Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001)

The Milwaukee Mustangs were a professional arena football team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The team was a member of the Arena Football League, playing from 1994 to 2001. The owner of the Mustangs was Andrew Vallozzi. The Mustangs played their home games at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

History

Expansion

The team was founded in August 1993, when Andrew Vallozzi was approved by the league for expansion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The city of Milwaukee became football hungry, after renovations to Lambeau Field led to speculation that the Green Bay Packers would soon stop playing games in Milwaukee, something they'd been doing since 1933. Later that year, the Packers would confirm the rumors and announced that their December 1994 contest at Milwaukee County Stadium would be their last.

For many in the Milwaukee area, the Mustangs helped fill the void left by the Packers. The team never finished lower than eighth in seasonal attendance, regularly drawing in the 14,000's and 15,000's (at a time when average attendance was approx. 8,500). The Mustangs even led the AFL in attendance in 1996.

Ending

After the 2001 season, the Mustangs lost their lease at the Bradley Center. When it was unable to find a replacement facility, the league folded the team.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Milwaukee was left without an arena football team until 2008, with the formation of the Milwaukee Bonecrushers of the Continental Indoor Football League, who played their home games at the U.S. Cellular Arena. A year later, the Milwaukee Iron began play in the Arena Football 2 League across the street at the Bradley Center. In January 2011, it was announced that the Milwaukee Iron, now of the Arena Football League would be changing its name to the Milwaukee Mustangs.<ref name="dwalker">Don Walker. "Iron will be Mustangs". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</ref>

In 2018, the Milwaukee Mustangs' intellectual properties were acquired by Counterbalance Sports & Entertainment, LLC, the sports-entertainment division of Counterbalance Group Inc. Additionally, Counterbalance Sports began using the Milwaukee Iron / [Second] Milwaukee Mustangs branding in 2021.

Season-by-season

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Players of note

Retired uniform numbers

Milwaukee Mustangs retired numbers
N°	Player	Position	Seasons	Ref.
2	Gary Compton	WR	1994–2001	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
5	Todd Hammel	QB	1994–99	<ref name="Iron" />
8	Kenny Stucker	K	1994–99	<ref name="Iron" />

Note: These players' numbers were retired by the Milwaukee Iron in 2009.

Arena Football Hall of Famers

Milwaukee Mustangs Hall of Famers
No.	Name	Year Inducted	Position(s)	Years w/ Mustangs
1	Gary Mullen	1998	WR/DB	1995
??	Carl Aikens, Jr.	2000	WR/DB	1994

Individual awards

Kicker Player of the Year
Season	Player	Position
Template:AFL Year	Kenny Stucker	K

Don't Blink! Player of the Year
Season	Player	Position
Template:AFL Year	Lamart Cooper	OS

"Built Ford Tough" Man of the Year
Season	Player	Position
Template:AFL Year	Gary Compton	WR/LB

All-Arena players

The following Mustangs players were named to All-Arena Teams:

• WR/LB Gary Compton (2)
• WR/DB Sean Riley (1)
• OL/DL Ralph Jarvis (2), Ernest Allen (1)
• K Kenny Stucker (2), Steve Videtich (1)

All-Ironman players

The following Mustangs players were named to All-Ironman Teams:

• WR/DB Sean Riley (1)
• WR/LB Gary Compton (2)

All-Rookie players

The following Mustangs players were named to All-Rookie Teams:

• QB Kevin McDougal
• FB/LB Odell Parks
• OL/DL Mike Ivey

Head coaches

Name	Term	Regular season				Playoffs		Awards
		W	L	T	Win%	W	L
Lou Saban	1994	0	4	0	Template:Winperc	0	0
Art Haege	1994	0	8	0	Template:Winperc	0	0
Michael Trigg	Template:AFL Year–Template:AFL Year	22	18	0	Template:Winperc	0	2
Rick Frazier	Template:AFL Year–Template:AFL Year	24	32	0	Template:Winperc	0	2

External links

• Milwaukee Mustangs at ArenaFan.com