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.
Seasons
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
1. Round 1: Preliminaries
Air Date: 1990-09-01
Females: Sheila Mercer vs Trish Tillotson Males: Rico Costantino vs John Adams
2. Round 1: Preliminaries
Air Date: 1990-09-08
Females: Margaret McCargo vs Susan Hirst Males: Chris Vopatek vs Purple Roundy
3. Round 1: Preliminaries
Air Date: 1990-09-15
Females: Marla Smith vs Kelley Peacock Males: Dale Thompson vs Rob Bottiggi
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.
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