Cleveland Thunderbolts

The Cleveland Thunderbolts were a professional American football team. Established as the Columbus Thunderbolts and playing its home games at the Fairgrounds Coliseum, the team relocated to Cleveland after a disastrous, winless single season in the Arena Football League in 1991.

Perhaps the highlight of the team's one year in Columbus was the play of running back Major Harris, who rushed for over 400 yards during that season, still the all-time Arena record, and a remarkable achievement given the predominance of passing in the play of the Arena league.

They operated in the Cleveland area for three subsequent seasons, playing their home games in the "suburban" Richfield Coliseum, which was in fact a considerable distance from downtown Cleveland, sharing it with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association.

The team did somewhat better than it had in Columbus and actually qualfied for the playoffs in the 1993 season, but was disbanded after the 1994 campaign.

Notable Players

• George Cooper, Fullback/Linebacker 1991–92
• Major Harris, Quarterback 1991–94
• Anthony Howard, Wide Receiver/Linebacker 1994
• John Kaleo, Quarterback 1994
• Cedric McKinnon, Fullback/Linebacker 1992–94
• Tony Missick, Wide Receiver/Linebacker 1991–92