1988 Arena Football League season

The 1988 Arena Football League season was the second season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Detroit Drive, who defeated the Chicago Bruisers in ArenaBowl II.

1988 Arena Football League season
League	Arena Football League
Sport	Arena football
Duration	April 28, 1988 – July 30, 1988
Regular season
Season champions	Chicago Bruisers
Season MVP	Ben Bennett (CHI)
League postseason
1 vs 4 Semifinals champions	Chicago Bruisers
1 vs 4 Semifinals runners-up	Los Angeles Cobras
2 vs 3 Semifinals champions	Detroit Drive
2 vs 3 Semifinals runners-up	Pittsburgh Gladiators
ArenaBowl II
Champions	Detroit Drive
Runners-up	Chicago Bruisers
Finals MVP	Steve Griffin (DET)

Bruisers

Cobras

Drive

Gladiators

Knights

Steamrollers

AFL teams

Standings

1988 Arena Football League standings
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	PF (Avg.)	PA (Avg.)	STK
xy-Chicago Bruisers	10	1	1	.875	526	374	43.8	31.2	T 1
x-Detroit Drive	9	3	0	.750	472	310	39.3	25.8	W 7
x-Pittsburgh Gladiators	6	6	0	.500	507	491	42.3	40.9	L 1
x-Los Angeles Cobras	5	6	1	.458	463	449	38.6	37.4	T 1
New England Steamrollers	3	9	0	.250	335	511	27.9	42.6	W 1
New York Knights	2	10	0	.167	342	510	28.5	42.5	L 2

y – clinched regular-season title

x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

	Semifinals					ArenaBowl II
	1	Chicago	29
	4	Los Angeles	16
						1	Chicago	13
						2	Detroit	24
	2	Detroit	34
	3	Pittsburgh	25

Awards and honors

Regular season awards

Award	Winner	Position	Team
Most Valuable Player	Ben Bennett	Quarterback	Chicago Bruisers
Ironman of the Year	Dwayne Dixon	Wide Receiver/Defensive Back	Detroit Drive
Coach of the Year	Perry Moss	Head coach	Chicago Bruisers

All-Arena team

Position	First team	Second team
Quarterback	Ben Bennett, Chicago	Matt Stevens, Los Angeles
Fullback/Linebacker	Walter Holman, Detroit	Osia Lewis, Chicago
Wide receiver/Defensive back	Gary Mullen, Los Angeles Carl Aikens, Jr., Chicago Dwayne Dixon, Detroit	Jim Hockaday, New England Vince Courville, New York Reggie Smith, Chicago
Offensive lineman/Defensive lineman	Quinton Knight, New York Craig Walls, Pittsburgh Jeff Faulkner, Chicago	Kevin Murphy, New England Sylvester Bembery, New England Jon Roehlk, Detroit
Defensive specialist	Durwood Roquemore, Chicago	Nate Miller, Detroit
Kicker	Marco Morales, Chicago	Novo Bojovic, Detroit

Team notes

# of Teams	Expansion Teams	Folded Teams	Suspended Teams	Teams returning from previous season	Teams returning after hiatus	Relocated Teams	Name Changes
6	Detroit Drive Los Angeles Cobras New England Steamrollers New York Knights		Denver Dynamite Washington Commandos	Chicago Bruisers Pittsburgh Gladiators