Harold Warren Moon is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for 23 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Moon also played for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs. He is considered one of the greatest undrafted players in NFL history.
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.
Leonard Ray Dawson was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. After playing college football at Purdue, Dawson began his professional career with the NFL in 1957, spending three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and two with the Cleveland Browns. He left the NFL in 1962 to sign with the AFL's Chiefs, where he spent the last 14 seasons of his career, and rejoined the NFL after the AFL–NFL merger.
John Perry Pardee was an American professional football player and head coach. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). As a coach, he is the only head coach to helm a team in college football, the NFL, the United States Football League (USFL), the World Football League (WFL), and the Canadian Football League (CFL). Pardee was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.
Arthur Ernest Schlichter is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the Colts franchise. He also played one Canadian Football League (CFL) season with the Ottawa Rough Riders and three Arena Football League (AFL) seasons with the Detroit Drive and Cincinnati Rockers. A highly-touted college football prospect with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Schlichter's professional career was cut short by a gambling addiction that resulted in him facing legal trouble for nearly four decades.
The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducing former Middletown (Ohio) High School football coach Glenn "Tiger" Ellison's Run & Shoot offense to the world of pro football.
Tim Lewis is an American football coach and former player who is the co-defensive coordinator for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the University of Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft. Following a neck injury that cut his playing career short after four seasons, Lewis began serving as a coach in the collegiate and professional levels and obtained his first head coaching position with the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019. He also served as the defensive backs coach for the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL until the league folded in 2020.
Craig Matthew Nall is a former American football quarterback who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football for LSU and Northwestern State. He also played for the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans; he also had brief stints with the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe and the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League (UFL).
The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sheraton Hotel in New York City, New York. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that year.
Dante Anthony Pastorini is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Houston Oilers. He played college football for the Santa Clara Broncos and was selected third overall by the Oilers in the 1971 NFL Draft. A Pro Bowl selection during his Oilers tenure, he was also part of the Oakland Raiders team that won a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XV alongside fellow 1971 pick Jim Plunkett. Pastorini spent his final three seasons in sparse appearances for the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles. After retiring from the NFL, Pastorini pursued a career as Top Fuel dragster driver in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).
Ricky Wayne Sanders is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 12 seasons from 1983 to 1994, two with the United States Football League (USFL)'s Houston Gamblers and 10 in the National Football League (NFL). He played running back, safety, and place kicker as a three-year letterman for Belton High School in Belton, Texas and broke five records.
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.
Stanley Gifford Nielsen is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL). He was the sports director of KHOU in Houston from 1984 until March 31, 2009. He has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since April 2013.
The 1979 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 43rd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1978–79 bowl game season, it matched the tenth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, an independent, and the #9 Houston Cougars of the Southwest Conference (SWC).
Durwood Clinton Roquemore is a former American football cornerback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL), United States Football League (USFL), and Arena Football League (AFL).
Montell Cozart is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He attended Bishop Miege High School in Overland Park, Kansas, and played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks and the Boise State Broncos. He played for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 2018 to 2020.
Chris Odom is an American football defensive end for the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Arkansas State. Odom has also been a member of the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Salt Lake Stallions, Washington Redskins, Calgary Stampeders, and Cleveland Browns. With the Houston Gamblers, he led the USFL in sacks and was named its Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.
The 2022 Houston Gamblers season was the first season for the Houston Gamblers as a professional American football franchise. They played as charter members of the United States Football League, one of eight teams to compete in the league for the 2022 season. The Gamblers technically played as a traveling team and were led by head coach Kevin Sumlin.
Terry Wilson Jr. is an American football quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Oregon, Garden City CC, Kentucky, and New Mexico. He played for the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL) from 2022 to 2023.
