AFL Arena Football League

Top 25 Players in AFL History: #11 Sylvester Bembery

June 14, 2012 - Arena Football League (AFL) News Release


CHICAGO - Continuing its countdown of the 25 Greatest Players in AFL History, the Silver Anniversary Committee has announced its selection for the 11th Greatest Player in AFL History: Sylvester Bembery.

Bembery came to the University of Central Florida in 1984 and immediately became an impact player for the Knights, a football program that had celebrated its inaugural season just five years earlier. Bembery spent four years on the UCF defensive line and played a major role in putting the football program on the map as a Division I competitor. In 1986, the team put together its first winning season since 1979 and during Bembery's senior campaign in 1987, the UCF defense held opponents to just 67 points on the year.

When Bembery did not receive a call from the NFL, he turned to the New England Steamrollers of the Arena Football League in 1988. Though he was always a force on the defensive line, recording 8.5 sacks in his rookie season alone, the AFL's "Ironman" rules allowed Bembery to shine on both sides of the ball. He was named Second-Team All-Arena for his efforts as an offensive and defensive lineman during his first year in the League. He would earn All-Arena honors five more times in his career.

After taking the 1989 AFL season off, Bembery joined the Albany Firebirds in 1990. He stayed with the squad for four years, earning First-Team All-Arena honors in three consecutive seasons from 1990-1992. In 1993, he recorded the first of three receiving touchdowns in his career. The next two touchdown grabs would come the following year as a member of the Tampa Bay Storm.

Under the guidance of Head Coach Tim Marcum, Bembery and the Storm won back-to-back ArenaBowl championships in 1995 and 1996. He stayed with the team through the 1999 season before briefly joining the Buffalo Destroyers in 2000. He came back to Tampa for one more year in 2001 before calling it a career. After 13 seasons, he left the game as the AFL's all-time leader in sacks with 43 to his name.

Bembery was selected to both the AFL's 10th and 15th Anniversary Teams and his number 78 jersey was retired by the Storm in 2002. The accolades continued to roll in, as the AFL Historical Committee ranked him seventh on its list of the 20 Greatest Players in AFL History in 2006 and the University of Central Florida inducted him into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.

On August 12, 2011, Bembery, along with former teammates George LaFrance and Stevie Thomas, was announced as an inductee to the AFL Hall of Fame. He was formally inducted in March 2012.

The League's Silver Anniversary Committee will continue to countdown its list of the 25 Greatest Players in AFL History each week throughout the 2012 regular season, with the announcements of the Top 5 during the postseason.

25 Greatest Players in AFL History

11. Sylvester Bembery

12. Stevie Thomas

13. Kenny McEntyre

14. John Corker

15. Dwayne Dixon

16. Kurt Warner

17. Bob McMillen

18. Mark Grieb

19. Darryl Hammond

20. Alvin Rettig

21. Durwood Roquemore

22. Chris Jackson

23. Ben Bennett

24. Clevan Thomas

25. Gary Mullen

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