1983 Philadelphia Stars season

1983 Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars season
1983 Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars season
Owner	Myles Tanenbaum
General manager	Carl Peterson
Head coach	Jim Mora
Home stadium	Veterans Stadium
Results
Record	15–3
Division place	1st Atlantic Division
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Blitz) 44-38 (OT); Lost USFL Championship (vs. Panthers) 22-24
	Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars ; 1984 →;

Last updated March 28, 2025

On May 11, 1982, the announcement of the USFL was officially made by league owner and antique dealer, David Dixon.^[1] The league's Philadelphia team would be owned by real estate developer Myles H. Tanenbaum. He had originally wanted to name the team the Stallions in honor of Rocky Balboa, who was nicknamed "The Italian Stallion." However, when the Birmingham entry snapped up the Stallions name, Tanenbaum settled on "Stars." George Perles was originally named as the team's head coach in July 1982. Perles, previously an assistant coach for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, never coached a game for the Stars, opting to take the head coach position for Michigan State instead. On January 15, 1983, the Stars hired Jim Mora to be their head coach.^[2]

The Stars began in Philadelphia in the USFL's inaugural 1983 season and played their home games at Veterans Stadium (the "Vet"). They compiled the league's best regular season record of 15–3 (.833), and advanced to the 1983 USFL championship game. Their "Doghouse Defense" allowed only 204 points in an 18-game season—the least in the history of the league. The Stars were led by fourth-year quarterback Chuck Fusina (1978 Heisman Trophy runner-up), fifth-year wide receiver Scott Fitzkee, rookie halfback Kelvin Bryant of North Carolina, rookie offensive tackle Irv Eatman of UCLA, rookie linebacker Sam Mills, and second-year safety Scott Woerner. The team also featured Towson's all-star rookie punter Sean Landeta. At the conclusion of the regular season, Bryant was named the USFL's Player of the Year by the Associated Press.^[3]

The Stars entered the playoffs as the top-seeded team. In the Semi-Finals, the Stars defeated the preseason favorites to win the 1983 title—George Allen's Chicago Blitz—by withstanding seven turnovers and erasing a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 44–38 in overtime.^[4]^[5] In the league title game at Denver's Mile High Stadium on July 17, the Stars lost to Jim Stanley's Michigan Panthers, 24–22.^[6] Just as they had against the Blitz, the Stars opened the game sluggishly, but finished with a flourish, after allowing the Panthers to carry a 17–3 lead into the fourth quarter.^[7]^[8] Many observers of the time believed that the Stars, Panthers and Blitz were almost NFL-quality units.

One of the few blemishes on the Stars' first season was the box office. They only attracted 18,650 fans per game. In addition to bad weather, there were lingering memories of a gate-papering scandal involving the World Football League's Philadelphia Bell in 1974. The Bell had claimed that a total of over 120,000 fans had attended their first two games, but it subsequently emerged that all but 19,000 of the tickets had been given away for free or for significantly reduced prices.

Personnel

Staff

**1983 Philadelphia Stars staff**
	Front office Owner – Myles Tanenbaum General manager – Carl Peterson Head coaches Head coach – Jim Mora Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator - Joe Pendry Quarterbacks – Joe Pendry Running backs – Jim Skipper Wide receivers – Joe Pendry Tight ends – Carl Smith Offensive line – Jim Erkenbeck			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator - Vince Tobin Defensive line – John Pease Linebackers – Bill Kuharich Defensive backs – John Rosenberg Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Carl Smith

^[9]

Roster

**1983 Philadelphia Stars roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Chuck Fusina 11 Jim Krohn 10 Steve Pisarkiewicz Running backs (RB) 33 Anthony Anderson HB 44 Kelvin Bryant HB 22 Allen Harvin HB 35 David Riley 34 Jeff Rodenberger HB/TE 32 Booker Russell FB Wide receivers (WR) 86 Willie Collier 87 Tom Donovan 81 Scott Fitzkee 83 Rodney Parker Tight ends (TE) 80 Ken Dunek 89 Steve Folsom 85 Al Kimichik		Offensive linemen (OL) 65 Scott Burris G 69 Chuck Commiskey G 75 Irv Eatman OT 61 Rich Garza G 63 George Gilbert G 55 Joe Happe C/G 50 Bart Oates C 70 Brad Oates OT Defensive linemen (DL) 99 John Alford DT/DE 66 Brad Anae DE/DT 95 Frank Case DE 96 Don Fielder DE 91 Buddy Moor DE/DT 94 Dave Opfar DT/DE 76 Willie Rosborough DE/DT		Linebackers (LB) 53 Jon Brooks 59 John Bunting 56 George Cooper 52 Vince DeMarinis 58 Rick Donaldson 57 Jeff Gabrielson 51 Glenn Howard 54 Sam Mills Defensive backs (DB) 48 Kevin Donnalley CB/S 23 Antonio Gibson CB/S 24 Roger Jackson CB/S 21 Hugh Jernigan CB 43 Jerome King CB 27 Mike Lush S 20 Mark McCants S 26 Jon Sutton CB 25 Scott Woerner S Special teams (ST) 1 David Trout K 7 Sean Landeta P		Rookies in italics

^[10]

USFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	7	Irv Eatman	Offensive Tackle	UCLA
2	17	Bart Oates	Center	BYU
3	32	Greg Hill	Defensive Back	Oklahoma State
4	41	Antonio Gibson	Defensive Back	Cincinnati
5	56	Allen Harvin	Running Back	Cincinnati
6	65	Tony Caldwell	Linebacker	Washington
7	80	Jimmy Turner	Defensive Back	UCLA
8	89	Richard Dent	Defensive End	Tennessee State
8	93	Rich Kraynak	Linebacker	Pittsburgh
9	104	James Caver	Wide Receiver	Missouri
10	113	Don Dow	Offensive Tackle	Washington
11	128	Gary Worthy	Running Back	Wilmington
12	137	Allama Matthews	Tight End	Vanderbilt
13	152	John Walker	DefensiveTackle	Nebraska-Omaha
14	161	Sean Landeta	Punter	Towson

Schedule

Week	Day	Date	TV	Opponent	Results		Location	Attendance
Week	Day	Date	TV	Opponent	Score	Record	Location	Attendance
1	Sunday	March 6	ABC	at Denver Gold	13-7	1–0	Mile High Stadium	45,102
2	Sunday	March 13	ABC	New Jersey Generals	25-0	2–0	Veterans Stadium	38,205
3	Monday	March 21	ESPN	at Birmingham Stallions	17-10	3–0	Legion Field	12,850
4	Sunday	March 27	ABC	Tampa Bay Bandits	22-27	3-1	Veterans Stadium	18,718
5	Sunday	April 3	ABC	Washington Federals	34-3	4-1	Veterans Stadium	14,576
6	Sunday	April 10		at Los Angeles Express	17-3	5-1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	18,671
7	Saturday	April 16	ESPN	at Oakland Invaders	17-7	6-1	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	34,901
8	Sunday	April 24	ABC	Boston Breakers	23-16	7-1	Veterans Stadium	10,257
9	Saturday	April 30	ESPN	at Tampa Bay Bandits	24-10	8-1	Tampa Stadium	41,559
10	Sunday	May 8	ABC	Denver Gold	6-3	9-1	Veterans Stadium	14,306
11	Sunday	May 15	ABC	Chicago Blitz	31-24	10-1	Veterans Stadium	25,251
12	Sunday	May 22		at Arizona Wranglers	24-7	11-1	Sun Devil Stadium	18,151
13	Sunday	May 29	ABC	at Boston Breakers	17-21	11-2	Nickerson Field	15,668
14	Sunday	June 5	ABC	Michigan Panthers	29-20	12-2	Veterans Stadium	19,727
15	Sunday	June 12		at New Jersey Generals	23-9	13-2	Giants Stadium	32,521
16	Monday	June 20	ESPN	Oakland Invaders	12-6	14-2	Veterans Stadium	16,933
17	Sunday	June 26		Birmingham Stallions	31-10	15-2	Veterans Stadium	17,973
18	Sunday	July 3		at Washington Federals	14-21	15-3	RFK Stadium	11,039

Playoff Schedule

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Location
Divisional Playoffs	July 9	Chicago Blitz	W 44-38 (OT)	1–0	Veterans Stadium
USFL Championship	July 17	Michigan Panthers	L 22-24	1-1	Mile High Stadium

^[11]^[12]^[13]

Rewards

Award	Winner	Position
All-USFL Team	Irv Eatman	OT
All-USFL Team	Kelvin Bryant	RB
All-USFL Team	Sam Mills	LB
All-USFL Team	Scott Woerner	S
AP USFL Most Valuable Player	Kelvin Bryant	RB
Leading Scorer Award	David Trout	K
USFL Executive of the Year (TSN)	Carl Peterson	GM

Final Statistics

Offense

Stars Passing
	C/ATT	Yds	TD	INT
Chuck Fusina	238/421	2718	15	10
Jim Krohn	19/36	249	1	0
Steve Pisarkiewicz	6/15	69	0	0
Allen Harvin	1/3	44	0	0
Stars Rushing
	Car	Yds	TD	LG
Kelvin Bryant	318	1442	16	45
Allen Harvin	139	681	7	49
Chuck Fusina	63	291	3	18
Booker Russell	46	225	0	23
David Riley	31	139	0	19
Anthony Anderson	9	41	0	12
Jeff Rodenberger	12	40	1	10
Jim Krohn	6	2	0	12
Steve Pisarkiewicz	1	0	0	0
Chuck Commiskey	1	–3	0	–3
Sean Landeta	1	–5	0	–5
Stars Receiving
	Rec	Yds	TD	LG
Scott Fitzkee	55	731	3	44
Kelvin Bryant	53	410	1	50
Willie Collier	41	771	4	52
Steve Folsom	26	286	1	45
Booker Russell	17	163	2	39
Tom Donovan	15	219	3	21
Rodney Parker	13	203	0	29
Allen Harvin	13	144	1	23
Dave Riley	10	61	0	15
Ken Dunek	8	74	0	23
Al Kimichik	1	7	0	7
Jeff Rodenberger	1	7	0	7
Anthony Anderson	1	4	0	4

Defense

Stars Sacks
	Sacks
Don Fielder	8.5
Willie Rosborough	5.0
Sam Mills	3.5
John Bunting	2.5
Scott Woerner	2.0
Dave Opfar	2.0
Brad Anae	2.0
Jon Brooks	2.0
Buddy Moor	1.5
Frank Case	1.5
Glenn Howard	1.0
Antonio Gibson	1.0
George Cooper	0.5
Jon Sutton	0.5
Jeff Gabrielson	0.5

Stars Interceptions
	Int	Yds	TD	LG	PD
Scott Woerner	8	50	0	22
Mike Lush	6	52	0	33
Jon Sutton	4	53	0	31
Sam Mills	3	13	0	10
Antonio Gibson	3	0	0	0
Jon Brooks	2	15	0	15
Roger Jackson	2	9	0	9
Glenn Howard	2	0	0	0
Vince DeMarinis	1	16	0	16
Willie Rosborough	1	11	0	11
John Bunting	1	0	0	0

Stars Fumbles
	FF	Fmb	FR	Yds	TD
Chuck Fusina		15	7	0	0
Jim Krohn		7	3	0	0
Kelvin Bryant		4	2	0	0
Dave Riley		3	1	0	0
Scott Woerner		3	6	16	0
Allen Harvin		2	1	0	0
Steve Pisarkiewicz		2	1	0	0
Sean Landeta		1	1	0	0
Steve Folsom		1	0	0	0
Rodney Parker		1	0	0	0
Cleo Montgomery		1	0	0	0
Booker Russell		1	1	0	0
Jon Sutton		1	4	0	0

Special Teams

Stars Kicking
	FGM–FGA	XPM–XPA
David Trout	28-42	37-40

Stars Punting
	Pnt	Yds	Lng	Blck
Sean Landeta	86	3601	72	1

Stars Kick Returns
	Ret	Yds	TD	Lng
Allen Harvin	31	723	0	67
Booker Russell	5	63	0	22
Jeff Rodenberger	3	42	0	16
Dave Riley	2	36	0	19
Mark McCants	1	17	0	17
Ken Dunek	1	7	0	7
Jon Sutton	1	0	0	0

Stars Punt Returns
	Ret	Yds	TD	Lng
Scott Woerner	43	360	0	20