American Gladiators

American Gladiators

American Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired weekly in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own gladiators, in contests of strength and agility. The concept was created by Dan Carr and John C. Ferraro, who held the original competition at Erie Tech High School in Erie, Pennsylvania. They sold the show to The Samuel Goldwyn Company where the concept was enhanced and became American Gladiators. An effort in 2004 to launch a live American Gladiators show on the Las Vegas Strip became mired in a securities fraud prosecution. However, the television series was restarted in 2008. Episodes from the original series were played on ESPN Classic from 2007 to 2009. Several episodes are available for download on Apple's iTunes Service.

Reality

Seasons

Round 1: Preliminaries

1. Round 1: Preliminaries

Air Date: 1988-12-31

Females: Frankie Perry vs Brenda Hund Males: Craig Williams vs John Shumski

2. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1989-01-07

First Half Preliminary Round 2: Moore vs Wirth / Henry vs Jorge

3. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1989-01-14

First Half Preliminary Round 3: McCarthy vs. Needham/Hutson vs. Simmons

4. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1989-01-14

First Half Preliminary Round 4: Petitto vs. Ross/Carroll vs. Wyatt

5. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1989-01-21

First Half Preliminary Round 5: Phillips vs. Cotton/Rogers vs. Todd

6. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1989-01-31

First Half Quarterfinal Round 1: Cotton vs. Hund/Williams vs. Shumski

7. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1989-01-31

First Half Quarterfinal Round 2: Petitto vs. Ross/Wirth vs. Simmons

8. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1989-01-31

First Half Quarterfinal Round 3: Henry vs. Needham/Moore vs. Hutson

9. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1989-02-01

First Half Quarterfinal Round 4: McCarthy vs. Phillips/Carroll vs. Todd

10. Round One Semi-finals

Air Date: 1989-03-01

First Half Semifinal Round 1: Needham vs. Petitto/Williams vs. Carroll/Shumski

11. Round One Semi-finals

Air Date: 1989-03-01

First Half Semifinal Round 2: Cotton vs. Phillips/Hutson vs. Wirth

12. Round One Finals

Air Date: 1989-03-01

First Half Final Round: Petitto vs. Phillips/Williams vs. Hutson

13. Highlights From Round One

Air Date: 1989-05-01

First Half Highlight Show

14. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1989-09-01

Preliminary Round 1: Seymour vs. Jordan/Schwartze vs. Farwell

15. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1989-09-01

Preliminary Round 2: Podesta vs. Harrison/Allen vs. Herbst

16. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1989-09-01

Second Half Preliminary Round 3: Anderson vs. Brady/Venturi vs. Rampe

17. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1989-09-01

Second Half Preliminary Round 4: Sutton vs. Cueva/Lakatos vs. Silich

18. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1989-09-01

Second Half Preliminary Round 5: Stinson vs. Kidd/Brown vs. Koeberle

19. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1990-03-01

Second Half Quarterfinal Round 1: Seymour vs. Brady/Venturi vs. Harrison

20. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1990-03-01

Second Half Quarterfinal Round 2: Kidd vs. Herbst/Podesta vs. Koeberle

21. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1990-03-01

Second Half Quarterfinal Round 3: Sutton vs. Jordan/Lakatos vs. Silich

22. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1990-03-01

Second Half Quarterfinal Round 4: Anderson vs. Allen/Brown vs. Farwell

23. Round Two Semi-finals

Air Date: 1990-03-01

Second Half Semifinal Round 1: Jordan vs. Anderson/Venturi vs. Silich

24. Round Two Semi-finals

Air Date: 1990-03-01

Second Half Semifinal Round 2: Podesta vs. Brown/Kidd vs. Seymour/Herbst

25. Round Two Finals

Air Date: 1990-03-01

Second Half Final Round: Kidd vs. Anderson/Venturi vs. Brown

26. Grand Championship

Air Date: 1990-04-01

Grand Championship Final: Anderson vs. Hutson/Venturi vs. Phillips

Round 1: Preliminaries

1. Round 1: Preliminaries

Air Date: 1990-09-01

Females: Sheila Mercer vs Trish Tillotson Males: Rico Costantino vs John Adams

Round 1: Preliminaries

2. Round 1: Preliminaries

Air Date: 1990-09-08

Females: Margaret McCargo vs Susan Hirst Males: Chris Vopatek vs Purple Roundy

Round 1: Preliminaries

3. Round 1: Preliminaries

Air Date: 1990-09-15

Females: Marla Smith vs Kelley Peacock Males: Dale Thompson vs Rob Bottiggi

Round 1: Preliminaries

4. Round 1: Preliminaries

Air Date: 1990-09-22

Females: Maria Nichting vs Esther Ratner Males: Dwayne Thomas vs Lincoln Simonds ※Note: During Assault, Dwayne Thomas sustained an eye injury and was replaced with Nate Foster.

Round 1: Preliminaries

5. Round 1: Preliminaries

Air Date: 1990-09-29

Females: Samantha Bryant vs Cinda Mentzer Males: Wesley Keck vs Scott Reiff

6. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1990-10-06

Round one quarterfinals with contenders: Constantino vs. Foster and Mercer vs. Tillotson.

7. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1990-10-13

Round one quarterfinals with contenders: Vopatek vs. Keck and Nichting vs. Hirst.

8. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1990-10-20

Round one quarterfinals with contenders: Thompson vs. Simonds and Ratner vs. Mentzer.

9. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1990-10-27

Round one quarterfinals with contenders: Roundy vs. Adams and McCargo vs. Peacock.

10. Round One Semi-finals

Air Date: 1990-11-03

Round one semi-finals with contenders: Costantino vs. Simonds and McCargo vs. Tillotson.

11. Round One Semi-finals

Air Date: 1990-11-10

Round one semi-finals with contenders: Vopatek vs. Adams and Nichting vs. Mentzer.

12. Round One Finals

Air Date: 1990-11-17

Round one finals with contenders: Costantino vs. Adams and Nichting vs. Tillotson.

13. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1990-11-24

Round two preliminaries with contenders: Branham vs. McKleskey (alt. Kieser) and Look-Jaeger vs. Wilcox (alt. Dorsa)

14. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1990-12-01

Round two preliminaries with contenders: Kiernan vs. Johnson and Henger vs. Akai.

15. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1990-12-08

Round two preliminaries with contenders: Duke vs. Suzuki and Duke vs. Hill-Hudgins.

16. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1990-12-15

Round two preliminaries with contenders: Nasca vs. Dieter and Cumberbatch vs. Jarchow

17. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1990-12-22

Round two preliminaries with contenders: Montgomery vs. Altshuler and Telley vs. Stickelman.

18. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1990-12-29

Round two quarterfinals with contenders: Montgomery vs. Duke and Duke vs. Akai.

19. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1991-01-05

Round two quarterfinals with contenders: Johnson vs. Dieter and Look-Jaeger vs. Dorsa.

20. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1991-01-12

Round two quarterfinals with contenders: Nasca vs. Kiernan and Cumberbatch vs. Jarchow.

21. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1991-01-19

Round two quarterfinals with contenders: Altshuler vs. Branham and Telley vs. Stickelman.

22. Round Two Semi-finals

Air Date: 1991-01-26

Round two semi-finals with contenders: Branham vs. Montgomery and Telley vs. Akai.

23. Round Two Semi-finals

Air Date: 1991-02-02

Round two semi-finals with contenders: Kiernan vs. Dieter and Cumberbatch vs. Dorsa.

24. Round Two Finals

Air Date: 1991-02-09

Round two finals with contenders: Branham vs. Dieter and Cumberbatch vs. Telley.

25. Grand Championship

Air Date: 1991-02-16

Grand championship with contenders: Costantino vs. Branham and Nichting vs. Cumberbatch.

26. Alumni Show

Air Date: 1991-02-23

Alumni show with contenders: Cheryl Ann Silich, Aimee Ross, Lucian Anderson and Terry Moore.

1. Round One Preliminaries 1

Air Date: 1991-09-01

First half preliminary 1: Gary Wilson v. Coz Worthington, Toril Torjensen v. Kristi Kopp

2. Round One Preliminaries 2

Air Date: 1991-09-08

First half preliminary 2: Alex Engmann/Johnny Vineyard v. James Long, Elise Johnson v. Erica Alstead

3. Round One Preliminaries 3

Air Date: 1991-09-15

First half preliminary 3: Randy Jones v. Keith Collins, Johnnie Jonckowski v. Patti Stevenson

4. Round One Preliminaries 4

Air Date: 1991-09-22

First half preliminary 4: Eric Monostori/Tim Goldrick v. Greg Petrie, Denise Chase v. Rose Ann Torres

5. Round One Preliminaries 5

Air Date: 1991-09-29

First half preliminary 5: Mark Anthony v. Craig Charles, Kimberley Lentz v. Jill Shenk

6. Round One Quarterfinals 1

Air Date: 1991-10-06

First half quarterfinal 1: Johnny Vineyard v. Coz Worthington, Kristi Kropp v. Kimberley Lentz

7. Round One Quarterfinals 2

Air Date: 1991-10-13

First half quarterfinal 2: Mark Ortega v. Craig Charles, Johnnie Jonckowski v. Sherry Giardina

8. Round One Quarterfinals 3

Air Date: 1991-10-20

First half quarterfinal 3: Tom Goldrick v. Randy Jones, Denise Chase v. Erica Alstead

9. Pro Football Challenge of Champions

Air Date: 1991-10-27

Pro football alumni compete in a special episode: Jack Hamm, Cliff Branch, Charles White, Phil Villapiano, Greg Pruitt, Jim Kiick

10. Round One Semifinals 1

Air Date: 1991-11-03

First half semifinal 1: Mark Ortega v. Johnny Vineyard, Johnny Jonckowski v. Kimberley Lentz

11. Round One Semifinals 2

Air Date: 1991-11-10

First half semifinal 2: Tim Goldrick v. Coz Worthington, Kristi Kropp v. Denise Chase

12. Round One Finals

Air Date: 1991-11-17

First half final: Tim Goldrick v. Mark Ortega, Kristi Kropp v. Kimberley Lentz

13. Round Two Preliminaries 1

Air Date: 1991-11-24

Second half preliminary 1: Robert Bender v. Kevin Cleary, A.J. Perling v. Angela Sheppard

14. Round Two Preliminaries 2

Air Date: 1991-12-01

Second half preliminary 2: Chris Parisi v. George Blasius, Trace Wolf v. Kathy Mollica

15. Round Two Preliminaries 3

Air Date: 1991-12-08

Second half preliminary 3: Joseph Mauro v. Dennis Watts, Patricia Murray v. Teri Plunkett

16. Round Two Preliminaries 4

Air Date: 1991-12-15

Second half preliminary 4: Ted Papenhagen v. Tommy Knox, Angela Stearns v. Talpha Lehnen

17. Round Two Preliminaries 5

Air Date: 1991-12-22

Second half preliminary 5: Darrell Gholar v. Jay Macormack/Anthony Jackson, Vivian Riley v. Lisa Sierra

18. Round Two Preliminaries 6

Air Date: 1991-12-29

Second half preliminary 6: Marek Wilczynski v. Tony Curella, Stephanie Violante v. Tracy Passo

19. Round Two Quarterfinals 1

Air Date: 1992-01-05

Second half quarterfinal 1: Kevin Cleary v. Tommy Knox, Vivian Riley/Angela Stearns v. Susan Stencil

20. Round Two Quarterfinals 2

Air Date: 1992-01-12

Second half quarterfinal 2: Darrell Gholar v. Tony Curella, Talpha Lehnen v. Tracy Passo

21. Round Two Quarterfinals 3

Air Date: 1992-01-19

Second half quarterfinal 3: Joseph Mauro v. Gearge Blasius, A.J. Perling v. Kathy Mollica

22. Round Two Semifinals 1

Air Date: 1992-01-26

Second half semifinal 1: Tommy Knox v. Darrell Gholar, Tracy Passo v. Susan Stencil

23. Round Two Semifinals 2

Air Date: 1992-02-02

Second half semifinal 2: Joseph Mauro v. Tony Curella; Kathy Mollica v. A.J. Perling

24. Round Two Finals

Air Date: 1992-02-09

Second half final: Joseph Mauro v. Darrell Gholar, Kathy Mollica v. Susan Stencil

25. Grand Championship

Air Date: 1992-02-16

Grand Championship: Mark Ortega v. Joseph Mauro, Kimberly Lentz v. Kathy Mollica

1. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1992-09-01

Contenders: Betsy Erickson vs. Jeannine Micheletti and Lance Sellers (alt. Darryl Moore) vs. Cliff Miller.

2. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1992-09-08

Contenders: Lisa Langston vs. Tracy Ann Jernegan and Tony Bettendorf vs. Elbert Gray.

3. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1992-09-15

Contenders: Jennifer Walz vs. Claudia Valdiviez and Ernest Peace (alt. Sean Hargrow) vs. Buz Rosenberg.

4. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1992-09-22

Contenders: Elizabeth Pepe vs. Yvonne Montalvo and Willie Cooley vs. Spencer Street.

5. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1992-09-29

Contenders: Cathy Marshall vs. Shannon Williams and Roger Hughes vs. Ted LePage.

6. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1992-10-06

Contenders: Lisa Langston vs. Shannon Williams and Tony Bettendorf vs. Willie Cooley.

7. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1992-10-13

Contenders: Cathy Marshall vs. Annette McBride and Joseph Kettle vs. Ted LePage.

8. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1992-10-20

Contenders: Jennifer Walz vs. Betsy Erickson and Cliff Miller vs. Spencer Street

9. Round One Semi-finals

Air Date: 1992-10-27

Contenders: Betsy Erickson vs. Lisa Langston and Ted LePage vs. Spencer Street

10. Round One Semi-finals

Air Date: 1992-11-03

Contenders: Annette McBride vs. Jennifer Walz and Cliff Miller vs. Tony Bettendorf

11. Round One Finals

Air Date: 1992-11-10

Contenders: Annette McBride vs. Betsy Erickson and Cliff Miller vs. Ted LePage

12. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1992-11-17

Contenders: Melissa Liberman vs. Cheryl Wilson and Mary DePaoli vs. Jerry Burrell

13. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1992-11-24

Contenders: Paula Perry vs. Christine Underhill-Richard/alt. Michele Ramelot and Kevin Weber vs. Michael D. Coulson

14. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1992-12-01

Contenders: Brenda Moss vs. Julie Padelford and Don Marcus Bailey vs. Bernie Miller

15. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1992-12-08

Contenders: Lyn Bell vs. Carolyn Dean and Carlton Fluker vs. Michael Small

16. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1992-12-15

Contenders: Cherrise Traylor vs. Katy Ramsey and Vince Granger vs. Jayson Yao

17. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1992-12-22

Contenders: Lisa Wojciehowski vs. Signa York/alt. Lynn Murphy and Charles Neal vs. Jim Echolls

18. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1992-12-29

Contenders: Melissa Liberman vs. Katy Ramsey and Kevin Weber vs. Jayson Yao

19. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1993-01-05

Contenders: Brenda Moss/alt. Julie Padelford vs. Cheryl Wilson and Vince Granger vs. Bernie Miller

20. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1993-01-12

Contenders: Lisa Wojciehowski vs. Paula Perry and Marty DePaoli vs. Carlton Fluker

21. Round Two Semi-finals

Air Date: 1993-01-19

Contenders: Melissa Liberman vs. Cheryl Wilson and Bernie Miller/alt. Vince Granger vs. Marty DePaoli

22. Round Two Semi-finals

Air Date: 1993-01-26

Contenders: Lisa Wojciehowski vs. Katy Ramsey and Carlton Fluker vs. Kevin Weber

23. Round Two Finals

Air Date: 1993-02-02

Contenders: Katy Ramsey vs. Cheryl Wilson and Kevin Weber vs. Marty DePaoli

24. Grand Championship

Air Date: 1993-02-09

Contenders: Betsy Erickson vs. Cheryl Wilson and Cliff Miller vs. Marty DePaoli

25. NFL Show

Air Date: 1993-02-16

Contenders: Mark Clayton, Tony Dorsett, Seth Joyner, Charles White, Drew Hill and Wesley Walker

26. Pro Football Challenge

Air Date: 1993-02-23

1. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1993-09-01

2. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1993-09-08

3. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1993-09-15

4. Round One Preliminaries

Air Date: 1993-09-22

5. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1993-09-29

6. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1993-10-06

7. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1993-10-13

8. Round One Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1993-10-20

9. Round One Semi-finals

Air Date: 1993-10-27

10. Round One Semi-finals

Air Date: 1993-11-03

11. Round One Semi-finals

Air Date: 1993-11-10

12. Round One Finals

Air Date: 1993-11-17

13. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1993-11-24

14. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1993-12-01

15. Round Two Preliminaries

Air Date: 1993-12-08

16. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1993-12-15

17. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1993-12-22

18. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1993-12-29

19. Round Two Quarterfinals

Air Date: 1994-01-05

20. Round Two Semi-finals

Air Date: 1994-01-12

21. Round Two Semi-finals

Air Date: 1994-01-19

22. Round Two Finals

Air Date: 1994-01-26

23. Grand Championship

Air Date: 1994-02-02

24. Gold Medal Challenge of Champions II

Air Date: 1994-02-09

25. Gold Medal Challenge of Champions II

Air Date: 1994-02-16

26. International Challenge of Champions II

Air Date: 1994-02-23

1. Qualifying Round 1

Air Date: 1994-09-01

2. Qualifying Round 2

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3. Qualifying Round 3

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4. Qualifying Round 4

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5. Qualifying Round 5

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6. Qualifying Round 6

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7. Qualifying Round 7

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8. Qualifying Round 8

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9. Qualifying Round 9

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10. Qualifying Round 10

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11. Qualifying Round 11

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12. Qualifying Round 12

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13. Qualifying Round 13

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14. Qualifying Round 14

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15. Qualifying Round 15

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16. Semifinal Round 1

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17. Semifinal Round 2

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18. Grand Championship

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19. LAPD Vs. NYPD

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20. Celebrity Special

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21. Gold Medal Challenge of Champions III

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22. USC Vs. Notre Dame

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23. Battle Of The Best

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24. Armed Forces Challenge of Champions II

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1. U.S. Preliminaries

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2. U.S. Preliminaries

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3. U.S. Preliminaries

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4. U.S. Preliminaries

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5. U.S. Preliminaries

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6. U.S. Preliminaries

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7. U.S. Semi-final One

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8. U.S. Semi-final Two

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9. U.S. Grand Championship

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10. Baywatch Vs. Lifeguards Special

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11. Playboy Challenge

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12. Celebrity Vs. Pro Football Challenge

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13. Twins Vs. Alumni Challenge

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14. Battle Of The Best II

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Rating

5.6/10

Release Date

1988-12-31

Episodes

167 (7 seasons)

Status

Returning Series

Cast

Production Companies

Trans World International

Four Point Entertainment

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

The Samuel Goldwyn Company