United States Football League
(1983 - 1985)
The USFL began play in 1983 as a summer football league with 12 teams in major American cities. Despite substantial talent on its teams' rosters and decent attendance figures and television ratings, the league decided to switch to a fall schedule for the 1986 season, pitting itself directly against the NFL for attention, while suing the rival league at the same time for antitrust violations. The fallout from the seasonal switch and the $3 awarded from the NFL in the lawsuit verdict led to the league disbanding shortly before it was to begin its first season of autumnal football in 1986.
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| SAN ANTONIO |
MICHIGAN |
MICHIGAN |
| GUNSLINGERS |
PANTHERS |
PANTHERS |
| 1984 - 1985 |
1983 |
1984 |
|
*see note 1 below |
|
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| BIRMINGHAM |
CHICAGO |
CHICAGO |
| STALLIONS |
BLITZ |
BLITZ |
| 1983 - 1985 |
1983 |
1984 |
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| LOS ANGELES |
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON |
| EXPRESS |
FEDERALS |
FEDERALS |
| 1984 |
1983 |
1984 |
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| TAMPA BAY |
HOUSTON |
NEW JERSEY |
| BANDITS |
GAMBLERS |
GENERALS |
| 1983 - 1985 |
1984 - 1985 |
1983 - 1985 |
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 |
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| JACKSONVILLE |
ARIZONA |
MEMPHIS |
| BULLS |
WRANGLERS |
SHOWBOATS |
| 1984 - 1985 |
1983 - 1984 |
1984 - 1985 |
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| PHILADELPHIA |
PHILADELPHIA/BALTIMORE |
OAKLAND |
| STARS |
STARS |
INVADERS |
| 1983 |
1984(PHI) - 1985(BAL) |
1983 - 1985 |
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 |
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BOSTON/NEW ORLEANS/
PORTLAND |
DENVER |
ORLANDO |
| BREAKERS |
GOLD |
RENEGADES |
| 1983 - 1985 |
1983 - 1984 |
1985 |
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| OKLAHOMA |
ARIZONA |
PITTSBURGH |
| OUTLAWS |
OUTLAWS |
MAULERS |
| 1984 |
1985 |
1984 |
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| PITTSBURGH |
DENVER |
| MAULERS |
GOLD |
| 1984 |
1985 |
*1 Some sources indicate that the Michigan Panthers used silver helmets for a short time, possibly only for their first game in 1983, but I have never been able to verify that silver helmets were actually used. On this subject, I received the following message from a visitor to this web site: "...I can say with 99.9 percent certainty that the Panthers never wore purely silver helmets. Now I wasn't at the first game (it was an away game) but I do have a newspaper clipping with a picture of Bojovic kicking the FG to win that game and his helmet is champagne colored, not silver. That isn't to say all of the players helmets were the same color, I'm not positive. In certain pictures the Panthers helmets appear silver (I have 2 Panthers helmets, and even in person they kinda look silver in certain light) AND there are a few recently-made silver Panther mini helmets floating around out there too... I think this happened because the actual name of the Panthers helmet color was Champagne SILVER and whoever made the minis assumed they were normal silver, without the gold tint". Thanks to "Tony" for this information.
