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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.
The Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars were a professional American football team which played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. Owned by real-estate magnate Myles Tanenbaum, they were the short-lived league's dominant team, playing in all three championship games and winning the latter two. They played their first two seasons in Philadelphia as the Philadelphia Stars before relocating to Baltimore, where they played as the Baltimore Stars for the USFL's final season. Coached by Jim Mora, the Stars won a league-best 41 regular season games and 7 playoff games.
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.
Sean Edward Landeta is an American former professional football player who was a punter in both the United States Football League (USFL) and the National Football League (NFL). Landeta played 22 seasons in the NFL for five different teams between 1985 and 2006. He was named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team as the first punter and the 1990s All-Decade Team as the second punter, as chosen by the Hall of Fame Selection Committee members. He is one of 29 individuals to be selected to multiple All-Decade teams in NFL history. He is one of six punters to be selected as an All-Pro three times in NFL history.
Joe Stanier Cribbs is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at Auburn University along with future NFL backs William Andrews and James Brooks. He began his professional career in 1980 with the Buffalo Bills.
Gary Wayne Zimmerman is an American former professional football player who was a Hall of Fame offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Denver Broncos.
Charles Anthony Fusina is an American former football quarterback who played for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL) from 1979 to 1986. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and was recognized as an All-American. Fusina played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers of the NFL, and the Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars of the USFL.
Gary Wayne Anderson is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL), United States Football League (USFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1983 to 1995.
Robert Frank Gagliano is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He began his career playing for Glendale Community College. He then played for United States International University in San Diego, and Utah State University. He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1981 NFL Draft. In 1994, rookie Perry Klein beat him out for the No. 3 quarterback slot with the Atlanta Falcons. In 1989, he led the Detroit Lions to 5 consecutive victories to conclude the season. This is where he was first pegged with the nickname "the Goose". He also played for the United States Football League (USFL)'s Denver Gold.
James Arthur Smith is an American former professional football player who was wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines from 1974 to 1976. He played in the NFL for six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1977 to 1982 before starring on the Birmingham Stallions of the rival United States Football League (USFL). After the USFL's demise, Smith played a final season for the Los Angeles Raiders in 1985.
Clarence Verdin is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and kick returner in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons. He also was a member of the Houston Gamblers in the United States Football League (USFL) and the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at the University of Southwestern Louisiana
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.
Vance Juano Bedford is an American football coach who last served as defensive coordinator at the University of Texas at Austin for head coach Charlie Strong. He is also a former professional player, with one season each as a defensive back in the NFL and USFL.
Perry Edmond Hartnett is an American former football guard. He played college football for the SMU Mustangs and later had stints in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). He was a member of the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers in the NFL, while being with the Chicago Blitz and Baltimore Stars in the USFL. Hartnett played 12 NFL games, five as a starter, in addition to 16 USFL games in his career.
Earl Leon Gant is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football for the Missouri Tigers. He also played in the United States Football League (USFL) for the Birmingham Stallions.
The Houston Roughnecks were a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The Roughnecks competed in the XFL football league. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and were an owned-and-operated by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The Roughnecks played their home games at TDECU Stadium. The Roughnecks had a franchise regular season record of 12-3 (.800), the highest win percentage among all XFL teams.
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football minor league that began play on April 16, 2022. It is now one of the two-component conferences of the United Football League (UFL), along with the XFL.
The United States Football League was a proposed American professional football minor league founded in 2008 and aimed to begin play on February 20, 2010. The league was also known as the New United States Football League to distinguish it from the 1983–85 league of the same name. During its lifetime, the league had three different owner groups, with the last one aimed to start a season in 2015, but the plans never materialized; it was not until 2022 that a new version of the USFL would come to fruition; none of these versions of the USFL are directly related to each other.