By his own admission, prolific author Jeff Pearlman had the most fun working on his USFL book, Football for a Buck: The Crazy Rise and the Crazier Demise of the USFL. Flash forward, and the spring football saga continues. The United Football League (UFL) kicks off tonight (Friday) in Louisville.
In his book, Pearlman chronicles the rise and fall of the 1980s United States Football League, a spring pro football league that often existed on a shoestring. After three years of hits and misses, the USFL disappeared into the abyss like a one-hit new wave band, a victim of greed, mismanagement, and other factors.
When it kicked off in 1983, the USFL looked like it had better than a Hail Mary shot. Fans tuned in, at least out of curiosity, and fans showed up, well … sometimes … when there wasn’t a monsoon. Some teams, like the fan-friendly (yes, think lots of fun minor league baseball promotions) Tampa Bay Bandits, thrived. With stellar running back Kelvin Bryant leading the way, the Philadelphia Stars were the league’s class, winning two of three USFL crowns.
Same Mills card from 1984 (graphic courtesy eBay)
The Stars birthed the careers of 5’9” linebacker Sam Mills of Division 3 Montclair State and Towson State punter Sean Landeta, both future NFL all-pros. Giving a shot to those deemed “no shot” was a major part of the USFL’s beauty.
On every page, one can feel Pearlman rooting for these underdogs to find a way somehow. However, on-field success didn’t necessarily translate to fiscal stability. At one point, the Stars became the Baltimore Stars while residing in Philadelphia and playing in College Park. (Try saying that quickly three times.)
Often, the USFL could feel like amateur hour, or Happy Hour, or even Spring Break. Drugs, everything from cocaine to steroids, were rampant. On the field, teams like the Los Angeles Express went nowhere fast, even with Heisman winner Steve Young at the helm.
The USFL lacked no shortage of, ah, quirky personalities, whether it be on the field, the sidelines, or in the owner’s box. The USFL didn’t have legendary former Miami Dolphin kicker Garo Yepremian, but they had a Garo lookalike try out. No one was crazier than the monster LA Express defensive lineman Greg Fields, who pummeled running backs and even assaulted his own coach.
In San Antonio, the head coach sat in the stands with his wife during the game. Indeed, the USFL boasted no shortage of eccentric owners. San Antonio owner Clinton Manges was excessively frugal, and the San Antonio turf was a bacteria-infested, concrete health hazard. Quite memorably, Manges insisted that the team suit up one of his very unqualified ranch hands to handle the team’s punting duties.
Courtesy: Washington Post
Donald Trump, yes, the current President, owned the New Jersey Generals. He signed Heisman winners Herschel Walker and Doug Flutie, and the Generals attracted crowds, albeit not NFL crowds. Trump, as well as some other USFL owners, often overpaid for name players, straying from the USFL’s business model, and making long-term success a long shot.
Ultimately, Trump wanted no part of spring football, later referring to the USFL as “small potatoes.” Ultimately, in a last-gasp attempt to save the league or perhaps gain some form of entry into the NFL, the USFL – with Trump leading the charge- (surprise, surprise) filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL.
The USFL technically won the case.
In every other aspect, the USFL lost, collecting just a single dollar in damages, thus Pearlman’s title. And with that, the USFL vanished, though the NFL picked up dozens of its players.
__________
Jon Hart is the author of Man versus Ball: One Ordinary Guy and His Extraordinary Sports Adventures and its undeserved sequel, Unfortunately, I was available.
