Jacksonville Bulls

Last updated
Jacksonville Bulls
Established 1983
Folded 1986
Played in Gator Bowl
in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville Bulls.png
League/conference affiliations
United States Football League (1984–1985)
  • Eastern Conference (1984–1985)
    • Southern Division (1984)
Current uniform
Team colorsGarnet, Orange, Silver, Black, White
     
Personnel
Owner(s)1984–1985 Fred Bullard
Head coach1984–1985 Lindy Infante (15-21)
Team history
  • Jacksonville Bulls (1984–1985)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home stadium(s)

The Jacksonville Bulls were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were members of the United States Football League (USFL) during its final two seasons, 1984 and 1985. They played their home games in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.

Contents

Former Miami Dolphins stars Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick were involved in an advertising campaign for the team, and they apparently had a minor ownership interest as well. Larry Munson was hired as radio play-by-play announcer. His distinctive voice was already well known in the Jacksonville area due to his long association with both the University of Georgia Bulldogs and the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons.

Team name and colors

The Bulls' name was taken from team owner Fred "Bubba" Bullard, a Jacksonville land developer. Bullard had initially sought to buy a stake in the Boston Breakers and move them to Jacksonville when it became apparent the Breakers could not find a suitable venue in Boston. However, Breakers owner George Matthews broke off talks when Bullard insisted that coach Dick Coury be fired in favor of Florida State Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden. [1]

The team held a 'name the team' promotion with a write-in campaign for publicity purposes. The Bulls moniker was credited as a submission from the winning entry. The team colors of garnet, orange and silver were taken from the three college football teams most popular in the area; garnet from the Seminoles, orange from the Florida Gators, and silver from the pants worn by the Georgia Bulldogs.

The helmet design was unique for a professional football team. Each side had the team's logo of a streaking bull (one side the mirror image of the other); the two logos were bridged by a series of parallel lines, and the team name was incorporated into the bridge as a silhouette against the parallel lines. [2]

1984 season

The Bulls made an immediate splash in their first game, in which they blew out the Washington Federals 53–14. Although they finished 6-12 — last in the tough Southern Division — they were far more competitive than their record indicated. Six of their losses were by a touchdown or less, including two losses by a last-second field goal. They remained in contention for most of the season, but a six-game losing streak toward the end of the season kept them out of the playoffs.

The Bulls were an undisputed success at the gate, running away with the league's attendance title. They notched the only two crowds of 70,000 or greater in league history, including a throng of 73,227 against the powerful New Jersey Generals on March 4. In the last game, against the Pittsburgh Maulers, a huge crowd patiently waited through a late-June downpour which postponed the game for more than an hour. When play finally started the Bulls won 26–2.

1984 schedule and results

WeekDayDateTimeOpponentGame siteAttendanceTelevisionResultRecord
Preseason
1SaturdayJanuary 28 Pittsburgh Maulers Gator Bowl Stadium 10,000—T 0–00–0–1
2Bye
3SaturdayFebruary 11 Houston Gamblers Gator Bowl Stadium24,680—L 22–340–1–1
4SaturdayFebruary 182:00 pmvs. Pittsburgh Maulers Melbourne, Florida 4,500—L 10–130–2–1
Regular Season
1SundayFebruary 262:30 pm Washington Federals Gator Bowl Stadium 49,392—W 53–141–0
2SundayMarch 42:30 pm New Jersey Generals Gator Bowl Stadium73,227 ABC L 26–281–1
3SaturdayMarch 109:00 pmat Tampa Bay Bandits Tampa Stadium 51,274 ESPN L 25–281–2
4MondayMarch 198:00 pm New Orleans Breakers Gator Bowl Stadium48,303ESPNL 9–281–3
5SundayMarch 254:00 pmat Los Angeles Express Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 8,000—W 13–72–3
6SaturdayMarch 317:00 pmat Memphis Showboats Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 17,180ESPNL 24–272–4
7SaturdayApril 78:00 pm Birmingham Stallions Gator Bowl Stadium43,654ESPNL 17–242–5
8SaturdayApril 148:00 pm San Antonio Gunslingers Gator Bowl Stadium35,084—L 0–202–6
9FridayApril 208:00 pm Memphis Showboats Gator Bowl Stadium36,256—W 12–103–6
10FridayApril 279:00 pmat Oklahoma Outlaws Skelly Stadium 29,234—W 34–64–6
11SaturdayMay 58:00 pm Tampa Bay Bandits Gator Bowl Stadium71,174ESPNL 13–314–7
12FridayMay 117:30 pmat Birmingham Stallions Legion Field 29,500—L 10–424–8
13SaturdayMay 198:00 pmat Philadelphia Stars Veterans Stadium 33,194ESPNL 12–454–9
14FridayMay 258:00 pm Houston Gamblers Gator Bowl Stadium31,638—L 7–544–10
15SaturdayJune 28:30 pmat Oakland Invaders Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 29,687—L 12–174–11
16FridayJune 89:00 pmat Arizona Wranglers Sun Devil Stadium 15,513—L 14–454–12
17FridayJune 157:00 pmat New Orleans Breakers Louisiana Superdome 21,333—W 20–175–12
18FridayJune 228:00 pm Pittsburgh Maulers Gator Bowl Stadium31,843—W 26–26–12

Sources [3] [4] [5]

1984 roster

1. Danny Miller (K)

2. Rich Hendley (P)

3. Brian Franco (K/P)

5. Jeff Brockhaus (K)

8. Jeff Pierce (P)

9. Ken Hobart (QB)

14. Ben Bennett (QB)

14. Ron Rice (P)

15. Robbie Mahfouz (QB)

16. Buck Belue (QB)

17. Matt Robinson (QB)

20. Billy Cesare (SS)

21. Willie McClendon (RB)

22. Kevin Gray (CB)

23. Kerry Baird (CB)

23. Donald Dykes (CB)

24. Marvin Lewis (FB)

25. Charlie Dean (CB)

26. Chester Gee (CB)

27. Michael Whiting (RB)

28. Matt Courtney (CB)

32. Larry Mason (RB)

33. Vaughan Johnson (LB)

35. John Lott (FS)

44. Larry Key (RB)

44. Bobby Hosea (FS)

45. Mike Goedeker (LB)

46. Don Bessillieu (FS)

47. Sammy Brown (SS)

50. John McLean (LB)

51. Dave Otey (C)

52. Tom Dinkel (LB)

53. Fernando Jackson (LB)

55. Carl Qualls (LB)

55. Dann Lute (LB)

56. Rufus Norman (LB)

56. Doug West (LB)

57. Greg Zappala (LB)

58. Andy Hendel (LB)

59. Russ Washington (LB)

60. Gary Anderson (G/C)

63. Nat Hudson (T)

64. Kenny Howell (G)

65. Wally Pesuit (C)

66. George Collins (G)

67. Warren Gray (G)

69. Rush Brown (DE)

70. Val Brown (DE)

72. Don Latimer (NT)

73. Ed Gantner (DT)

75. Bob Gruber (T)

77. Chris Wampler (NT)

78. Brian Douglas (NT)

80. Gary Clark (WR)

82. Wyatt Henderson (WR)

83. Aubrey Matthews (WR)

84. Paul Bergmann (TE)

85. Perry Kemp (WR)

87. Chuck McCurley (WR)

88. Robert Young (TE)

89. Alton Alexis (WR)

91. Phil Dokes (DE)

92. George Atiyeh (NT)

92. Marvin Dyett (DE)

95. Mike Raines (DE)

97. Charles Philyaw (DE)

98. Bob Clasby (DE)

99. Joe Costello (DE)

--. Amos Lawrence (RB)

--. Dan Gooch (LB)

Charles R. Hunsicker Jr. – Team Chaplain

Offseason

The offseason saw the addition of former NFL MVP QB Brian Sipe to take over as triggerman of Coach Lindy Infante's high octane passing scheme as well as former Heisman Trophy winning HB Mike Rozier.

1985 season

While Sipe only threw 89 passes before suffering a career-ending injury, an improved defense and the addition of Rozier resulted in a 9–9 record. The Bulls finished one win short of a playoff spot and led the league in attendance again.

1985 schedule and results

WeekDayDateOpponentGame siteAttendanceTelevisionResultRecord
Preseason
1Bye
2SaturdayFebruary 9 Orlando Renegades Gator Bowl Stadium L 10–200–1
3SaturdayFebruary 16 Memphis Showboats Gator Bowl StadiumL 10–130–2
Regular Season
1SundayFebruary 24 Baltimore Stars Gator Bowl Stadium 51,045—W 22–141–0
2MondayMarch 4 Memphis Showboats Gator Bowl Stadium40,112 ESPN L 14–241–1
3MondayMarch 11at Arizona Outlaws Sun Devil Stadium 13,025ESPNL 21–411–2
4SundayMarch 17at Oakland Invaders Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 16,678—L 36–421–3
5ThursdayMarch 21 Orlando Renegades Gator Bowl Stadium31,883ESPNW 34–31 (OT)2–3
6SaturdayMarch 30at Birmingham Stallions Legion Field 41,200—L 18–252–4
7SaturdayApril 6at Tampa Bay Bandits Tampa Stadium 51,286ESPNL 17–312–5
8FridayApril 12 San Antonio Gunslingers Gator Bowl Stadium32,097ESPNW 28–173–5
9SaturdayApril 20at Orlando Renegades Florida Citrus Bowl 34,338—W 31–104–5
10SundayApril 28 Birmingham Stallions Gator Bowl Stadium41,298 ABC W 27–175–5
11SundayMay 5 New Jersey Generals Gator Bowl Stadium60,100ABCW 30–206–5
12SundayMay 12 Tampa Bay Bandits Gator Bowl Stadium58,928—L 10–216–6
13MondayMay 20at Houston Gamblers Houston Astrodome 17,127ESPNW 20–177–6
14SaturdayMay 25 Los Angeles Express Gator Bowl Stadium51,033ESPNW 21–78–6
15SundayJune 2at Baltimore Stars Byrd Stadium 9,663ABCL 12–178–7
16MondayJune 10at New Jersey Generals Giants Stadium 36,465ESPNL 24–318–8
17SaturdayJune 15at Memphis Showboats Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 31,634—L 0–318–9
18SundayJune 23 Denver Gold Gator Bowl Stadium32,428—W 42–69–9

Sources [6] [7] [8]

Demise

The Bulls were one of the seven teams assured of playing the 1986 USFL season, which would have been played in the autumn. The Bulls had bought the football assets of the Denver Gold during the offseason and were to take on much of that team's staff, including head coach Mouse Davis. It also attempted to negotiate a merger with the Tampa Bay Bandits, mainly to bring the Bandits' ownership group into the organization, but the eventual deaths of the two leading investors in the Bandits (and their steadfast refusal to go along with the league's plan to move to the autumn in 1986) and the unwillingness of the Orlando Renegades to join in (which would have created a single franchise representing all of Florida) led to those plans being abandoned. [9]

The USFL itself was pursuing a large antitrust lawsuit against the NFL at the time; when they failed to secure a sizable judgment against the older league, the USFL suspended operations and eventually folded.

Legacy

Despite never posting a winning record, the Bulls were considered to be a serious attempt at a viable professional football organization — indeed, one of the few USFL teams with the potential to be viable had the league been better run. Owner Fred Bullard was determined from the beginning to put together a strong organization on and off the field. Many experts believe that had it not been for the Bulls' success, the NFL would not have considered awarding the Jacksonville Jaguars to the city in 1993. In 1987 the Houston Oilers nearly moved to Jacksonville, in part due to the overwhelming support for the Bulls. The nearby Matthews Bridge was painted in the garnet main color as a backdrop for the games.

Season-by-season results

Season records
SeasonWLTFinishPlayoff results
198461205th EC Southern--
19859906th EC--
Totals15210

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References

  1. ↑ Reeths, Paul (2017). The United States Football League, 1982-1986. McFarland & Company. ISBN   1476667446.
  2. ↑ USFL.info: Jacksonville Bulls team colors
  3. ↑ "1984 Jacksonville Bulls football Game-by-Game Results on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  4. ↑ "1984 USFL Season - USFL (United States Football League)". www.usflsite.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  5. ↑ "1984 Jacksonville Bulls (USFL) - Pro Football Archives". www.profootballarchives.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  6. ↑ "1985 Jacksonville Bulls football Game-by-Game Results on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  7. ↑ "1985 USFL Season - USFL (United States Football League)". www.usflsite.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  8. ↑ "1985 Jacksonville Bulls (USFL) - Pro Football Archives". www.profootballarchives.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  9. ↑ "A merger of USFL teams in Jacksonville, Orlando and..." UPI. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
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