The US Football League USFL

The Incredible Three Years of the USFL!  

The initials USFL stand for United States Football League, a professional league that only lasted three years from 1983 to 1985.  Still, the USFL had its share of great players, owners, and fans who still wax nostalgic when they talk about the league.  

Founded in 1982 by New Orleans’ antique and art dealer, David Dixon, the USFL started out its first year with twelve teams in the cities of New York (NJ), Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Tampa, Boston, Denver, Oakland, Washington, Birmingham, Philadelphia and San Diego (which later moved to Phoenix). The League’s Commissioner was Chet Simmons, an executive in broadcasting at ESPN, and the league was able to obtain TV contracts with both the ESPN and ABC networks. 

The biggest event that first year was probably the signing of Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker with the New Jersey Generals. By and large, attendance was good and as were the TV ratings.  Still, only two teams--the Denver Gold and the Tampa Bay Bandits came out of the season financially in the black. The championship was won by the Detroit team, the Michigan Panthers. 

The USFL also didn’t stabilize the next year in 1984.  This time, outstanding quarterback and Heisman Trophy Winner Doug Flutie signed with the New Jersey Generals.  Other top players signing that year included Mike Rozier, Jim Kelly, Reggie White, and Steve Young among other well-known college and NFL players.  In addition, the USFL added a total of six new expansion teams.  These included the Memphis Showboats, Houston Gamblers, San Antonio Gunslingers, Pittsburgh Maulers, Jacksonville Bulls, and Oklahoma Outlaws.  

Philadelphia was hot that entire season, finishing with the league’s best record, 16-2, and winning the USFL Championship. The flamboyant Donald Trump took over the helm of the New Jersey Generals.  After the season was over, Commissioner Chet Simmons was replaced by Harry Usher.  The league’s fan base continued to grow but just about every team finished in the red thanks to player salaries which continued to rise every year. 

Before the 1985 season began, the USFL announced its intention to move to fall play in 1986 in direct competition with the National Football League (NFL), and to file a lawsuit against the monopoly of the NFL, also alleging that they had pressured the three networks, CBS, ABC and NBC into not covering USFL football. The announcement of a fall schedule also meant big changes in four cities. The defending champions in Philadelphia moved to Baltimore. The Michigan Panthers disbanded and merged with the Raiders in Oakland.  The Pittsburg Maulers split up and the New Orleans Breakers moved across the country to Portland Oregon. 

In addition, the Chicago Blitz went out of business, the Oklahoma Outlaws and Arizona Wranglers merged to form the Arizona Outlaws, and the Washington Federals ended up in Florida as the Orlando Renegades.  

Despite the move from Philadelphia, in Baltimore the Stars once again emerged as season champions. Most teams again had money-losing seasons.   Things looked even worse in July before the start of the 1986 season.  The USFL won its lawsuit against the NFL, but even though the court acknowledged that the NFL had monopolized and erred in actions toward the USFL, the jury award was only $1.00--tripled to $3.00 because of the anti-trust nature of the suit, and they were given 76 cents in interest.  This $3.76 is one of the most important checks in sports history, especially when seen in contrast to the $160 million debt of the United States Football Association.  With no money to continue, the USFL came to an abrupt ending.  Subsequent court appeals were also lost. 

Although the USFL could not meet with financial success, the effort of the owners is still championed among many who believe that David Dixon‘s original dream of the USFL should have come to be a reality. With such players as Hershel Walker, Doug Flutie, and other stars, the football play was great and the fans were devoted.  There are still and probably will continue to be reunions each year among the teams and owners.