DENVER COLORADO SPORTS

Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a National Football League team based in Denver, Colorado. A charter member of the American Football League, they were a backwater small-market team that met with little success in their early years but have since become one of the elite franchises of the league after having advanced to the Super Bowl six times. In their first four appearances, they suffered successively lopsided defeats, achieving near-legendary status as frustrated losers before winning back-to-back Super Bowl championships in 1998 and 1999 under quarterback John Elway and coach Mike Shanahan. For most of their history they played in Mile High Stadium, which became one of the shrines of professional football for its unbroken string of sell-outs and its famous home-field advantage percentage for the Broncos, especially during the post-season. Mile High Stadium was one of the NFL's loudest stadiums, with steel flooring instead of concrete, which may have given the Broncos an advantage over opponents. Since 2001, they have played at INVESCO Field at Mile High, built next to the former site of Mile High Stadium.

Denver Nuggets
One of 4 ABA teams that joined the NBA through a league merger in 1976, they were known as the Rockets for their first 7 years of existence, and were very strong in their early years. However, they tended to struggle in the postseason and failed to make a championship game during this span. They had a solid lineup led by Byron Beck and Larry Jones, then later by Beck and Ralph Simpson. During the 1969-1970 season, the team also had a controversial rookie named Spencer Haywood. Haywood was one of the first players to turn pro before graduating college, and the NBA initially refused to let him play in the league. Haywood averaged 30 points in his only ABA season, then was allowed to sign with the Seattle SuperSonics to start a productive NBA career.

Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies joined the National League as an expansion franchise in 1993, along with the Florida Marlins. The team set attendance records in its days back at Mile High Stadium, and was the first team in the history of Major League Baseball to record over 4,000,000 fans in annual attendance. In 1995, the Rockies moved in to a new stadium, Coors Field, where they have played their home games ever since. That year, they made their first and, to date, only post-season appearance as the National League Wild Card team where they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Atlanta Braves. Interestingly, the Rockies, since their inception, have always tended to have a strong hitting squad and home record, which are offset by a weak bullpen and road record. This can be attributed to the conditions of Coors Field, whose thin air makes hitting much easier.

Colorado Avalanche
When the Québec Nordiques found themselves experiencing on-ice success but off-ice financial failure during the lockout shortened 1994-95 NHL season team owner Marcel Aubut asked for a bailout from Quebec's provincial government. The bailout fell through and Aubut was forced to sell the team to a group of investors in Denver. The franchise was packed up and shipped to Colorado and renamed the Colorado Avalanche.

Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are Denver, Colorado's Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise founded in 1996. The team colors are blue and black; the home jerseys are blue and black vertical stripes. They played their home games at Mile High Stadium from 1996-2000 and moved into INVESCO Field in 2001. They plan to move to a new soccer-specific stadium in the town of Commerce City at least in 2007.

Colorado Crush
Colorado Crush is an Arena Football League team that began play in 2003. The team is based in Denver, Colorado and play at the Pepsi Center, which also serves as the home to the National Lacrosse League's Colorado Mammoth, the National Hockey League's Colorado Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association. The principal owner of the franchise is Denver Broncos legend and Hall of Famer John Elway, with Stan Kroenke, owner of the Nuggets, the Avalanche, the Pepsi Center, the Altitude Sports network and the majority Broncos owner Pat Bowlen as minority owners. The Crush compete in the Central Division of the American Conference. On June 12, 2005 they won ArenaBowl XIX (19) in Las Vegas' Thomas & Mack Center over the Georgia Force 51-48.

Colorado Mammoth
The Colorado Mammoth is a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional sports league in North America. They have played at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, since the 2002-2003 season. In 2004 they became the leagues attendance leader, beating the Toronto Rock out closely. They are owned by E. Stanley Kroenke who is also the owner of the Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Denver Nuggets (NBA), and the Colorado Rapids (MLS). They had previously been the Baltimore Thunder from 1986 to 1999, the Pittsburgh CrosseFire from 1999 to 2000 and the Washington Power from 2000 to 2002.

Denver Bears
The Denver Bears were the AAA minor league baseball franchise in the Pacific Coast League in Denver, Colorado from 1948 until the team name was changed to the Denver Zephyrs. The team played at what became known later as Mile High Stadium, but was originally known as Bears Stadium after this team. This stadium was one of the largest venues in history to host minor league baseball on a routine basis. The name has been used for other sports teams in Denver in the past several years as well. The Denver Bears had some good teams from the 70s to mid 80s, producing such players as Tim Wallach, Warren Cromarte, Tim Raines and pitcher Bill Gullickson. In 1980 they finished with the 37th best record of all time (92-44) and won the American Association pennant.

Denver Zephyrs
The Denver Zephyrs were a continuation of the old Denver Bears AAA minor league baseball franchise. The played their home games at Mile High Stadium, which, after additions made to accommodate the Denver Broncos football team was the largest venue ever to be the home venue of a minor league team. As a result, they set several minor league attendance records. They played in the former American Association. The team was well-known in part for being the only baseball team with a "Z" on their caps. The team relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana after the 1992 season to make way for the Colorado Rockies, who began play in the National League the following year.

Denver Spurs
The Denver Spurs were a hockey team based out of Denver that played in the World Hockey Association. They played only one season in 1975. Their home ice was McNichols Sports Arena. On January 2, 1976, the franchise moved to Ottawa and became the Ottawa Civics. The Denver Spurs began play in the WHL (Western Hockey League) in 1968. After the WHL folded in 1974, the team jumped to the old Central Hockey League. The CHL folded and the Spurs were absorbed into the WHA in 1975. The first professional team in Colorado to win a championship was the 1971/72 Denver Spurs.

Colorado Rockies (NHL)
The Kansas City Scouts moved to Colorado before the 1976-77 NHL season and played there for six years. They made the playoffs only once, in the 1977-78 NHL season, losing 0-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round. Equally bad was attendance. The only bright spot in the franchise's history was during the 1979-80 NHL season when they had Don Cherry as head coach. This didn't bring any more attention to the team which moved to New Jersey after the 1981-82 NHL season, whereupon the team name was changed to New Jersey Devils.

Denver Gold
The Denver Gold was a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second major professional football league in the United States, playing a springtime season. The Gold played their home games at Mile High Stadium. The Gold drew fans fairly well compared to some of the other USFL teams, and competed in all three of the USFL seasons actually contested (1983-1985). The Gold attempted to utilize some of the goodwill established by the rival NFL's Denver Broncos by involving former Broncos players and coaches in the Gold organization. The Gold were coached by former Denver Broncos coach Red Miller, and ex-Broncos quarterback Craig Morton. The were also coached by Mouse Davis in 1985. Davis was one of the authors of the Run and Shoot offense.

Denver Dynamite
The Denver Dynamite were a charter member of the Arena Football League, playing in the inaugural four-team "demonstration" season of 1987 and winning the first ArenaBowl that year. Showcasing a high-powered offense led by former Vanderbilt University star quarterback Whit Taylor, the team nonetheless did not return for the league's second season in 1988. It was restarted in 1989, however, and operated for three subsequent seasons, ceasing operation after the 1991 campaign. The owners retained the rights to operate an Arena Football franchise, however, which they sold in 1996 to a Nashville-based group which started the Nashville Kats (now the Georgia Force) the next year. The Dynamite's memorable logo was, unsurprisingly, an exploding bundle of dynamite sticks. The team's home games were played in the McNichols Arena, which was then also the home of the NBA's Denver Nuggets.