12 THE USFL • The Rebel League the NFL Didn’t Respect but Feared 12 SPRING KICKOFF Would Fans Watch Football in the Spring?

The league was the brainchild of Louisiana antique and art dealer David Dixon. Dixon remembers when 25,000 people would come out to watch Tulane have a springtime scrimmage back in the 1930s…

“My God, why can’t we play games in Arizona and . Washington drew by Dixon to sit the spring?” Dixon said, in an interview with 38,000 spectators, while and in on the owner’s Greg Garber from ESPN.com. “I mean, Birmingham drew more than 30,000. meetings, said, “I LSU still draws numbers like that to this The total attendance for opening week- thought the league day. If Princeton and Rutgers had played end was more than 230,000; an aver- would succeed be- that first [intercollegiate football] game in age of 39,170 per game. The national TV cause I had such the spring instead of the fall [Nov. 6, 1869], ratings for all games played was 14.2, with trust in David and that’s when we’d be playing football today. a 33 percent share. The USFL kicked-off to a the owners trusted “Football is such a powerful, power- great start. him. This wasn’t like ful piece of entertainment,” he continued. Originally, owners settled on a $1.8 mil- the World Football Mora “To me, it made a lot of sense to start a lion dollar salary cap per team; $1.3 million League which was new league.” dollars was allotted to sign 38 players and a an agent-created nightmare.” Teams were placed in 12 locations: Phil- 10-player developmental squad; $500,000 Many experts thought adelphia, Boston, New Jersey, Washing- was allotted to sign two “star” players. This would never make it, but according to a ton, Michigan (Pontiac), , Tampa figure did not count against the cap—and CBS Sports/New York Times survey in Bay, Birmingham, Oakland, Los Ange- was not set in stone. 1984, 53 percent of the nation’s sports fans les, Denver and Phoenix. True to Dixon’s Ed Garvey, head of the NFL Players said they most enjoyed watching football, words, some 45,000 fans turned out in Association back in 1982, was contacted compared to 18 percent for baseball. This

THE USFL • The Rebel League the NFL Didn’t Respect but Feared 13 Bandits were more popular than Bucs in Tampa Bay.

pro football. There were cities that needed Lions were,” Hebert remembered. Hebert and wanted football. It was ironic we had threw 81 TD passes as a member of both great success in certain cities that already the Panthers and the Invaders. “We won had NFL teams.” the USFL Championship after Detroit not The , having a champion since the Bobby Layne and drew more than days in the 1950s.” 35,000 a game in the USFL’s inaugural The fans showed their support for the season. Panthers at the playoff game by deck- The averaged over ing out the Silverdome with banners that 22,000 fans in ’83, but attendance jumped read: “HELLO PANTHERS, GOOD- to more than 32,000 in ’84 after they won BYE LIONS,” and “LIONS EAT YOUR the first ever USFL Championship. But HEARTS OUT.” what really rattled the NFL was when “This is when the Lions ownership be- more than 60,000 fans came out to show gan to wonder how this one-year league had their support when the Panthers beat the better players, was more exciting and was 37-21 in the divisional drawing the attention of media and fans,” playoffs in 1983. After the victory, Michi- Ehrhart said. “Tampa Bay and Michigan gan’s fans stormed the Silverdome’s field. woke up the ‘giants’ in those NFL cities.” A week later, more than 50,000 enthu- “I think we would have been in the top siastic USFL fans attended the first cham- 14 of the NFL if we [Panthers] played led Panthers pionship, as Michigan went on to stun the them,” Hebert said confidently in Octo- Philadelphia Stars 24-22 at Denver’s Mile ber 2005. “We didn’t have the same depth survey re-enforced the USFL’s potential High Stadium. as the NFL, but we had a good chance to appeal and bolstered its chances of survival “At the end of the first year, the Detroit win because the guys that started on the within the American sporting landscape. media ran a position-by-position compari- Panthers also started in the NFL.” After Steve Ehrhart, general manager and son of the Panthers vs. the Lions,” Ehrhart the league folded, several former Panthers part owner of the in said. “Anthony Carter was a better receiver went on to have extensive NFL careers: 1985, said, “The league was a product of than what the Lions had; QB Bobby He- RB started with the Colts, the NFL’s scarcity of servicing teams, play- bert was better than Eric Hipple.” LB with the Bills; OT Chris ers, coaches and cities that could support “We were a lot more popular than the Godfrey was a starter on the Giants’ offen-

14 THE USFL • The Rebel League the NFL Didn’t Respect but Feared The total attendance for opening weekend was more than 230,000; an average of 39,170 per game. The national TV ratings for all games played was 14.2, with a 33 share. The USFL kicked-off to a great start. sive line and C Wayne Radloff went to the all three USFL Championship games. “The Oates, who won a total of five champi- Falcons. NFL would never recognize us as a good onships in the USFL and NFL combined, But it was WR Anthony Carter who went league because we were the competition.” played his USFL career in Philadelphia, on to the brightest career in the NFL, amass- The Stars were also filled with players where like Detroit, the NFL team was ing spectacular numbers with the Minnesota and staff that went on to thrive in the NFL: lousy at the time. Vikings after his USFL career ended. C , DE William Fuller, LB Sam “We could have beaten the Eagles by Carter played in 140 games during his Mills and P were all Pro 1985 because we were deep enough in tal- 11-year NFL career; catching 486 passes Bowl players after joining the NFL. ent by then,” Oates said. “Just look at all the for 7,733 yards and 55 touchdowns. He From the Stars coaching staff came de- guys that went to play in the NFL and made caught 37 passes for 644 yards in eight fensive coordinator , Vince To- the after the USFL folded.” playoff games. bin, former of the Arizona Car- “I believe we could have competed with According to former USFL coach Jim dinals and —the former head a few NFL teams tooth-and-nail,” Tom Mora, “The USFL’s talent never got the coach of the Texans and Carolina Thayer said. Thayer played for three sea- credit it deserved.” Mora coached the Stars to Panthers. sons in the USFL before spending eight

Bobby Hebert hands to Ken Lacy

THE USFL • The Rebel League the NFL Didn’t Respect but Feared 15 In a 2005 in- terview with Gil Brandt, vice presi- dent of scouting for the from 1960 through 1989, Brandt ad- mits that the Cow- boys were very con- cerned with the new Teerlink league. “We consid- ered the league our opponent and we tried to find out about players in their league and the type of people that attended the games. On the first week they [USFL] played, we sent a scout to the game.” Not all NFL executives agreed. “We’re not looking for much help from over there,” Mike Brown, the ’ assis- tant general manager, said in Lieber’s 1986 SI article. “There are a half-dozen USFL players who will be stars. A dozen or maybe a score who will be backup players. That’s about what the impact will be. Not much.” “The guys that had a hands-on expo- sure to the league, like and Jim Mora, knew what the talent pool was,” Dave 1984 Home Opener; Arizona 35 Oakland 7 Lapham, who left the Bengals in 1984 af- ter 10 seasons in Cincinnati, said. “I don’t years as a starter on the offensive line for Illustrated interview with Jill Lieber. “I see a think [Brown] paid that much attention the . “We had quality play- lot of teams working them out and keeping to it. Even today he’s not a proponent of ers who were coached by the best in George them on a ready list.” NFL Europe. He has ‘tunnel-vision’ when Allen and defensive coordinator John Teer- Despite this and similar comments by it comes to the NFL.” link. It wasn’t a half-ass coaching staff, we Schaaf and other general managers at the Brown’s Bengals have had only four had quality coaching and quality players.” time, the USFL was forcing the NFL to winning seasons in the 20 years since the The Memphis Showboats were one of change how it did business. “The USFL had USFL folded, whereas teams like the Red- the USFL’s most popular teams, drawing the NFL concerned,” Mora said “But they skins, Saints, Giants, Bills, Oilers and Vi- more than 500,000 fans in their two-year [NFL] would never come out and admit it.” kings, who invested heavily in USFL play- existence, due in part to the fact that the Marv Levy, coach of the ers, have benefited from the league. All six team boasted one of the best defensive line- during their dreadful 1984 season in which teams were perennial playoff participants man of all time—. After the they won only five games, said, “There was well into the early '90s. USFL folded, White went on to become an an awareness not to discount these [USFL] In 1985, the had an in- NFL legend. guys. The NFL didn’t like the fact that they flux of four former USFL players that had White recorded 198 sacks in his 15-year were losing players. There was definitely a an immediate impact on the team. Center NFL career. He held the sack record until bit of unease about the whole thing.” Oates, guard Godfrey, fullback Maurice broke it in 2003 as a member In fact, the foundation for the four-time Carthon and Landeta all signed of the Redskins. AFC Champion was formed in with the Giants. “We were struggling on In 1986, Jim Schaaf, general manager of the USFL. From general manager Bill Po- the offensive line before Bart and Chris the , thought the USFL lian, director of scouting John Butler, QB Jim came here,” former Giants RB Joe Morris players might prove useful as backup play- Kelly, C Brett Hull, LB Bentley, and even K said. “Chris and Bart really helped stabilize ers for the NFL. “I see them as a source of were all part of the USFL our offensive line. We really improved with talent that is readily available in the event of before taking the Bills to four-consecutive those four players.” injuries,” he said in a Aug. 18, 1986 Sports Super Bowls from 1990 through 1993. Carthon, who blocked for Heisman

16 THE USFL • The Rebel League the NFL Didn’t Respect but Feared Trophy winner Herschel Walker in New game. What is the USFL? Who is playing eager to make Walker a top-paid NFL Jersey, continued his crushing blocks for in this league?’’’ , who played player. “Obviously, he should command Morris , who rushed for over 1,000 yards for the Chicago Blitz, a top salary for what he has done,’” Sch- in three of the next four seasons. and Outlaws before making the 1985 ramm said in Lieber’s article. “I would “Maurice was a runner and blocker Bears roster, said. “Rather than opening hope, however, that they [Walker and his when he got here,” Morris said. “I real- their eyes to the potential benefits of the agent] recognize Herschel is coming into ize the sacrifice he made for me. He made league, they became narrow minded and an established league, with an established things easier for me all those years.” didn’t accept the quality it was on the team. It isn’t the same situation.” WR Gary Clark played for the Jackson- field. There was talent in the USFL—first Former Stars and current Kansas City ville Bulls before becoming one of Wash- team to first team. It was a very challenge- Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson ington’s greatest all-time receivers. Clark able league.” put it best when he said: “Tex was a dear recorded 549 receptions for 8,742 yards in While Brandt admitted the Cowboys friend, but how wrong he was. The USFL his eights years in D.C., winning two Super were diligent about the USFL, Tex Sch- players filtrated pretty darn quickly into Bowls in the process. ramm, the Cowboys president, wasn’t the NFL.” Bill Tobin, then Chicago Bears person- nel director, reconfirmed many general managers and player personnel attitudes toward USFL players in Lieber’s story. “We might get somebody who could be our 44th or 45th player. There aren’t many players who are going to help the world champi- ons,” Tobin said. “It doesn’t surprise me—some of them were way off base,” Dan Jiggetts, who played and worked in the front office for the Chicago Blitz during the '83 and '84 campaigns, said. “The GM’s and front of- fice folks who looked at the league without prejudice benefited from it. Some people thought, ‘If they were good they would have been in the NFL,’ which wasn’t the case.” Levy, along with Polian and Butler, knew the depth of the league’s talent and were able to sign players that many GM’s didn’t even consider. One of those players was . “Hull wasn’t even drafted out of col- lege,” Levy said. Levy coached Hull until 1996 while he was a member of the Buffalo Bills. “I’ve never seen a better offensive cen- ter in my life than Kent Hull.” Hull made three Pro Bowl appearances in his 11-year career in Buffalo, and was a key element in Kelly’s K-Gun offense. Players like Walker, Carter, Oates, Fuller, Godfrey, Hebert, Eatman, Carthon, , , and Hull turned out to be more than the “44th or 45th player.” These players were vital to their re- spective NFL teams’ success on the field. “I remember playing in the USFL Championship Game, and reading some quotes from play- ers saying, ‘I didn’t even know there was a Craig James wrapped up by Blitz defenders

THE USFL • The Rebel League the NFL Didn’t Respect but Feared 17