The San Francisco Demons (originally named San Jose Demons) were a short-lived springtime American football team based in San Francisco, California. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. Originally they were to be based in San Jose but prior to the start of the season they were moved to San Francisco. They were in the Western Division with the Los Angeles Xtreme, Las Vegas Outlaws and Memphis Maniax.
 | |
| Established | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2001 |
| Based in | San Francisco, California |
| Home stadium | Pacific Bell Park |
| Head coach | Jim Skipper |
| League | XFL |
| Division | Western |
| Colors | Red, black, yellow[1] |
| League titles | 0 |
| Division titles | 0 |
The team played in Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco; despite having the smallest stadium in the league, they also had the highest average attendance (34,954).[2] The fans had a cheering section nicknamed "The Hellhole".
The team was coached by Jim Skipper, former running backs coach for the New York Giants.
History
editIn their only season of existence, the Demons went 5-5 to capture 2nd place in the regular season and qualified for post season play. In the first round, the Demons defeated the Orlando Rage, who had the best regular season record (8-2), by a score of 26-25. In the XFL's Million Dollar Game, which was the league championship game and last game in its history, the Demons were defeated by the Los Angeles Xtreme 38-6.
NBC dropped the XFL after the first season (2001) due to dismal ratings, and the league folded soon afterwards. The Demons played their home games in what was then Pacific Bell Park, now Oracle Park, the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants.
The most notable Demons players were Mike Pawlawski and Pat Barnes. Both played quarterback for the Demons in 2001. Pawlawski and Barnes both played for the California Golden Bears. Pawlawski was signed by the Demons after playing Arena Football for the Albany Firebirds. Barnes had been invited to training camp by the Oakland Raiders.
Season
edit| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2nd Western | Won Semifinals (Orlando) Lost Million Dollar Game (Los Angeles) |
| Totals | 6 | 6 | 0 | (including playoffs) | |
Schedule
editRegular season
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 4 | Los Angeles Xtreme | W 15–13 | 1–0 | Pacific Bell Park |
| 2 | February 10 | at Orlando Rage | L 14–26 | 1–1 | Florida Citrus Bowl |
| 3 | February 17 | at Memphis Maniax | W 13–6 | 2–1 | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium |
| 4 | February 25 | Las Vegas Outlaws | L 9–16 | 2–2 | Pacific Bell Park |
| 5 | March 3 | Birmingham Thunderbolts | W 39–10 | 3–2 | Pacific Bell Park |
| 6 | March 11 | New York/New Jersey Hitmen | L 12–20 | 3–3 | Pacific Bell Park |
| 7 | March 18 | at Chicago Enforcers | L 19–25 | 3–4 | Soldier Field |
| 8 | March 24 | Memphis Maniax | W 21–12 | 4–4 | Pacific Bell Park |
| 9 | April 1 | at Las Vegas Outlaws | W 14–9 | 5–4 | Sam Boyd Stadium |
| 10 | April 7 | at Los Angeles Xtreme | L 0–24 | 5–5 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
Post-season
edit| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-final | April 14 | at Orlando Rage | W 26–25 | 1–0 | Florida Citrus Bowl |
| Championship | Saturday, April 21, 2001 | at Los Angeles Xtreme | L 6–38 | 1–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
Personnel
editStaff
edit| 2001 San Francisco Demons staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
| |||||
Standings
edit| Western Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Los Angeles Xtreme | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 235 | 166 | W1 | ||
| San Francisco Demons | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 156 | 161 | L1 | ||
| Memphis Maniax | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 167 | 166 | W2 | ||
| Las Vegas Outlaws | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 169 | 143 | L3 | ||
San Francisco Demons players
edit- 21 Wendell Davis CB college (Oklahoma) Davis played with the Dallas Cowboys for a little over three seasons. Davis played with Dallas for two full seasons (1996–97) before being sidelined for the 1998 season and part of 1999 season with the Cowboys.
- 18 Pat Barnes QB college (California) Barnes played two seasons in NFL Europe with the Frankfurt Galaxy. Barnes led the Galaxy to a World Bowl championship in 1999 and also saw a career highlight of 30 TD passes in his two years in NFL Europe. Barnes saw playing time in 1999 with the San Francisco 49ers. Barnes also pre-season action with the Kansas City Chiefs and later the Cleveland Browns after the XFL folded. Barnes was the Demons' second-string quarterback and saw spot duty through the season.
- 99 Eric England DE college (Texas A&M) England played three seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals (1994–1996) before embarking on a career in the CFL with the BC Lions in 1997–2000. In 2000 England was part of the Grey Cup champion BC Lions
- 84 Brian Roche TE college (Cal Poly/San Jose State) Roche played nearly four season in the NFL. Roche played two years in San Diego with the Chargers 1996–97 before joining the Kansas City Chiefs for a season (1998) and a part of another (1999)
- 26 Juan Johnson RB college (Utah) Johnson played in the CFL with the BC Lions in 1999 and in five games with the NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals in 2000 before joining the XFL
- 89 Brian Roberson WR college (Fresno State) Roberson played in the Indoor Football League in 2000 with the Fargo Freeze before joining the XFL
- Mike Pawlawski QB; Pawlawski, the longtime starting quarterback for the Arena Football League's Albany Firebirds, was the Demons' starting quarterback through the whole season. This would be Pawlawski's last time playing professional football; he retired from playing after the season and moved into broadcasting,
Team leaders
edit- Rushing yards: 228, Kelvin Anderson
- Receiving yards: 390, Jimmy Cunningham
- Passing yards: 1484, Mike Pawlawski
- Final team regular season stats available at all-XFL
References
edit- ^ "San Jose Demons Logo Sheet". SSUR.org. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ "XFL San Francisco Demons".
- ^ "XFL Standings". USA Today. May 12, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
