Summary History Calendar Teams

Live and death of the USFL.  A brief history of a league that deserved better.

 

The official history of the USFL begins with the press conference at the club "21", New York, May 11th, 1982.  David Dixon announce the creation of a league and teams in major cities of the United Staes (San Diego, Birmingham, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Jersey - in fact New York - , Oakland, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Washington).  For David, this is a dream come true because, as he said later, the desire to create a football league in the spring nagging since the mid 60s.

 

Less than 10 days later, Chester R. Simmons, an ESPN's former,  becomes the chief commissioner of the league in a conference in Los Angeles and a trade agreement was foun between ABC, ESPN and the league to broadcast matches on TV for a total of 13 millions $. 

                                                                                                                              

June will show the different team owners such as John bassett, Canadian film producer, in association (minority) with actor Burt Reynolds for the Tampa Bay Bandits franchise.  Many homeowners surrounded coaches already active in the "football world", as George Allen (Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins) for the Chicago franchise, and Robert Miller, coach of the Denver Broncos between 1977 and 1980.  many others will embark into the USFL adventure... 

 

The franchise of San Diego annouced early in August 1982 a move to Phoenix when the authorities refused to let them play at the Jack Murphy stadium.  Shortly after will be announced the nam ot this team : the Arizona Wranglers.

 

The 5th of August, Tim Wrightman became the first player to sign a formal contract with the USFL team of Chicago, the Blitz.  The 12th is an another shock with the nominatioin of Greg Landry, quarterback of Detroit Lions and Baltimore Colts, as QB for Chicago Blitz.

 

The USFL won't be afraid to look elsewhere for talents she can not find in United States with Ray Jauch, coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Canadian Blue Bombers (Canadian Football League) as coach of Washington Federals.  he will be followed early september by Hugh Campbell of Edmonton Eskimos, named as coach of the Los Angeles Express.

 

August 31 is the announcement of the different divisions.  The playoffs will follow a regular season of 18 games played by 4 teams (3 winners of each division and a wild-card).  The official draft day is scheduled for January 4th, 1983 (at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in NY), just after the different games that close the school year.  50 players by team with a payroll can not exceed 1.8 million $.

 

Atlantic Division

Central Division

Pacific Division
stars Philadelphia Stars panthers Michigan Panthers invaders Oakland Invaders
breakers Boston Breakers panthers Chicago Blitz express Los Angeles Express
stars New Jersey Generals bandits Tampa Bay Bandits gold Denver Gold
federals Washington Federals stallions Birmingham Stallions wranglers Arizona Wranglers

 

September 20, the league's office are inaugurated at the 52,Vanderbilt Avenue (New York).

 

Once launched, and as they say, it was "serious business".  Only a few problems came to disturb the preparation, as the Detroit franchise that had to change its name to Michigan Panthers.  In December, during a meeting of the USFL members, an endpoint will be the development of games, marketing, public relations and... it's already announced an expansion of the league to 16 teams in 1984.  The order of the draft is also released : Arizona, New Jersey, Washington, Birmingham, Chicago, Oakland, Philadelphia, Denver, Michigan, Boston and Tampa Bay.

March 6, 1983 opens with the first match with a real enthusiasm public and an average of 39,000 spectators.  The first points will be scored by Tim Mazzetti (Boston) with a 30 yards field goal, but the first touchdown is for Ricky Williams, a RB from Tampa Bay, on a 6 yards pass from QB John Reaves.

The league received 24 requests for expansions for a second years.  Are approached, among others, Pittsburgh Maulers (led by DeBartolo Sr., the father of the owner of the 49ers) or the famous Houston Gamblers.  But ther are also Jacksonville (Bulls), San Antonio (Gunslingers), Memphis (showboats),...

 

July 17, 1983, Denver hosted the first USFL championship final between Michigan Panthers and Philadelphia Stars (24-22) with almost 51,000 spectators.

 

But behind the curtain, the first problems begin for the league.  many owners sell franchises, creating instability for the championship.  So Donald Trump recover the New Jersey Generals and James Hoffman, the Chicago Blitz; William Oldenburg buying the Los Angeles Express.  For ots part, the Boston Breakers announced their relocation to New Orleans.

 

October 16 : The Houston convention announces that the next championship will be on models of 2 divisions of 9 teams each.  2 days after, Donald Trump launched the idea of dragging the league from spring to automn, a period commercialy preferable and where the fans growth naturally (because the competition between Basketball, Hockey and Baseball championships, which spread over the whole year).

 

 

Eastern Division

Western Division

  

Atlantic Div.

Southern Div.

Central Div.

Pacific Div.
Philadelphia Stars  Birmingham Stallions Houston Gamblers Los Angeles Express
New Jersey Generals Tampa Bay Bandits Michigan Panthers Arizona Wranglers
Pittsburgh Maulers New Orleans Breakers San Antonio Gunslingers Denver Gold
Washington Federals Memphis Showboats Oklahoma Outlaws Oakland Invaders
  Jacksonville Bulls Chicago Blitz  

 

With the announcement of the USFL, this Jan. 9, 1984 that Mike Rozier, the Heisman Trophy winner, decided to play for the USFL, this is the second consecutive year that sports real hope football does not start to play in the NFL. This contract with the Pittsburgh Maulers, gives new nobility in the entire league. Barely a week later, Donald Trump second attempt to switch the league from spring to autumn what the USFL the answer by creating a study committee.

 

February. Publication of a report of 47 pages titled "The USFL vs. The NFL" by the hand of Michael Porter, professor at Harvard, is distributed to the 65 members of the executive committee of the NFL. It shows how to go about destroying the rival league. For its part, Donald Trump meeting in March of the same year, Pete Rozelle, the commissioner of the NFL to discuss a possible absorption of several USFL teams in the NFL.

 

Sharon Patrick, worked for the consulting firm McKinsey, making August 22, 1984, make a report regarding the rescheduling. "The best hope for the league is to continue to play in the spring and fall to move later." It also adds after consulting hundreds of fans, they wish to remain in the league spring! However, the league will decide in August 27, and after a vote requiring two thirds of voters, a "displacement" of the schedule of games from spring to autumn, falling clearly in conflict with the NFL. This change will take place for the 1986 season.

 

It directly result of this decision a series of franchises stop their activities than others, located in cities where the NFL was already well established, moved to secondary economic markets and finally, a good number of teams partagaient the same stage as the NFL franchise and the USFL team was left without facilities.

 

On October 17, the USFL officially involved lawsuits against the NFL using the anti-trust laws and claims of $ 1.7 billion ($ 567 million multiplied by 3, under U.S. law on trusts). The issue is the non-broadcast channels by the USFL's national championship.

 

The climate became tense between team owners, which grow in March 1986, John Bassett, cancer patient for a long time to launch into a long diatribe on national television saying aloud that the league was also sick of the Interior and the change of season was evidence of mismanagement of the USFL.

 

The trial will commence in May 1986 and will last 48 days. The USFL is based on the report to indicate the Porter will manifest the NFL to reduce competition to zero, but also the contracts linking the national television channels and the NFL, the latter prohibiting the broadcast of the league competitor. In total, this trial will be over 7,000 pages of transcripts and will be responsible scroll multiple leagues, television, ...

 

On July 29, after five days of deliberation, the Court ordered the NFL to dominance, but offers only $ 1 in damages to the USFL. The reason for this is very slight damage that the jury blamed the USFL have voluntarily change its "niche market" in returning to conflict with the NFL, stressing that more strategic error is not due to the NFL but the USFL itself.

 

The shock was pretty tough for teams USFL alot and lowered flags and almost immediately ceased their activities. On August 4, it was the turn of the league to cease operations while indicating deliver their contract players, allowing them to find a job in the CFL or ... NFL.

Another trial will but the damages claimed are again rejected. With more than $ 160 million of debt, the USFL end its activities. When the check, it will not be issued until years later, plus 76 cents interest on late ...

 

 

Personal conclusions:

One word dominates all of my feelings when I was doing my research: mess! Even if the league was his teething, having sought to address directly the NFL, and on its own ground, was simply suicidal.

  It would probably take longer needed, first to grow in number of teams and in terms of reputation for the league. When you see between the first and second season an increase of 6 teams, it's too heavy to digest at once. Then, notoriety does not mount in two short years. Staying on schedule spring, the USFL could eventually compete with the NFL and who knows, these two leagues to push a common agenda?

However, one of the weaknesses of the USFL was his real instability in terms of owners, locations, ... which does not necessarily encourage the media to be interested in it. Therefore say that the war between, for simplicity, John Bassett and Donald Trump. Bassett played continuity while Trump thought he could tranfer NFL teams to open and thus to new business opportunities in a much better league located across the United States. And the league was more unstable and more homeowners are trying to go elsewhere ...

Finally, it is true that the NFL did not appreciate especially the advent of competition and that without this ridiculous attitude of the USFL, the NFL's position became difficult. What teams dealing with markets "secondary", but in number? What about television and advertising markets? The story will never know because what could be the basis of a NFL-bis, would last just a dream three spring ...