San Antonio Riders
The San Antonio Riders were a professional American football team that played in the WLAF in 1991 and 1992. The team played in the Alamo Stadium in 1991 and then were forced to move to Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) in San Marcos, Texas for the 1992 season.
The team was owned by Larry Benson, the brother of Tom Benson (owner of the New Orleans Saints of the NFL). The general managers were Tom Landry (Pro Football Hall of Fame coach) and Tom Landry, Jr.
The team's record in 1991 was 4-6. San Antonio turned things around in 1992 with a mark of 7-3. The Riders were not able to compete in the highly competitive North American West Division during the 1992 season, and like the Frankfurt Galaxy of 1991, they did not make the playoffs despite a 7-3 record.
Former players include professional wrestler John "Bradshaw" Layfield, better known as JBL of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Jason Garrett who not only went on to play with the Dallas Cowboys, but in 2007 became their offensive coordinator, and head coach Mike Riley, who went on to coach the San Diego Chargers of the NFL.
After the 1992 season saw the suspension of the WLAF (and ultimately the abandonment of North American teams), Benson applied to the Canadian Football League to have the Riders join that league instead for the 1993 season. The CFL accepted, and admitted the Riders and the Sacramento Surge/Gold Miners to the CFL. The Riders were to change names to the San Antonio Texans (there was already a Rough Riders and a Roughriders, both of whom were known as the "Riders" for short), but the team folded abruptly prior to the 1993 season. (The San Antonio Texans name would later be used for the aforementioned Gold Miners when they moved to San Antonio in 1995.)
Season-by-season
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2nd North American West | -- |
| 1992 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3rd North American West | -- |
| Totals | 11 | 9 | 0 | ||
1991 season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Game site | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | ||||||
| 1 | Monday, March 25 | 8:00 p.m. | at Orlando Thunder | L 34–35 | 0–1 | Florida Citrus Bowl | 21,714 |
| 2 | Monday, April 1 | 7:00 p.m. | Frankfurt Galaxy | L 3–10 | 0–2 | Alamo Stadium | 18,432 |
| 3 | Sunday, April 7 | 12:00 p.m. | Sacramento Surge | W 10–3 | 1–2 | Alamo Stadium | 6,772 |
| 4 | Monday, April 15 | 8:00 p.m. | at Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks | W 37–15 | 2–2 | Carter-Finley Stadium | 11,818 |
| 5 | Saturday, April 20 | 7:00 p.m. | Barcelona Dragons | W 22–14 | 3–2 | Alamo Stadium | 16,500 |
| 6 | Monday, April 29 | 7:00 p.m. | at Birmingham Fire | L 12–16 | 3–3 | Legion Field | 8,114 |
| 7 | Monday, May 6 | 7:00 p.m. | London Monarchs | L 15–38 | 3–4 | Alamo Stadium | 12,328 |
| 8 | Saturday, May 11 | 8:00 p.m. | at Barcelona Dragons | L 7–17 | 3–5 | Montjuic Stadium | 23,670 |
| 9 | Sunday, May 19 | 11:30 a.m. | Montreal Machine | W 27–10 | 4–5 | Alamo Stadium | 20,234 |
| 10 | Saturday, May 25 | 8:00 p.m. | at New York/New Jersey Knights | L 9–38 | 4–6 | Giants Stadium | 32,857 |
Roster
Staff
| 1991 San Antonio Riders staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Front Office
Head Coaches
Offensive Coaches
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Defensive Coaches
| |||||
1992 season
Results
- Week 1: San Antonio 17, Montreal Machine 16
- Week 2: Birmingham Fire 17, San Antonio 10
- Week 3: San Antonio 9, New York/New Jersey Knights 3
- Week 4: San Antonio 23, Sacramento Surge 20 (OT)
- Week 5: San Antonio 17, Ohio Glory 0
- Week 6: San Antonio 17, Birmingham Fire 14
- Week 7: Orlando Thunder 39, San Antonio 21
- Week 8: San Antonio 17, Barcelona Dragons 0
- Week 9: San Antonio 43, Frankfurt Galaxy 14
- Week 10: Sacramento Surge 27, San Antonio 21