# Baltimore Mariners

The Baltimore Mariners were an indoor football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The team was a member of American Indoor Football. The team was founded when the American Indoor Football Association expelled the Baltimore Blackbirds for negotiating with another league. The AIFA maintained the lease rights to 1st Mariner Arena, so the Mariners were the league's replacement. On September 3, 2010, team owner Dwayne Wells was arrested on charges of wire fraud from an engineering firm he partially owned, allegedly using embezzled money from the firm to buy stakes in the Mariners franchise. Wells forfeited his ownership of the team, causing the Mariners to fold after the 2010 season. The Southern Indoor Football League, as successor to the eastern half of the AIFA, held the lease on the arena, now called Baltimore Arena, until it folded in 2011. The Mariners, after three seasons out of play, returned for one final season in 2014, winning the league championship before folding again. The Mariners were succeeded by the Baltimore Brigade of the Arena Football League in 2017, until the league folded in 2019.

## History
### Expansion (2008–2009)
#### 2009 season schedule

| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
| March 15 | Erie RiverRats | Home | Won 60-32 |
| March 22 | Reading Express | Home | Won 59-44 |
| March 28 | Harrisburg Stampede | Away | Lost 37-43 |
| April 4 | Columbus Lions | Away | Lost 82-19 |
| April 18 | Reading Express | Away | Won 40-36 |
| April 24 | Florence Phantoms | Home | Lost 52-58 |
| May 2 | Harrisburg Stampede | Away | Won 37-27 |
| May 10 | Erie RiverRats | Away | Lost 50-53 |
| May 23 | Columbus Lions | Home | Won 52-32 |
| May 30 | D.C. Armor | Home | Won 57-24 |
| June 6 | D.C. Armor | Away | Won 57-28 |
| June 14 | Harrisburg Stampede | Home | Won 58-55 |
| June 20 | South Carolina Force | Away | Loss 62-38 |
| June 27 | D.C. Armor | Home | Won 70-22 |
| July 2^ | Reading Express | Away | Lost 50-20 |

### First Championship and collapse (2010)

On March 21, 2010, the Mariners became the first team in AIFA history to earn a shutout win, as they won over the Fayetteville Guard 59–0.
On April 24, 2010, Baltimore continued its record-setting performances during a 91–19 home win over the Guard. They would set the team record for most points in one half (59) and the most points in one game (91).
On June 26, 2010, Baltimore became the first team in AIFA history to finish the regular season undefeated with a record of 14–0. Baltimore went on to win the AIFA Championship and complete their undefeated season with a 57–42 victory on July 25, 2010, over the Western Conference champions, the Wyoming Cavalry. In winning AIFA Bowl IV, the Mariners not only brought the city of Baltimore its first pro indoor football title, but also increased the city's number of overall pro football championships to eight (Baltimore Colts (NFL) in 1958, 1959, 1968, and 1970; Baltimore Stars (USFL) in 1985; Baltimore Stallions (CFL) in 1995;Baltimore Ravens (NFL) in 2000 and 2012; and, Baltimore Mariners (AIFA) in 2010).

#### 2010 season schedule

| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
| March 6 | Harrisburg Stampede | Away | Won 55-48 |
| March 14 | New Jersey Revolution | Home | Won 68-23 |
| March 21 | Fayetteville Guard | Home | Won 59-0 |
| March 28 | Richmond Raiders | Home | Won 49-45 |
| April 11 | New Jersey Revolution | Away | Won 61-27 |
| April 17 | Reading Express | Away | Won 51-27 |
| April 24 | Fayetteville Guard | Away | Won 91-19 |
| May 2 | Harrisburg Stampede | Home | Won 50-17 |
| May 13 | Fayetteville Guard | Away | Won 63-34 |
| May 29 | Richmond Raiders | Away | Won 57-39 |
| June 5 | Erie Storm | Home | Won 51-34 |
| June 13 | Erie Storm | Away | Won 39-37 |
| June 19 | New Jersey Revolution | Home | Won 84-6 |
| June 26 | Reading Express | Home | Won 69-35 |
| July 10^ | Harrisburg Stampede | Home | Won 63-15 |
| July 25^ | Wyoming Cavalry | Home | Won 57-42 |
^ - indicates playoff game
The coach of the undefeated 2010 Mariners, Chris Simpson, would move to the Richmond Raiders for the 2011 season.
In October 2011, the AIFA announced that it would include a team from Maryland, presumably the remains/continuation of the Mariners, in its 2012 relaunch; the league more explicitly stated that the Mariners would be revived for the 2014 season.

### Rebirth (2013–2014)

In September 2013, the AIF announced that Baltimore would be re-joining the league in 2014. On October 9, 2013, the Mariners announced Ron Meehan would be returning as head coach. In 2014, they won the AIF Championship against the Cape Fear Heroes.

#### 2014 season schedule

| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
| March 20 | [A.S.I. PANTHERS Preseason] | Home | W 56-46 |
| April 4 | Rochester Raiders | Away | W 52-28 |
| April 19 | Atlanta Sharks | Home | W 65-18 |
| May 3 | York Capitals | Away | W 40-31 |
| May 9 | York Capitals | Home | W 61-26 |
| May 17 | Cape Fear Heroes | Away | L 47-57 |
| May 24 | Atlanta Sharks | Home | L Forfeit |
| May 31^ | Rochester Raiders | Away | W 46-40 |
| June 14^ | Cape Fear Heroes | Away | W 45-44 |
^ - indicates playoff game

## Statistics and records
### Season-by-season results

Note: The finish, wins, losses, and ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.
| League Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card Berth | League Leader |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason results |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | Postseason results |
| 2008 | 2008 | AIFA | North | Eastern | 3rd | 4 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 2009 | AIFA | | North | 2nd | 9 | 5 | 0 | Lost North Division Playoff (Express) 20-50 |
| 2010 | 2010 | AIFA | | Eastern | 1st | 14 | 0 | 0 | Won Eastern Divisional Championship (Stampede) 63-15 Won AIFA Championship Bowl VI (Cavalry) 57-42 |
| 2014 | 2014 | AIF | | | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoff (Raiders) 46-40 Won AIFA Championship Bowl IX (Heroes) 45-44 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 31 | 17 | 0 | All-time regular season record (2008–2014) | All-time regular season record (2008–2014) | All-time regular season record (2008–2014) |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 4 | 1 | - | All-time postseason record (2008–2014) | All-time postseason record (2008–2014) | All-time postseason record (2008–2014) |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 35 | 18 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2008–2014) | All-time regular season and postseason record (2008–2014) | All-time regular season and postseason record (2008–2014) |
* Season currently in progress