New York-- October 10, 1982
The United States Football League introduced the world to their 12 founding franchises and their ownership groups today at a presser in New York's prestigious Downtown Athletic Club. In addition to the 9 cities introduced in their initial release last month, the USFL announced that the remaining 4 franchises will be in East Rutherford, New Jersey (NY-NJ market), Denver (CO), Birmingham (AL), and Phoenix (AZ). Not only are 9 of the 12 franchises located in NFL cities, but in most locations they will make use of NFL stadiums, such as the Silver Dome in Detroit, RFK Stadium in DC, Mile High Stadium in Denver, and Giants Stadium in the NY market.
While many in the league's announced ownership groups are not household names to most, there are a few among the group who will bring some recognition to the league. Of course, there is David Dixon, founder of the New Orleans Saints as well as the failed World Football League. Also in the mix are LA real estate mogul Alex Spanos, oil man J. Walter Duncan, and another World Football League retred in John Bassett. Bassett brought in perhaps the biggest name, though likely not the owner with the deepest pockets, film star Burt Reynolds, a member of Bassett's ownership team for the Tampa franchise.
The league also revealed the team identities for all 12 franchises today. The teams range from traditional names such as Panthers, Stallions, Stars and Generals to some unique names such as the Chicago Blitz, Denver Gold and the Washington Federals.
While coaches have not yet been hired for the 12 franchises, the league did announce that a player draft would be held in 3 parts later this Fall, with a free agent draft of veteran players with NFL or CFL experience, a rookie draft, and a territorial draft in which each franchise would have 4-6 "protected" colleges from which they would each have first rights to sign players (current and past graduates). It is hoped that having some regional players will benefit the league with college football fans, though this reporter wonders if teams in Boston and NY can compete with the talent pools of franchises in football hotbeds like Alabama, Florida, and California.
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