Denver was a primary example of a team that defeated their poor odds, sent them packing, and trudged through year by year – always hoping for a better future. Denver wasn’t unfortunate, but they were never fortunate enough to be seen as anything else. Nevertheless, the Horses were established and maintained by loyal fans who, under the circumstances, knew that someday their day would come.

Denver did not inherit a previous coach from the 1950s generation, but in local Colorado College’s Gary “Bud” Miller they believed. He was a true go-getter; a man with a keen eye for talent and prospect. Miller was hired as Head Coach by team owner Carl Stephenson in 1957 when it had been confirmed that Denver would be one of six teams to receive a team in the FAFF. The Horses completed their stadium in early 1958 and became one of six teams to play in the AFL conference. Their first stadium was built in an abandoned industrial field (pictured in the background of this image).

Miller, a frilled lizard who had lived in Colorado his entire life, struggled to deal with players and men who were unfamiliar with the Western experience. Their lead quarterback, Greg Golden, who had been back-up on the North All-Stars team in Portland, Maine until its dissolution, often recalled that Miller “often times would not think to provide the team players with water or proper food, because the majority of Colorado citizens were reptiles like him and he had no experience with any other species,” and the team suffered as a result.

After their 1959 season, in which they finished 9-7, the team failed to have another winning season for ten straight years. Golden had left to retire in 1962, and Miller had been demoted to Defensive Coordinator. This move, along with the carousel of quarterbacks that started for the Horses in the 1960s, promoted a sense of desperation and uninspired football.

Behind the scenes, something even worse was happening – in 1969, it was announced that the Horses were a couple seasons from defaulting, due to their miserable attendance rate. Word spread quickly around the league and around Colorado. In a true fervor that’s only described as true love, the Horses administration and local organizations ran fundraisers to organize a $250,000 dollar loan to Stephenson. Ironically, this loan – in order to maximize on its worth - was not paid in full until 2001.

The 1970s did not prove to be any more successful than the first decade of their existence. Quarterbacks like Dave Wogeliz, James Bullitt, John Ford, and George Slanton failed to pull any wins to their side. Miller had been fired from his position as Defensive Coordinator in 1970. The Head Coach, Berry Ingwall, was charged with wreckless homicide in 1973 and did not return to football. Any spirit that had remained in the team in 1969 was quickly depleted; college football, and the Denver Broncos, became the favorite spectator sport during that era. Slanton, however, did provide some excitement with a 10-6 season in 1978.

After discussions had been pushing to dissolve the team and restart in nearby Albuquerque, Colorado businessman Carlos Dias-Guerrero purchased the team from the ailing Stephenson in 1985. Dias-Guerrero acquired all assets of the team, including the team colors, mascot, and stadium rights. The Stadium was renamed Dias-Guerrero Stadium, and the first official mascot was introduced. The current colors arrangement of royal blue, black, and white were set and have not changed since the 1980s. With this newfound direction and flush-out, Denver released failed quarterback Isaac Heithdi, and signed Marco Todd. Todd, a badger who was previously a construction worker who fell in love with the sport after being hired to construct the new stadium in Phoenix, provided some hope to this failed franchise with an average record. Coach Tim Johnson was hired in 1987, in Dias-Guerrero’s effort to replace half of the original coaches of 1985.

Despite moderate success, the team was still falling behind in the monetary bank and was struggling to pay their players. This was well enough until 1991, when Johnson and Dias-Guerrero were inclined enough to sign Davey Redman (Dog – Terrier), the son of infamous quarterback Reddy Redman of the Chicago Wolves, to their team. Redman Jr. was good, but Johnson had felt that their team was doing fine enough to carry on without the prolific child of past success being planted into their team. Dias-Guerrero, on the other paw, saw Redman as a great publicity opportunity that could bring in new watchers and strengthen the depleted fan base. Therefore, there was great pressure on Johnson to make Redman the starter and replace Jonas Dedingfield (Elk) with Redman. Dedingfield and the Horses finished 12-4 in 1991, but lost their first playoff game since 1978 to Tony Grey and the red-hot division rival Los Angeles Surfers. The micro-management of Dias-Guerrero frustrated Johnson, and he left the team in 1993. That same off-season, Dias-Guerrero traded Dedingfield to the Columbus Attackers and proclaimed Redman their starter. Head Coach Felix Stansen, a Danish implant from California and had 15+ years of college coaching experience, was hired to replace Johnson.

With this new set-up, the mid-1990s of the Denver Horses forever changed the administration and the team. Redman would perform quite well in his first two season as starter, amassing 18 wins and withholding fans who doubted the Horses could ever amount to a thing. Ironically, the league would impede on the thunder of Denver by passing restrictions in 1995 that would take away player management rights and promoting head coach rights in its place. Dias-Guerrero would sit back and watch as Stansen would change the defense from 4-3 to 3-4, and – as if a light had been switched on – the team became nearly unstoppable. The 1995 Horses won their last six games to finish 10-6. They lost their first playoff game to Dallas, but they were not fazed – 1996 would be their year.

And it was. Oh yes, how it was “their year”. Redman, Stensen, and the Denver Horses became the second team in history to record a perfect season and were reasoned to be one of the best-organized teams in the history of the AFL. The first time since 1959, Denver won a playoff game against New York, and - after forty years as a franchise - the Horses got their first look at what a Pro Team Bowl was like. It was the perfect set-up. Redman said of the game: “The lights are as bright as they’ll ever shine on us - we're the perfect Denver team, and this is our time. We must prove ourselves to be worth this. We must win.” They recorded a 16-0 record, and had outscored their opponents 528-151 during the regular season – the largest margin of points recorded by any team in any season. The Pro-Team Bowl was played at the Surfer’s Los Angeles, California three-layered dome, where Dedingfield had lost in 1991. As expected, the Horses trampled their opponents, the Tucson Droughts, 45-28 - becoming the first team to have a truly perfect season (Charlotte had lost their Pro Team Bowl in the 70's). The high-scoring game was due to many injuries on the Droughts’ team. Davey Redman and the 1996 Denver Horses were placed in the FAFF Hall of Fame in 1999.

Football became fun again in the late 1990s with the equivalent success of the Horses and the Denver Broncos, and their fan base grew. Suddenly the Horses were filling their stadium and bringing in profits. Fans of the 1960s Wolves were travelling to see Redman play. Denver returned to the Pro-Team Bowl in 1997 and won against the Atlanta Oranges. Dias-Guerrero was finally profiting from his 10+ year investment, and people suddenly remembered that the Denver Horses existed. Redman never threw an interception in the 1997 playoffs. He became the most popular quarterback in the league soon after, and Denver had thrown away its miserable history to the books in less than two season’s time.

After 1998, Stensen was asked to coach for the San Diego Lightning in his home state, and he accepted the offer. Dias-Guerrero hired Offensive Coordinator Janice Morris to the Head Coach position, making her only the third female Head Coach in FAFF history. With success comes several proposals for pay increases, and the Horses had to sign away many of their younger stars to other teams. As a result, the Horses could not make a run to return to the Pro-Team Bowl. Dias-Guerrero payed off the infamous 1969 loan in full in 2001, and sold his team to the city in 2002. Denver renamed the stadium The High Mile Stadium (to coordinate with the Broncos’ stadium), and Beckley president Kennedy Edwards purchased the team in late 2002.

Since Davey Redman’s retirement in 2005, the Horses have seen spurts of success from their current quarterback Andrew Stephens. Wide Receiver Mervin Rudolph brought much excitement in the 2000s as well. But all Horses fans hope, and us included, that the Horses will have another chance to surge again into the limelight and give this historically troubled team a reason to live on.