The Arena Football League (AFL) was founded in 1987 and by the early ‘90s had grown from four to 12 teams. Franchises were awarded to all manner of business people who saw the opportunity to become football owners at a relatively low cost. Among them was Ted Gregory, who owned the famous Montgomery Inn in Cincinnati.
1992, the Gregorys were awarded an expansion team which they named the Rockers. One of their first tasks was finding a starting quarterback, which turned out to be someone very recognizable to fans in Southwest Ohio: Art Schlichter. The former Ohio State University star, whose pro career was derailed by a horrific gambling problem, had seemingly gotten his life sorted out and had just spent two seasons with the AFL Detroit Drive. He’d led that team to two postseason appearances, including an Arena Bowl championship.
In hindsight, it was apparent that Schlichter was never able to conquer his demons and the Drive found an easy way to unload him on the expansion Rockers. The Gregorys, however, knew all about Art, good and bad. One of Schlichter’s teammates at OSU was a family friend of the Gregorys named Joe Lukens, a former Moeller standout. Though the star quarterback had struggled off the field, the Gregorys decided to give him a chance-- with eyes wide open.
“I’ll never forget, my brother Tom called me at the Boathouse,” Dean Gregory recalled on Episode 35 of The Cincy Shirts Podcast, “and said ‘hey we just hired Art Schlichter. Whatever you do, don't lend him any money, and don’t cash any checks for him.’”
Twenty minutes later, Art was at the Boathouse meeting with Dean. “He was probably the greatest salesman I’ve ever seen,” Gregory said. Within minutes, Schlichter managed to get a check cashed for $1000. “He came back the next day and repaid me the money. I thought, ‘this is a set-up. He’s going to cash a bigger check next time,’ but no.”
On the field, Schlichter picked up right where he’d left off in Detroit and led the Rockers to a 7 and 3 record and a playoff berth. He also started doing some radio work in town. Attendance averaged over 13,000 a game, near the top of the Arena League. “I’d been working in the restaurant since I was twelve,” Dean Gregory said. “It was the first time I was able to take Saturday nights off since the mid-sixties.”
Other notable players on the Rockers roster included former Bengal Ira Hillary, who went from obscure kick returner to Arena League wide receiver phenom. Career Arena Leaguer Bruce LaSane was also on the team and helped propel them to the playoffs.
Even though they lost in the first round to the Tampa Bay Storm, the Rockers seemed to be looking at a bright future in the Queen City. However, Schlichter could not kick his gambling habit and decided not to return the following season, hoping instead to focus on curing his addiction. He was replaced by former Notre Dame star, and NFL journeyman, Blair Keil.
“The second year wasn’t the same,” Dean Gregory lamented. “They tried to make it a sport. It was more like big-time wrestling at first, but when they tried to make it a sport, it just didn’t work.”
The team’s record dropped the following season to 2 and 10, and with its attendance. Following the 1993 campaign, the Gregorys pulled the plug. “There’s a little Rockets watch on display in the trophy case at the Boathouse,” Gregory added, “and in my dad’s handwriting it says, ‘my two million dollar watch.’”
114 comments
timsharon
DUNAMIS CYBER SOLUTION TO RECOVER HACKED FUNDS, BITCOINS Last year, I found myself in a heartbreaking situation after losing over $35,000 in Bitcoin to a fake investor online. This all started when a colleague of mine at work introduced me to a supposed investment platform. She had been investing with them for several months and had received payouts without issue. Encouraged by her success, I decided to invest my own funds, only to watch it all disappear. Soon after, my colleague and I realized we were victims of a scam. We reached out to the support team countless times but received no response. Weeks turned into months, and the realization hit me hard: I had likely lost my entire investment.In my desperation, I even considered hiring a hacker to recover my funds, but I quickly dismissed the idea due to the risks involved. That’s when I decided to search for legitimate ways to recover my lost funds online. After researching, I came across DUNAMIS CYBER SOLUTION a company that specializes in helping people recover lost funds from online scams, fraudulent investments, and even stolen bank account balances. I was intrigued by their success stories and customer reviews, which led me to believe that they could potentially help me reclaim what I had lost.I contacted DUNAMIS CYBER SOLUTION and immediately felt a sense of relief. The team was professional, understanding, and knowledgeable. They took the time to understand the details of my case and assured me they could help. Their process was transparent and efficient, and within a short period, they managed to track and recover my lost Bitcoin. I was amazed at how quickly and smoothly they worked to get my funds back.Not only did they help me recover my entire $35,000, but they also assisted my colleague, who had been in the same situation. After several months of waiting, DUNAMIS CYBER SOLUTION is now in the final stages of retrieving the last portion of her investment, bringing her closer to full recovery. It was a tremendous relief to see both of us getting our hard-earned money back, thanks to their expertise.If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, don’t lose hope. There are professionals out there, liken DUNAMIS CYBER SOLUTION who can help you recover your lost funds. It’s reassuring to know that there’s a reliable solution for victims of online scams and fraud.
Dunamiscyber@solution4u.com
+13433030545
Barbara Lily
Hello everyone, Adrian is my name and I want to joyfully share my personal encounter of how I was able to gain full access back to my cryptocurrency wallet and recover all the funds therein. For months, I couldn’t perform any succesful transactions from my Bitcoin wallet, always getting error messages, transaction incomplete and most annoying, unexplained deductions even when I had thousands of dollars on my balance. I shared so many emails and even phone calls with the customer care representative of the bitcoin wallet app I was using and all feedback I got never helped. I came across Hacker Judas Service through an online review and decided to give it a try as I had no other options. I was greatly marvelled at their prompt and swift assistance, as they were able to resolve all of my complains and helped me gain full access back to my wallet, recovered lost amount through deductions and further advise on how to secure my wallet. Their services was truly applaudable! I’m sharing this as my own way of assisting whoever that’s facing any cryptocurrency issues, as contacting only the right digital recovery firm can help. Hacker Judas Service are the right guys! Here’s their direct customer service rep contact: hackerjudas9@gmail.com; WhatsApp +18075002291
https://hackerjudasrecovery.info/
Donald Flanery
I’m giving a testimony about Dr. Isikolo. i won $17.000.000USD in lottery games. I took an advice from some person who talked about this great spell caster called DR ISIKOLO the person placed a testimonies on a blog saying how DR ISIKOLO helped him win the lottery by sending him the winning number i was curious and i thought it was all joke not until i contacted this spell caster to know for myself how this work cause i have spend a lot buying tickets and and made so many draws and trials but i never won. I contacted him and he told me the necessary thing that need to be done and i did it and he told me to wait for 2 days and truly he gave me the winning numbers to play the lottery which i did and luckily as he assured me, i won $17.000.000USD and it was unbelievable. i am sharing this testimony with you that if you want to win the lottery this is the way online tips can help you, review his webpage https://isikolo-temple.com or text him via WhatsApp on +2348133261196 is the only answer.to that your problem of winning the lottery
Martin
Legitimate Cryptocurrency Recovery Company | I Lost My Crypto Can I Get It Back? – OPTIMISTIC HACKER GAIUS
I lost access to my cryptocurrency exchange account due to a phishing scam. OPTIMISTIC HACKER GAIUS quickly regained control and recovered my funds. Their rapid response saved me from financial disaster
WhatsApp……… +44 (737, 674 (05 69
Homepage Go to Link…… www.optimistichackergaius.com
E-mail Box…….. support@optimistichackergaius.com
Martin
Legitimate Cryptocurrency Recovery Company | I Lost My Crypto Can I Get It Back? – OPTIMISTIC HACKER GAIUS
I lost access to my cryptocurrency exchange account due to a phishing scam. OPTIMISTIC HACKER GAIUS quickly regained control and recovered my funds. Their rapid response saved me from financial disaster
WhatsApp……… +44 (737, 674 (05 69
Homepage Go to Link…… www.optimistichackergaius.com
E-mail Box…….. support@optimistichackergaius.com
Leave a comment
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.