The New York Knights season was the first and only season for the Arena Football League franchise.
The Knights became an expansion team of the Arena Football League in 1988. The team announced Jim Valek as the first coach in franchise history. The team featured a couple of players from the 1987 New York Giants replacement team, including starting quarterback Jim Crocicchia and his primary receiver Edwin Lovelady, but its desire to fans was questioned before the team began playing games. The Knights won their first game in franchise history, 60–52 over the Los Angeles Cobras. During the Knights home opener, fight erumped in the stands, and items were thrown on the field. After winning the season opener, the Knights lost 4 straight games before returning home to a smaller crowd, losing 22–36 to the Cobras. The Knights would lose 8 straight games before they defeated the Cobras 40–30 in Los Angeles. The team folded after a disappointing 2–8 season.
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Results Game site Final score Team record 1 April 30 at Los Angeles Cobras W 60–52 1–0 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 2 May 9 Detroit Drive L 48–54 1–1 Madison Square Garden 3 May 14 at Chicago Bruisers L 7–30 1–2 Rosemont Horizon 4 May 21 at New England Steamrollers L 13–24 1–3 Providence Civic Center 5 May 27 at Pittsburgh Gladiators L 36–46 1–4 Civic Arena 6 June 6 Los Angeles Cobras L 22–36 1–5 Madison Square Garden 7 June 13 Chicago Bruisers L 34–64 1–6 Madison Square Garden 8 June 18 New England Steamrollers L 28–33 1–7 Madison Square Garden 9 June 23 Detroit Drive L 9–49 1–8 Madison Square Garden 10 July 2 at Los Angeles Cobras W 40–30 2–8 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 11 July 11 Pittsburgh Gladiators L 28–44 2–9 Madison Square Garden 12 July 15 at Detroit Drive L 17–48 2–10 Joe Louis Arena
Standings
y – clinched regular-season title
x – clinched playoff spot
Roster 1988 New York Knights roster Quarterbacks Mark Casale Jim Crocicchia Stan Yagiello
Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs Lewis Bennett Greg Best Vince Courville Elbert Gray Stan Hunter Edwin Lovelady Jim Mauro Pat Morrison Rex Motes Peter Raeford Ken Sanders Al Washington Fullbacks/Linebackers Derek Hughes Al Neri Johnny Shepherd
Offensive Linemen/Defensive Linemen Alec Gibson Mark Grandy Walter Housman Chris Jones Quinton Knight John Reed A. J. Sebastianelli Pete Walters Wide Receivers/Linebackers Mark Streeter
Kickers Jack Kratochvil Eric Schubert
Rookies in italicsRoster updated February 27, 2013 29 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS
→ More rosters
Awards Position Player Award All-Arena team Offensive/Defensive Lineman Quinton Knight none 1st Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Vince Courville none 2nd
References
External links 1988 New York Knights season at arenafan.com