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The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be played in the autumn/winter, directly competing against the long-established National Football League (NFL). However, the USFL ceased operations before that season was scheduled to begin.
Douglas Richard Flutie is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL), and one season in the United States Football League (USFL). Flutie played college football for the Boston College Eagles, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1984 amid a season that saw him throw the game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds against the Miami Hurricanes. He chose to begin his professional career with the USFL's New Jersey Generals; his unavailability to NFL teams resulted in him being selected 285th overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the 11th round of the 1985 NFL Draft, the lowest drafting of a Heisman winner. After the USFL folded, Flutie spent his first four NFL seasons with the Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots.
James Edward Kelly is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL). Kelly played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning offensive MVP honors in the 1981 Peach Bowl.
The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing 25 while going 0–2 in postseason competition. Home games were played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which was called The Meadowlands for Generals games.
The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their home games at Birmingham, Alabama's Legion Field. They competed in all three USFL seasons, 1983–1985. During their run, they were one of the USFL's more popular teams, and seemed to have a realistic chance of being a viable venture had the USFL been better run.
Thomas Allen Thayer is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). He played in the NFL for the Chicago Bears and the Miami Dolphins, and won a Super Bowl as a member of the 1985 Chicago Bears. Prior to his NFL career, Thayer played in the USFL for the Chicago Blitz, Arizona Wranglers and the Arizona Outlaws from 1983 to 1985. He is currently the color commentator on WMVP for Chicago Bears broadcasts.
Jeff Martin Spek is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also was a member of the New Jersey Generals in the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
John Jenkins is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach the University of Houston from 1990 to 1992, compiling a record of 18–15. A proponent of the run and shoot offense, Jenkins also coached professional football in the United States Football League (USFL), the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL). He served as the head coach of the CFL's Ottawa Renegades in 2006, the FXFL's Blacktips in 2014 and the Hudson Valley Fort for part of 2015. During his career as a coach, Jenkins has mentored a number of notable quarterbacks such as Andre Ware, David Klingler, Jim Kelly, Eric Crouch, Kliff Kingsbury, Anthony Calvillo and Doug Flutie.
David Mark Archer is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones. Undrafted in the 1984 NFL Draft, he played in the NFL from 1984 to 1989 for the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers, and Philadelphia Eagles.
On May 24, 1982, the United States Football League (USFL) reached an agreement with ABC and ESPN on television rights. The money for inaugural 1983 season would be a total of $13 million: $9 million from ABC and $4 million from ESPN.
The 1986 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 17th season in the National Football League, and the 27th overall.
The 1984 NFL supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players was a one-time draft of United States Football League and Canadian Football League players, held in the spring of 1984.
The United States Football League had two types of drafts as their main sources for player recruitment: the collegiate draft and the territorial draft. The collegiate draft resembled its NFL counterpart, in which teams were given a position in the drafting order, based on their win and loss record for the previous year.
Daren K. Gilbert was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the New Orleans Saints. After playing college football for Cal State Fullerton, the Saints selected him in the second round of the 1985 NFL draft. During his four-year NFL career, Gilbert appeared in 42 games.
Christopher Brewer is a former American football running back who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears. He was drafted by the Broncos in the ninth round of the 1984 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Arizona and attended George Washington High School in Denver, Colorado. Brewer was also a member of the Denver Dynamite and New England Steamrollers of the Arena Football League (AFL).
Ron Reeves is a former American football quarterback who played two seasons in the United States Football League (USFL) with the Denver Gold, Chicago Blitz and New Jersey Generals. He was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the tenth round of the 1982 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas Tech University and attended Monterey High School in Lubbock, Texas. Reeves was also a member of the Calgary Stampeders and Montreal Concordes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
The 1986 USFL season would have been the fourth season of the United States Football League. Plans and a schedule had been set for a 1986 season, which would have played in the autumn and winter months, but the failure to secure a large judgment or concessions through a landmark antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League, combined with the seizure of one of the team's assets, days before the season was to begin led the league to postpone, then ultimately cancel the season and cease operations. The federal court judgement found the NFL guilty of violating antitrust guidelines on July 29, 1986, but the USFL was only awarded $1 in damages plus court costs, as the jury found that the actions of the USFL owners had done as much in detriment to themselves as did the actions of the NFL. On August 4, the 1986 season was canceled. On August 7, all players were released from their contracts.
The 1984 USFL territorial draft was the second territorial draft of the United States Football League (USFL). It took place on January 4, 1984, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York. It included six new expansion teams.
Derrick Crawford is a former gridiron football wide receiver and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL), the United States Football League (USFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Memphis.
The Pittsburgh Maulers were a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but played their home games in Canton, Ohio. The Maulers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) North division.
References
- ↑ "USFL Draft : Generals Pick Flutie; L.A. Selects Del Rio" . Retrieved July 27, 2019.