1994 Summer Bowl: Stars Steal Momentum After Slow Start to Earn 3rd Title.

Before we begin the article, a brief word about what happens after the championship. I will be traveling a bit this week, and with the complexity of adding 4 new teams, reconfiguring divisions, creating a new schedule, managing retirements, the expansion draft, the college draft, stocking, and restocking rosters, etc. I do not think you will see a story from me until Thursday, Nov. 4 or perhaps Saturday, the 6th. Fair warning. There is a lot of back-of-the-house work to do to prep the 1995 season, so some time will be needed before I can report on it. OK, on with the story.

Sporting News, July 25, 1994

Two teams who exceeded expectations. Two teams who clawed their way from obscurity into the limelight. Two teams hoping to make history. For Chicago just reaching the Summer Bowl is an achievement to be celebrated. For Philadelphia it is a chance to rekindle memories of a glorious past and set up a bright future. Two teams with a chance to grab the golden ring and raise high the USFL trophy. It all comes down to one game, who has the strategies in hand to win, who can execute them, who can turn the ordinary play into the extraordinary. One game to decide the USFL title, Chicago or Philadelphia? Pizza or Cheesesteaks? Al Capone or Rocky Balboa? Michigan Ave meets Broad Street. Navy Pier meets Freedom Hall. It all comes down to this. The Machine and the Stars for the USFL Championship in Summer Bowl 1994.

The game began with perhaps the most unexpected start, a long, time consuming drive by Chicago against the Philadelphia defense. It started on their own 17-yard line and ended with a Zolak to Walls touchdown pass nearly 8 minutes later. In total the drive took 14 plays, and an unnecessary roughness penalty to reach its conclusion, but with half of the first quarter gone, Chicago had staked an early 7-0 lead. This was followed by a 3-and-out by the Stars after Kevin Fagan strongarmed the lineman and sacked Chuck Long for a 6-yard loss on 3rd and 4.

The Machine would repeat their earlier success, this time a 15-play drive, highlighted by two Stars penalties for encroachment, a 12-yard pass to Aubrey Matthews, another to Reggie Langhorne, and finally a 2 yard off-tackle run by Ricky Watters to give Chicago a stunning 14-0 lead after two possessions on offense. Where was the vaunted Stars defense? How had Chicago dinked and dunked their way to a two score lead? The Stars were not going to wait to find out.

Philadelphia’s All-USFL kick returner Chris Snyder would get the Stars back into the game, taking the Chicago kickoff deep in the endzone and choosing to take it out. He would reach the 38 on a weaving, dodging run that got the Philly fans in the stadium into full voice. Philadelphia would not wait for a 14 or 15 play drive. They went for big chunks, 9 to Phelan, 12 again to Phelan, 13 to Brown, 10 to Phelan again, 8 to Carter, and in only 1:22 the Stars halved the deficit, as Chuck Long hit Kelvin Bryant for the scoring play. It would now be up to the defense to change the narrative of the game so far.

The beleaguered Philly D found itself on Chicago’s third drive. After getting a first down on a 3rd and 5, thanks to another Wessley Walls catch, Philadelphia tightened, forcing a 3rd and 5, and on 3rd down, LB Frank Stams found his way to the legs of Scott Zolak and brought down the lanky QB, forcing the Chicago punt with 4:28 left in the half. Philadelphia went back to business. Long completed 5 straight passes, moving the ball from the Philadelphia 25 to the Chicago 44. After a short run by Bryant, it was Long again, completing another 5 straight, splitting targets from TE Eric Green, to Kelvin Bryant, to Cris Carter, and 3rd down back Charlie Garner. On 1st and goal from the 1, Long faked the ball to Bryant and evened the score with a quick out route to Phelan. 14-14 with 1:18 still left on the clock. The earlier quiet of the Philly fans was now turning into a cacophony of cheers, taunts, and talkback between the fans from both cities. Chicago would try to drive, but once the clock reached 11 seconds and the Machine were still on their side of the field, Coach Schottenheimer gave Zolak the call to take a knee and go to the locker rooms.

After a pretty solid halftime performance from, who else at Legion Field, but the band Lynyrd Skynyrd that included both “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home, Alabama”, the two clubs came out ready to break open the tie. Philadelphia got the ball first, and they continued their momentum with another strong scoring drive. Again, it was Long making most of the plays, with only the occasional run against the 8-man fronts that Chicago was showing. Long was effective, finding backs as release valves, catching Chicago in zones with Phelan and Carter finding holes, and, on the drive’s final play, locating TE Eric Green in the middle, boxing out the safety. Philly went up 20-14, and even a botched extra point by the All-USFL kicker of the year, David Trout, could not dampen the enthusiasm on the sideline or among the fans.

Only 3 plays later, the mistake that would all but lock up the Philadelphia momentum. Scott Zolak, having just hit Kimble Anders for a 3rd down conversion, looked deep to Langhorne, perhaps tired of playing the dink & dunk game. It was a huge mistake as Langhorne was outmuscled by Stars CB Lorenzo Lynch, who picked off the ball before falling out of bounds at the Chicago 46. Six plays later, Trout redeemed himself for the missed PAT, putting Philly up 23-14, a 9-point lead that would require 2 Chicago scores to counteract.

As the 3rd quarter shifted to the 4th, Chicago was on their way to reducing that lead. They faced a tough Philadelphia rush, but again penalties kept them in the game. First a neutral zone infraction from Howard, then a holding call in the defensive backfield, helped to position Chicago for their own kicker, John Carney. Carney connected from 46 yards out and the Stars’ lead had dipped to 6 points, 23-17.

After a short 4-play drive, the Stars were forced to punt and again Chicago seemed to be putting together a slow, methodical drive toward points. But, after garnering a first down on the Stars’ 40-yard line, Zolak missed on three straight passes, long on the first, outside on the second, and just too short on the third, and the Machine was forced to punt the ball back to Philadelphia, a touchback that gave Philly the ball at the 20 with 7:03 left to play. Again, Philadelphia was stymied as Charlie Garner got only 2 yards on a 3rd and 3. They would punt back to Chicago.

The Machine saw the clock running down, only 3:51 left to play. After getting 8 yards from Mario Bates on 2nd down, they missed on 3rd and had to decide whether or not to go for it on a 4th and 2 form their own 43 yard line. They decided to give the ball to Ricky Watters, but Andre Collins saw it all the way, and wrapped Watters up behind the line of scrimmage. Turnover on downs. It would take Philadelphia only 3 plays to get the ball into David Trout’s range, and with another kick he restored the 9 point lead, now with only 2:29 left to play.

Chicago would drive the ball to the Philadelphia 11-yard line, trying to get the big score first and hope for an onside kick, but with only 8 seconds left, Wesley Walls caught the pass to the Stars’ 3, but could not get out of bounds. The Stars scrambled to spike the ball, but there simply was not time. Philadelphia would win their 3rd USFL Title, becoming the first franchise to do so.

Chuck Long, who completed 30 of 35 passes on the day, for 240 yards and 3 scores, would be named the game’s MVP. Coach Berry would get the Gator Ade shower from the players, and owner Miles Tannenbaum would once again raise high the USFL trophy, thank the players, the fans, and the city of Philadelphia. Despite a strong performance by the Chicago offense, particularly Zolak, who finished with 307 yards passing on a 36 of 55 day, the day belonged to Philadelphia, an unlikely champion by all accounts when the season began, but a very deserving one by the final whistle.