View Full Version : The USFL
football junkie
08-12-2006, 02:49 PM
I'm too young to remember watching it but I've always been fascinated with the USFL. The United States Football League played games in the spring and early summer months from 1983 to 1985 and attracted some of the very best talent in the game to the league: Reggie White, Jim Kelly, Herschel Walker, Doug Williams, Sam Mills, Bart Oates, Kent Hull, Gary Zimmerman, Howard Carson, Steve Young -- all are either in the Pro Football Hall of Fame or locks to one day be inducted.
The USFL recruited three straight Heisman Trophy winners to play in the league. And at one point was seriously competing with the NFL for players. In 1984, Steve Young signed a $40 million lifetime contract with the Los Angeles Express.
In 1985, the New York/Jersey Generals playing in Giants Stadium drew an average of 41,268 fans to 18 games -- in which Herschel Walker gained 2,411 rushing yards.
The USFL had teams in all of the major media markets and had TV distribution contracts with ABC and ESPN.
The average USFL game drew 24,000 fans to stadiums like the New Orleans' Superdome, Veterans Stadium, the Silverdome, Sun Devil Stadium, the Astrodome, Soldier Field and the Los Angeles Coliseum.
There was a diverse and extremely rich group of franchise owners in the USFL including Peter Spivak, Jerry Argovitz, J. William Oldenburg, Ted Diethrich, James Hoffman, John Bassett and Donald Trump.
The league had a number of outstanding head coaches: Red Miller, Jim Mora, Steve Spurrier and Lee Corso.
Then in 1985 the league announced plans to move games to the fall starting in 1986. In July 1986 the USFL won an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL but was awarded only $1 in damages and the league folded quicker than an envelope. Does any body have any insight into why this happened or memories about the USFL?
To me it just seems like such a shame that the league doesn't still exist and thrive. It was going along so well, expanding, had a major network TV contract and then just poof and it's gone.
I remember when the league started, and the Michigan Panthers, my hometown team, took the first title. At the time, they were far more fun to watch than the Lions, even though Bobby Hebert just seemed like a jerk. The kicker, Novo Bojoviec (sp?) was really cool when he did an autograph signing at a now long gone card shop owned by former Detroit Free Press writer Jim Hawkins.
Unfortunately, the excitement was too much, too soon. The support for the grand idea was just not there. Teams moved or merged every year, I think it was the Breakers who played in three different cities in three years. Two time league champs the Star took their first title in philly and the last in Baltimore. And the first year champ Panthers, owned by billionaire mall developer Albert Taubman, was forced to merge with Oakland, where the team wound up playing.
Toward the end, the league seemed to be a total joke, as Donald Trump seemed to dominate every aspect of the league, making George Steinbrenner look like the Royals owner by comparison. He had the title all but bought for the upcoming fourth season when the lawsuit fizzled. Bad leadership, no foresight.
football junkie
08-16-2006, 10:09 AM
I think if John Bassett hadn't died of cancer in 1986 and the league hadn't foolishly insisted on moving its schedule to the fall months, the USFL would still exist and by now would be a viable alternative to the NFL. Perhaps there would have even been another merger or at the least an NFL vs. USFL Championship Game -- a real Superbowl.
It has been mentioned a few times on various programs about the USFL a merger was something many had hoped would eventually happen and the fall schedule and lawsuit were attempts to eventually force the NFL's hand.
Alternative leagues have always had a mountain to climb to be successful. Every now and then, one is able to last long enough to get a merger, like the ABA, which was lucky enough to start up when the NBA was very much a few-team dominated league or the WHA, which had the foresight to start up while the NHL was finally expanding. The NFL is far too strong and established to let a direct competitor survive in the long, let alone short, run.
SamtheBravesFan
09-15-2006, 09:06 PM
I never read much about the USFL at all. All I know about are the teams.
Sorry to resurrect a dead thread, but I'm fascinated with the history of failed sports leagues, and I really dug the USFL as a kid. It was super-neato. Today, I recognize it as the Greek tragedy of failed sports leagues. Most leagues fail because they were bad/unmarketable ideas in the first place. The USFL, though, had good success in its first season. Average attendance league-wide was just over 25,000, which is pretty damn good for a brand-new league. It wasn't NFL-level quality, but it was close to it. The bottom line is: It didn't have to end the way it did. It could've succeeded. But the owners' disregarding of the salary cap once Herschel Walker got signed, plus Donald Trump's position of power and his own agenda for the league, sunk it.
Impressive facts about the USFL:
- In its first season, one team, the Denver Gold, actually turned a profit. None of the teams were expected to.
- In its first season, none of the teams disbanded or relocated. Again, for a first-year league, that's remarkable.
- The first USFL Championship game drew over 50,000 fans. Again, poor by NFL standards, but for an infant league? Damn good!
- The instant replay system for challenging refs' calls is used by the NFL today.
- The Tampa Bay Bandits averaged over 40,000 fans a game for their total three-year existence. The Jacksonville Bulls averaged slightly more in their two-year existence.
R.I.P. USFL. You gave it your best shot.
Sorry to resurrect a dead thread, but I'm fascinated with the history of failed sports leagues, and I really dug the USFL as a kid. It was super-neato. Today, I recognize it as the Greek tragedy of failed sports leagues. Most leagues fail because they were bad/unmarketable ideas in the first place. The USFL, though, had good success in its first season. Average attendance league-wide was just over 25,000, which is pretty damn good for a brand-new league. It wasn't NFL-level quality, but it was close to it. The bottom line is: It didn't have to end the way it did. It could've succeeded. But the owners' disregarding of the salary cap once Herschel Walker got signed, plus Donald Trump's position of power and his own agenda for the league, sunk it.
Impressive facts about the USFL:
- In its first season, one team, the Denver Gold, actually turned a profit. None of the teams were expected to.
- In its first season, none of the teams disbanded or relocated. Again, for a first-year league, that's remarkable.
- The first USFL Championship game drew over 50,000 fans. Again, poor by NFL standards, but for an infant league? Damn good!
- The instant replay system for challenging refs' calls is used by the NFL today.
- The Tampa Bay Bandits averaged over 40,000 fans a game for their total three-year existence. The Jacksonville Bulls averaged slightly more in their two-year existence.
R.I.P. USFL. You gave it your best shot.
Welcome, Food. Glad to see another member of Baseball Fever here.
Are you sure no one relocated? I could have sworn one team moved from Boston to New Orleans or something like that after the first year. But I could be wrong.
Very good perspective. I still have my Oklahoma Outlaws pennant, purchased while they still had a team but were intending to move.
Hi CCN!
The Breakers moved from Boston to New Orleans, but not until after the first season was over (and from New Orleans to Portland after the second season). There were some relocations and team mergers (and an entire-franchise swap between Chicago and Arizona!!!), but all occurred after the first season. For that one season, the teams stayed impressively put.
In retrospect, the failure of the Oklahoma Outlaws is not that surprising. I lived in Tulsa for a couple years, and that place couldn't've sustained a pro football team any more than San Antonio. But to get Doug Williams back in uniform, leading to his return to the NFL and hoisting a Super Bowl trophy over his head, I guess from the fans' perspective, it was worth it.
Hi CCN!
The Breakers moved from Boston to New Orleans, but not until after the first season was over (and from New Orleans to Portland after the second season). There were some relocations and team mergers (and an entire-franchise swap between Chicago and Arizona!!!), but all occurred after the first season. For that one season, the teams stayed impressively put.
In retrospect, the failure of the Oklahoma Outlaws is not that surprising. I lived in Tulsa for a couple years, and that place couldn't've sustained a pro football team any more than San Antonio. But to get Doug Williams back in uniform, leading to his return to the NFL and hoisting a Super Bowl trophy over his head, I guess from the fans' perspective, it was worth it.
Thanks for clarifying that. I remember the team swap.
It was amazing to hear Trump talk. The guy was trying to singlehandedly control the league and turn his Generals into the marquee team without them actually having to do it on the field. I can only imagine it would have been a Diana Ross and the Supremes situation, the standing would read The New Jersey Generals and the USFL.
It just became sad, so much was thrown out there without the wherewithal of actually pulling it off. When all those NFL stars didn't line up to join the league (I can't remember who Billy Sims was supposed to sign with, but what an ovation when everyone realized he had chosen the Lions over them) many had to have realized it wasn't going to make it.
I was excited about this:
http://www.newusfl.com/
Until I clicked on Coaching Candidates. As much as I'd get pumped for its return, it just ain't gonna happen.
C'Mon, Food. You and I need to apply! :rofl:
Bill Dwyer? Isn't he a comedian or something?
They have so much in place without actually having anything in place. Why not focus on leagues already there, second-tier area leagues or whatever. At least with that there's an actual starting point instead of just ideas waiting to be fed, watered and placed in direct sunlight.
I was very curious about the AAFL (All-American Football League) as well, because it would've been an interesting catchy twist (professional college football?!?); but it's looking like it's not gonna happen either.
And the UFL (United Football League) was a nonstarter from the beginning.
It's a shame, really. I'm not into Arena Football, but I can see how plenty of others are, and I give all props to the league for defying every natural law and common-sense expectation in its continued success. Still, I can't believe that the only springtime football that fans in general would be interested in is one as gimmicky as Arena.
Maybe Bill Dwyer would have more of a launching point (not MUCH more, but still) by adopting this: http://www.iwflsports.com/
With the some serious no-kidding promotion, who knows? The novelty alone might get folks to show up.
Galloping Ghost
10-10-2008, 07:03 PM
I have fond memories of the USFL. They played some exciting football. I think they could have really challenged t he NFL but too much franchise instability, to much expansion too soon, and their odd decision to move to the fall doomed the league. :ughh: