1997 Arizona Rattlers ArenaBowl XI Championship Ring — Player Issued
This is a genuine player-issued 1997 Arizona Rattlers ArenaBowl XI Championship ring in 10k gold with diamonds, crafted by Jostens. The 1997 Rattlers were a dominant, battle-tested squad that finished the season 12–2, hosted the ArenaBowl on their home floor in Phoenix, and delivered one of the most commanding championship performances in AFL history — a 55–33 demolition of the Iowa Barnstormers and their quarterback, a pre-fame Kurt Warner, three years before he became an NFL legend.
The team that stopped Kurt Warner — twice
Before Kurt Warner became a three-time Super Bowl quarterback, a two-time NFL MVP, and a Pro Football Hall of Famer, he was the Iowa Barnstormers' signal caller — and the most electrifying quarterback in the Arena Football League. Warner had led Iowa to back-to-back ArenaBowl appearances in 1996 and 1997, hungry for a championship after the Barnstormers' heartbreaking one-score loss to the Tampa Bay Storm in ArenaBowl X. The 1997 ArenaBowl was supposed to be Iowa's year. They had gone 11–3, Warner was at the peak of his AFL powers, and they were carrying the momentum of two consecutive championship appearances. The Rattlers — despite playing without injured starter Sherdrick Bonner — answered with one of the most complete team performances in ArenaBowl history. They held Warner and the Barnstormers to 33 points and won by three scores in front of 17,436 fans at America West Arena. It was the largest home crowd in Rattlers history at the time.
Crafted by Jostens in 10k gold with diamonds, this player-issued ring represents the Rattlers' second ArenaBowl title — their confirmation as an AFL dynasty — and their definitive answer to the most dangerous quarterback the league had ever seen. An exceptional piece of arena football history.
| Year | 1997 |
| Championship | ArenaBowl XI |
| Material | 10k Gold with diamonds |
| Manufacturer | Jostens |
| Type | Player-issued |
| ArenaBowl result | Rattlers def. Iowa Barnstormers, 55–33 |
1997 Arizona Rattlers — Quick Facts
- The Rattlers stopped Kurt Warner from winning an ArenaBowl championship — Warner went on to win three Super Bowls and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017; this ring belongs to the team that denied him the one title that eluded him in arena football
- Hunkie Cooper delivered one of the great ironman performances in ArenaBowl history — a receiving touchdown, a kickoff return touchdown, and an interception return touchdown in the same championship game; Cooper holds the AFL career record for all-purpose yards
- The Rattlers went 2–0 in ArenaBowl appearances in their first six seasons — winning both ArenaBowl VIII (1994) and ArenaBowl XI (1997) in convincing fashion, establishing themselves as the AFL's most consistent championship performers of the era
- The game drew 17,436 fans to America West Arena — a then-record for a Rattlers home game — in one of the loudest and most celebrated nights in Phoenix sports history
- Fill-in quarterback Donnie Davis played one of the great clutch performances in ArenaBowl history, stepping in for the injured Sherdrick Bonner and leading the team to a three-score championship victory
- The Arizona Rattlers and Tampa Bay Storm share the record for most ArenaBowl victories with five each — making the Rattlers one of the two most decorated franchises in the history of the sport