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.
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."[2]
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.[3]
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 (1978Heisman 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.[4]
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.[5][6] 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.[7] 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.[8][9] 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 massive 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.[2]
The Stars remained in Philadelphia for the 1984 season but were forced to relocate their post-season home games to Franklin Field due to a conflict with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Stars roared through the regular season with the league best 16–2 (.889) record, and routed George Allen's Arizona Wranglers, 23–3 for the league title in Florida at Tampa Stadium on July 15.[13][14] It was the last traditional professional football championship for the city of Philadelphia until the Eagles' Super Bowl LII victory at the end of the 2017 season, and its first since the 1960 NFL championship. The Stars were also becoming increasingly popular among fans, as average home attendance jumped from approximately 18,000 in 1983 to 28,000 in 1984.[15]
After the league championship game, the Stars played a rare post-season exhibition game with Tampa Bay in England on July 21, and defeated the Bandits 24–21 at Wembley Stadium in London.
The league's owners, led by Donald Trump of the New Jersey Generals, voted to move play to the fall following the 1985 season. This put the Stars in a difficult position. Tanenbaum said that the Stars would have had to start the 1986 season on an extended road trip due to the Phillies sharing Veterans Stadium as well. Had the Phillies advanced to the World Series, the Stars would not be able to play a home game until November at the earliest.[2] Moving full-time to Franklin Field was quickly ruled out due to the Penn Quakers football team playing there on Saturdays when the USFL had planned to play in the fall. The only other football venue in Philadelphia was John F. Kennedy Stadium, next door to the Vet. However, the 60-year-old stadium was in a poor state of repair after not being well maintained in several years; it would be condemned only four years later. In any case, it seated over 100,000 people, meaning even a decent-sized USFL crowd would have been swallowed up in the environment.
At the time, the Philadelphia Eagles were in visible distress only five years after making it to the Super Bowl due to Eagles owner Leonard Tose's gambling and other debts. The Stars were one of the few USFL teams that had a realistic possibility of forcing their NFL counterparts out of town. At one point, Tose unsuccessfully tried to trade the Eagles for the equally distressed Buffalo Bills and/or relocate to Arizona. However, officials with the city of Philadelphia had shown clear favoritism to the Eagles despite their financial struggles, scuttling Tose's efforts and securing an agreement to keep the Eagles in Philadelphia.[19]
With no venue in the Delaware Valley suitable even for temporary use, Tanenbaum moved the team to Baltimore, which was still smarting from the loss of the NFL Colts three years earlier. Indeed, even as Tanenbaum prepared to move the Stars, the city of Baltimore was attempting to strip the Colts from owner Robert Irsay via eminent domain.[2][20]
It initially appeared that the Stars would be bolstered by a merger with the Pittsburgh Maulers. Owner Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr. had folded the Maulers after just one season because knew he could not even begin to compete with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He agreed to join Tanenbaum as a minority partner, but decided to get out altogether soon afterward.[2]
Baltimore welcomed the Stars with open arms. Tanenbaum quickly signed a broadcasting deal with Baltimore's most powerful radio station, WBAL, and built a good relationship with then-mayor William Donald Schaefer. However, he ran into a problem when he discovered that the Stars could not play at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium until 1986 due to objections from the Baltimore Orioles. Reportedly, Orioles general manager Hank Peters and manager Joe Altobelli were concerned about the Stars tearing up the turf, and persuaded owner Edward Bennett Williams to lock out the Stars.[2] With no other stadium in the immediate Baltimore area suitable for temporary use, Tanenbaum was forced to play at the University of Maryland's Byrd Stadium in College Park, 29 miles (47km) southwest of Baltimore and a Washington suburb (coincidentally, the Washington USFL franchise, the Federals, moved to Orlando as the Orlando Renegades the same season). This was all compounded by the Washington Redskins' success during these years which included playing in the Super Bowl in January 1983 and 1984. Further complicating matters, the team kept its operations in Philadelphia and commuted to College Park for games—effectively consigning the Stars to 18 road games for the league's lame-duck spring season.[21]
1985 season
At least in part due to all the moving, the Stars initially struggled in 1985, but won nine of their last 13 games to secure a wild-card berth. They did so in front of a mostly empty Byrd Stadium, however. While Baltimore-area fans were happy to see the return of pro football after a two-year absence, they balked at making the 35-minute drive down Interstate 95 to see the Stars play in College Park. Most were waiting for the team to begin play in the city's venerable Memorial Stadium a year later.
As a result, attendance sagged to the point that the Stars might have lost home-field advantage for the playoffs even with a winning record. ABC Sports, embarrassed at the dwindling attendance from around the league, told Usher it did not want to televise playoff games in near-empty stadiums. Since ABC had disproportionate influence on league affairs due to the structure of its contract with the USFL, Usher had little choice but to agree. However, the Stars managed to upend the favored New Jersey Generals and Birmingham Stallions in successive weeks to reach the title game at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. Once there, the Stars won the USFL title beating the Bobby Hebert-led Oakland Invaders, 28–24.[22][23] Soon afterward, Tanenbaum sold controlling interest to fellow real estate magnate Stephen Ross.[2]
As it turned out, this was the final USFL game ever played. On July 29, 1986, a federal grand jury found in favor of the USFL in its antitrust suit against the NFL. However, the USFL was only awarded $1 in damages, tripled to $3 under antitrust law.[24][25] The league's abandonment of Philadelphia was a factor in the adverse jury award. The jury foreman explained that while they agreed the NFL was a monopoly, they could not agree on the size of the award. As a result, the jury misinterpreted the law and decided on the $1 award, feeling it would be changed by the presiding judge. However, the judge was not able to increase the amount once it was stipulated by the jury. As a result, the league suspended operations a day later, never to return.
Number 19 was never issued to any player in that lone season out of respect to the Colts' great Johnny Unitas.
The Stars are widely acknowledged to have been the best team to see the field in USFL history.
The Stars won 41 of 54 regular-season games and were 7–1 in the postseason. For the team's entire run, they were coached by Jim Mora (Sr), who later became a head coach in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts. Mora was actually the Stars' second choice; Tannenbaum originally hired Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator George Perles, but Perles opted instead to take the open job at his alma mater, Michigan State.
Sean Landeta and Sam Mills both also had successful careers in the NFL. Landeta was one of the top punters in the NFL for two decades, and was the last former USFL player still active in the NFL at the time of his retirement in 2006. Mills had a sterling career with the Saints (alongside Mora) and the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers retired Mills' No. 51 jersey after his death from cancer in 2005.
Landeta and Bart Oates were also teammates with the New York Giants. Oates signed with the Giants in 1985. Both Oates and Landeta went on to win a combined five Super Bowl rings throughout their NFL careers. Both won two rings apiece with the Giants in 1986 and 1990, while Oates earned an additional ring with the San Francisco 49ers in 1994. Oates was selected to five Pro Bowls during his career and to the UPI All-NFC team three times. He was extremely durable, starting 125 consecutive games during his Giants career.
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.
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James Ernest Mora is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 1986 to 1996 and the Indianapolis Colts from 1998 to 2001. Mora was also the head coach of the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars of the first iteration of the United States Football League (USFL) during its three years of existence and led the team to all three championship games, winning two.
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.
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.
Kelvin Leroy Bryant is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) and the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels
Carl D. Peterson is an American former college and professional football coach and executive who had a successful career in the National Football League (NFL). He began his career as a coach at UCLA and later became the assistant general manager for the Philadelphia Eagles. In 1988, he was hired as the president and general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, where he spent the majority of his career.
Scott Austin Fitzkee is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions. In the NFL, Fitzkee played for the Philadelphia Eagles and San Diego Chargers, and in the USFL, he played for the Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars. He also played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
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.
Novo Bojovic is a Yugoslav-born American former placekicker. Bojovic played college football at Central Michigan before embarking on a career in professional football which lasted nine years. Bojovic graduated from Central Michigan University in 1983 with a B.A. in Business & Marketing
Curtis D. Mohl is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football for UCLA, and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the ninth round of the 1981 NFL Draft. He played for the Boston Breakers of the USFL in 1981.
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Charles Edward Commiskey is a former American football guard and center who played for three seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints from 1986–1988. He also played for three seasons in the United States Football League (USFL) for the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars from 1983–1985. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the ninth round of the 1981 NFL draft. He played college football at Ole Miss.
On May 11, 1982, the announcement of the USFL was officially made by league owner and antique dealer, David Dixon. 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.
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