill. Players openly complained about the apathy of their coaches and teammates.
The Posse finished the season 5–13 and finished last in the West Division and next-to-last in the CFL.
. The team's owner, Nick Mileti
, was based in Cleveland, Ohio
. The team played at Sam Boyd Stadium
on the eastern edge of Las Vegas, far from the central area of the city. The Posse practiced in a smaller-than-regulation field (only 70 yards long) at the Riviera Casino and Resort, where a sign read "Field of ImPOSSEable Dreams." The end zones at Sam Boyd Stadium were only 15 yards long, instead of the usual 20 yards. The stadium was uncovered and offered no protection from the infamous Las Vegas summer heat (the CFL season runs from the summer through the fall so it can end before the harsh Canadian winters set in). Head coach Ron Meyer was seen at many a practice running drills with no shirt on in the sweltering heat. With no marketing assistance from the league, local interest was virtually nonexistent.
The most memorable moment for the franchise occurred on July 8, 1994, when the team played the Sacramento Gold Miners
in the first ever CFL match involving two American based teams. The Posse defeated the Gold Miners 32–26 at Sacramento's Hornet Stadium
.
There were also several infamous moments. At the team's first home game against Saskatchewan, the singer of the national anthems, Dennis K.C. Parks, had only a vague knowledge of the Canadian anthem and so improvised something that made "O Canada
" sound somewhat like "O Christmas Tree". Two weeks later he was brought to a game in Hamilton, Ontario
where he sang it properly. On another occasion Posse head coach Ron Meyer asked the "Showgirls" to loiter behind the bench of the B.C.
Lions in an attempt to distract the opposition. The scheme did not work and Las Vegas lost the game 39–16.
The Posse's attendance figures were never very good to begin with, but when attendance started to significantly tail off management unsuccessfully tried to sell tickets by employing tactics such as:
The Posse's penultimate home game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers had an announced attendance of only 2,350 people — the lowest recorded attendance in CFL history. Many of those in attendance were fans who made the trip from Winnipeg. The Posse's last home game scheduled against the Edmonton Eskimos
was moved to Commonwealth Stadium
in Edmonton due to the dreadful attendance at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Posse's average attendance was a dismal 8,953.
attempted to buy and relocate the franchise to Jackson
, Mississippi
, but the deal fell through. The Posse were then quietly folded and a dispersal draft
was held for its players in 1995. Defensive end Derrell Robertson
, who had been killed in a December 1994 car accident, was included; the league was unaware of Robertson's death and included him in the pool of potential draftees, and the Ottawa Rough Riders
selected him. It was only after attempting-- and failing-- to find Robertson did the Rough Riders (and the league) realize that Robertson was dead. According to Riders coach Jim Gilstrap
in a June 1995 Sports Illustrated
article, "the league didn't know he was dead until we told them, and we didn't know until we couldn't find him."
After the dispersal draft another group from Miami tried to purchase the remains of the Posse and move the team to Miami. The deal was that the franchise would return for the 1996 season as the "Manatee
s." In order to introduce the Miami fans to the CFL game, a pre-season game was played at the Orange Bowl
between the Baltimore
Stallions
and the Birmingham Barracudas
in 1995 (Baltimore won the game by a score of 37–0). With most of the American based teams disbanding following the 1995 season, the deal fell apart.
Despite the Posse's failure, the Posse was the first effort by any major professional sports league to place a team in Las Vegas proper; this is something that most major leagues have traditionally avoided due in part to Las Vegas's gambling reputation, as well as the fact that the city has only recently grown to major size. Future professional football leagues would emulate this, with the XFL
's Las Vegas Outlaws
, the Arena League's Las Vegas Sting and Las Vegas Gladiators
, and the UFL's Las Vegas Locomotives
all residing in the city. The Outlaws and Locomotives have done better drawing fans to Sam Boyd Stadium than the Posse did, with the Outlaws averaging over 20,000 fans per game and the Locomotives averaging 12,000 fans, although the Locomotives' attendance has been in decline. They also had better on-field performance, particularly the Locomotives, who have won two of the league's three championships and finished second in the other.
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
team that played the 1994 season
1994 CFL season
The 1994 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 41st season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 37th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1994:...
as part of the CFL's short-lived American expansion
CFL USA
The term CFL USA refers to the abortive expansion of the Canadian Football League into the United States in the early-to-mid 1990s. The 1993 CFL season saw the addition of the first American team to the league, the Sacramento Gold Miners...
. The Posse was one of the least successful CFL teams, both on the field and off.
On the field
The Posse had notable football talent such as KR Tamarick VanoverTamarick Vanover
Tamarick Vanover , is a former professional American football player in the NFL and CFL.Vanover spent two seasons at Florida State University, where he was named a first-team All-American in 1992 as a freshman kick returner...
, RB Jon Volpe
Jon Volpe
Jon Volpe was a star running back in the Canadian Football League.Volpe took an unusual and inspiring path to football stardom. Coming from a family where his father would leave by the time he was 5 years old, his mother would become an alcoholic and live on the street, and his brother would go to...
, LB Greg Battle
Greg Battle
Greg Battle was an award-winning Canadian Football League linebacker for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1987 to 1993 and from 1997 to 1998.He graduated from Arizona State University...
and K Carlos Huerta
Carlos Huerta
Carlos Huerta was a gridiron football kicker in three professional leagues.After playing his college football at the University of Miami, Huerta joined the Las Vegas Posse, a Canadian Football League expansion franchise...
. They also had a rookie quarterback named Anthony Calvillo
Anthony Calvillo
Anthony Calvillo is a Canadian Football League quarterback, currently playing for the Montreal Alouettes. He is the all-time professional football passing yards leader and first in all-time CFL passing yards...
, who would later go on to become the all-time leader in passing yards in all of professional football. The franchise also had an experienced coaching staff with Head Coach, Ron Meyer
Ron Meyer
-References:...
who had previous coaching experiences with UNLV and in the NFL, and also had future Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...
coach Jeff Reinebold
Jeff Reinebold
Jeff Reinebold is an American football coach. He is currently the wide receivers coach of the SMU Mustangs football team....
as one of their Assistant Coaches. Carlos Huerta won the Jackie Parker Trophy
Jackie Parker Trophy
The Jackie Parker Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy is awarded annually to the Most Outstanding Rookie in the West Division, since 1974. Each team in the West Division nominates a candidate from which a winner is chosen, and either this winner or the winner of the Frank M. Gibson Trophy...
as the Most Outstanding Rookie of the West Division that year.
The Posse started with wins over the Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
Gold Miners
Sacramento Gold Miners
The Sacramento Gold Miners were a Canadian football team based in Sacramento, California. The franchise was the first American team in the Canadian Football League. The Gold Miners were originally the "descendants" of the Sacramento Surge from the defunct World League of American Football...
and Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
Roughriders
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. They were founded in 1910. They play their home games at 2940 10th Avenue in Regina, which has been the team's home base for its entire history, even prior to the construction of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor...
, but things quickly went downhill. Players openly complained about the apathy of their coaches and teammates.
The Posse finished the season 5–13 and finished last in the West Division and next-to-last in the CFL.
Off the field
When the Posse started the 1994 season it was clear that CFL football would not last in Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. The team's owner, Nick Mileti
Nick Mileti
Nick James Mileti was, during the 1970s, the owner of the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Crusaders hockey team, the Coliseum at Richfield and radio station "3WE" WWWE AM/1100 ....
, was based in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. The team played at Sam Boyd Stadium
Sam Boyd Stadium
Sam Boyd Stadium is a football stadium located in Whitney, Nevada, an unincorporated community in the Las Vegas metropolitan area; the mailing address of the stadium is "Las Vegas". The stadium is named after Sam Boyd, a major figure in the hotel/casino industry in Las Vegas. The stadium consists...
on the eastern edge of Las Vegas, far from the central area of the city. The Posse practiced in a smaller-than-regulation field (only 70 yards long) at the Riviera Casino and Resort, where a sign read "Field of ImPOSSEable Dreams." The end zones at Sam Boyd Stadium were only 15 yards long, instead of the usual 20 yards. The stadium was uncovered and offered no protection from the infamous Las Vegas summer heat (the CFL season runs from the summer through the fall so it can end before the harsh Canadian winters set in). Head coach Ron Meyer was seen at many a practice running drills with no shirt on in the sweltering heat. With no marketing assistance from the league, local interest was virtually nonexistent.
The most memorable moment for the franchise occurred on July 8, 1994, when the team played the Sacramento Gold Miners
Sacramento Gold Miners
The Sacramento Gold Miners were a Canadian football team based in Sacramento, California. The franchise was the first American team in the Canadian Football League. The Gold Miners were originally the "descendants" of the Sacramento Surge from the defunct World League of American Football...
in the first ever CFL match involving two American based teams. The Posse defeated the Gold Miners 32–26 at Sacramento's Hornet Stadium
Hornet Stadium
Hornet Stadium is a 21,195 seat football stadium in Sacramento, California. It is located at Sacramento State. It was completed in 1969. It is the home football stadium of the Sacramento State Hornets and Sacramento Mountain Lions...
.
There were also several infamous moments. At the team's first home game against Saskatchewan, the singer of the national anthems, Dennis K.C. Parks, had only a vague knowledge of the Canadian anthem and so improvised something that made "O Canada
O Canada
It has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
" sound somewhat like "O Christmas Tree". Two weeks later he was brought to a game in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
where he sang it properly. On another occasion Posse head coach Ron Meyer asked the "Showgirls" to loiter behind the bench of the B.C.
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
Lions in an attempt to distract the opposition. The scheme did not work and Las Vegas lost the game 39–16.
The Posse's attendance figures were never very good to begin with, but when attendance started to significantly tail off management unsuccessfully tried to sell tickets by employing tactics such as:
- Reducing ticket prices to US$9 for each seat. The few who bought season tickets for about US$750 (in more expensive categories) were given extra tickets to make up for the price difference.
- Advertising their scantily-clad cheerleaders, the "Showgirls", and by staging halftime bikini contests.
The Posse's penultimate home game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers had an announced attendance of only 2,350 people — the lowest recorded attendance in CFL history. Many of those in attendance were fans who made the trip from Winnipeg. The Posse's last home game scheduled against the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
was moved to Commonwealth Stadium
Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)
Commonwealth Stadium is a sports stadium located in the Norwood Area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, primarily used by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The stadium is owned and operated by the City of Edmonton.- History :...
in Edmonton due to the dreadful attendance at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Posse's average attendance was a dismal 8,953.
In the end
A group led by singer and business mogul Jimmy BuffettJimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
attempted to buy and relocate the franchise to Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, but the deal fell through. The Posse were then quietly folded and a dispersal draft
Dispersal draft
A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team goes out of business, consolidates with another team, or for some other reason ceases to exist. Since most sports drafts are held in North America, this is where most dispersal drafts...
was held for its players in 1995. Defensive end Derrell Robertson
Derrell Robertson
Derrell Robertson was an American college football player from Tyler, Texas who played for Mississippi State University in 1988 and 1989. After college, Robertson signed with the Las Vegas Posse of the Canadian Football League in 1994...
, who had been killed in a December 1994 car accident, was included; the league was unaware of Robertson's death and included him in the pool of potential draftees, and the Ottawa Rough Riders
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...
selected him. It was only after attempting-- and failing-- to find Robertson did the Rough Riders (and the league) realize that Robertson was dead. According to Riders coach Jim Gilstrap
Jim Gilstrap
Jim Gilstrap is an American singer best known for his work as a session musician and his 1975 solo hit single "Swing Your Daddy", as well as singing co-lead to the theme from the TV series Good Times.-Career:...
in a June 1995 Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
article, "the league didn't know he was dead until we told them, and we didn't know until we couldn't find him."
After the dispersal draft another group from Miami tried to purchase the remains of the Posse and move the team to Miami. The deal was that the franchise would return for the 1996 season as the "Manatee
Miami Manatees (CFL)
The Miami Manatees was a proposed Canadian Football League team scheduled to begin play in the 1996 season, and had plans to play out of the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. After looking at a possible expansion franchise, the decision to relocate the Las Vegas Posse to Miami became the...
s." In order to introduce the Miami fans to the CFL game, a pre-season game was played at the Orange Bowl
Miami Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team...
between the Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
Stallions
Baltimore Stallions
The Baltimore Stallions were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, which played the 1994 and 1995 seasons. They were the most successful American team in the Canadian Football League, having two winning seasons and a division title. In 1995 they became the only American team...
and the Birmingham Barracudas
Birmingham Barracudas
The Birmingham Barracudas were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Barracudas were part of a failed attempt to expand the CFL into the United States.-In the beginning:...
in 1995 (Baltimore won the game by a score of 37–0). With most of the American based teams disbanding following the 1995 season, the deal fell apart.
Despite the Posse's failure, the Posse was the first effort by any major professional sports league to place a team in Las Vegas proper; this is something that most major leagues have traditionally avoided due in part to Las Vegas's gambling reputation, as well as the fact that the city has only recently grown to major size. Future professional football leagues would emulate this, with the XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
's Las Vegas Outlaws
Las Vegas Outlaws
The Las Vegas Outlaws were an American football team in the short-lived XFL in the Western Division with the Los Angeles Xtreme, San Francisco Demons and Memphis Maniax...
, the Arena League's Las Vegas Sting and Las Vegas Gladiators
Las Vegas Gladiators
The Cleveland Gladiators are an arena football franchise based in Cleveland, Ohio which plays in the Arena Football League. The team is part of the East division of the AFL's American Conference. The Gladiators play all of their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they share with the NBA's...
, and the UFL's Las Vegas Locomotives
Las Vegas Locomotives
The Las Vegas Locomotives are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada who play in the United Football League. The team plays its home games in Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jim Fassel is the franchise's head coach, president, and...
all residing in the city. The Outlaws and Locomotives have done better drawing fans to Sam Boyd Stadium than the Posse did, with the Outlaws averaging over 20,000 fans per game and the Locomotives averaging 12,000 fans, although the Locomotives' attendance has been in decline. They also had better on-field performance, particularly the Locomotives, who have won two of the league's three championships and finished second in the other.
See also
- Las Vegas Posse all time results and rosterLas Vegas Posse all time results and rosterThe Las Vegas Posse was a football franchise in the Canadian Football League. The team lasted one season and finished with a 5 and 13 record.- All time results :Pre-Seasonvs. Edmonton Eskimos W 22-11 Regular Season...
- CFL USA all time records and statisticsCFL USA all time records and statisticsCFL USA all time records and statisticsThis list combines the statistics and records of the seven CFL American teams from 1993 to 1995: Baltimore Stallions, Birmingham Barracudas, Las Vegas Posse, Memphis Mad Dogs, Sacramento Gold Miners, San Antonio Texans, and the Shreveport Pirates...
- Comparison of Canadian and American footballComparison of Canadian and American footballAmerican and Canadian football are very similar, as both have their origins in rugby football, but there are some key differences.-History:Football was introduced to North America in Canada by the British Army garrison in Montreal, which played a series of games with McGill University...
- 1994 CFL season1994 CFL seasonThe 1994 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 41st season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 37th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1994:...