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A mistake-filled defeat for Tampa, two close games in the Atlantic, and two teams on the rise out west mark Week 6 play in the USFL. BOS 24 NJ 25—It was a game for the ages in front of 52,000 at the Meadowlands as the Generals erased an 8 point 4th quarter deficit to knock off the suddenly hard-luck Breakers from Boston. Both teams moved the ball well all day, with Boston’s Richard Crump rushing for 91 yards, while New Jersey’s Herschel Walker rumbled for 122. Johnny Walton had a strong day, with 301 yards passing, but two turnovers, an early interception in the first quarter and a costly fumble in the 4th led to 10 New Jersey points. For his part, Generals QB Bobby Scott contributed 219 yards passing and two scores, including the winning TD, a 9-yard pass to backup RB Rob Fuller with 2:22 left in the game. When the 2pt try failed, Boston had a chance to win the game with a field goal, but a 4th and 10 pass on their own 41 yard line got stifled for only 8 yards, turning the ball over on downs and giving New Jersey a well-earned division win. WSH 28 PHI 34—Another good game on a sunny day in Philly, as the two teams battled to a 21-21 tie at in the 3rd quarter before Philly went on a 13 point run that put the game away. Washington would score a late TD to make the game close, but Philly recovered the onside kick and salted the game away. The star of the day was Philly backup RB Booker Russell. While Kelvin Bryant got most of the carries (28 for 81 yards), Russell proved invaluable around the endzone, where he scored 2 TD’s for the Stars. For Washington, the game grew tougher when lead RB Craig James went out with an injury after only 2 carries in the 1st quarter. Backup Curtis Bledsoe rushed 14 times for 60 yards, but the shift in rushers clearly impacted the game. With the loss, Washington falls 2 games behind division leaders NJ and Philly at 2-4. For the Stars a division win is a valuable commodity as they join the Generals at the top of the Atlantic Division. CHI 17 MGN 20—Another big crowd at the Silverdome as the Panthers bounced back from their surprise loss in LA to knock down the division rival Blitz. 43,000 showed up in Pontiac to watch a close game between two evenly matched foes. The two swapped the lead all day and it was not decided until Hebert hit Anthony Carter for a 14 yard score with 1:59 left in the game. It was actually a pretty slow day for Hebert, who only threw for 187 yards. John Williams, the shifty Panther back took up a lot of the load, carrying the ball 21 times for 104 yards. On the other sideline it was Frank Corral who actually provided a lot of the offense, kicking 5 fieldgoals for a Blitz offense that never saw the endzone. Corral’s 5 kicks and a safety were all the scoring the Blitz could muster. Had they been able to turn just one of their FG drives into 7 they would have won this one, but the Michigan D, led by LB John Corker, held tough in the red zone all day, giving Michigan the win and moving their record to 4-2. BIR 33 TBY 11—This was the game of the week, at least that is what the billing said. The undefeated Bandits taking on the 4-1 Stallions. Over 47,000 showed up at Tampa Stadium to watch the fireworks, but what they got was a lot more from Bob Lane and the Stallions than from John Reaves and the Bandits. The Stalliions figured out a way to shut down the longball, the bread and butter of Bandit Ball, holding Reaves to only 163 yards passing and forcing three interceptions and 2 fumbles from the Bandit offense. Birmingham capitalized on those turnovers, scoring on an INT return by Jason Brown and snagging a safety when Gary Anderson could not get out of his own way on a poorly run counter play from the Tampa 1 yard line. Lane would add two short TD passes and Tampa just could not recover. Birmingham, with the win, moves into a tie for the lead of the Central Division at 5-1, and Tampa has to hope they can find a way to avoid such a mistake-filled game next week against Chicago. LA 40 OAK 13—Someone break up the Express. After going 0-4 LA has won two in a row and QB Tom Ramsey has grown each week. From a close loss in week 4 to a decent game in week 5, this week Ramsey exploded, throwing for 4 TD’s against a bewildered Invader secondary. The other big surprise this week was backup RB LaRue Harrington, filling in for the injured Tony Boddie, and racing for 145 yards on 20 carries. Oakland’s defensive gameplan was simply not up to snuff, and the O did not look much better. Playing much of the game from behind, the rushing attack of Whittington was largely abandoned. Fred Besana threw for 309 yards as the Invaders tried to keep pace with the Express, but going 5 for 14 on third down just kept Oakland drives from leading to scores. The win pushes LA to 2-4 and 2nd in the weak Pacific Division. Oakland will need to regroup next week as they take on division-leading Denver. DEN 26 ARZ 14—The Gold pulled to .500 with a win over the hapless and winless Arizona Wranglers. Denver scored the first 17 points of the game and never relinquished that lead as Arizona struggled to move the ball. The Wranglers would total only 213 yards of total offense for the game, compared to Denver’s 423. After a rough first half the Wranglers pulled a struggling Alan Risher, only to find that their backup, Dan Manucci, was also not up to the task. For Denver, it was a strong game from RB Harry Sydney, who raced up 105 yards on only 13 carries. Ken Johnson dinked and dunked for an impressive 311 yards as well. The loss drops the Wranglers to 0-6 and now face a revived and dangerous LA Express squad. Denver will be back home at Mile High to take on the 1-5 Oakland Invaders next week.

Week Five featured the Atlantic Division going head to head while all 4 Central teams faced off against Pacific Division teams, with one of the biggest surprise results of the year to date. PHI 14 BOS 29— At Friday’s presser Breakers coach Dick Coury said that he felt the key to the game was which team could run the ball effectively. The Breakers clearly focused on both their rush attack and shutting down the Stars’ running game, to great effect. Breakers RB Richard Crump had 101 yards on only 15 carries, including a 64 yard rumbler that put the Breakers up by 6 in the 2nd quarter. Meanwhile, Philly’s Kevlin Bryant was held to only 38 yards on 12 carries as the Breakers focused their defensive energy on the run game. Chuck Fusina was able to marshal the Stars through the air, to the tune of 222 yards and 2 TD’s, but it proved too little as Crump’s big day also allowed QB Johnny Walton to use play action effectively and lead the Breakers to a 15 point win on a sunny day in Boston. NJ 23 WSH 17—The other Atlantic battle saw New Jersey head down I-95 to DC to face the Federals. It was a well-matched game throughout, with the Generals breaking out to a 16-0 lead only to watch Craig James and the Federals score 10 to bring themselves within one score. The killing blow for NJ came when Generals QB Bobby Scott hit wideout Mike Friede on a somewhat innocuous 11 yard slant, but when the CB and the Safety for the Feds both hit Friede simultaneously, the effect was that the two defenders fell to the ground and Friede remained standing, and running, for what would become an 83 yard TD to build New Jersey’s lead to 13. Craig James would get another TD late in the 4th, but it was too little for the Feds, who fell to 2-3 with the division loss. OAK 17 CHI 24—It was another heartbreakingly close game for the Invaders as they fell to Chicago by 7. The Blitz were playing with backup QB Tim Koegel for a second week, and he showed some skills this week, passing for 259 yards and two TD’s, hitting both Wamon Buggs and Trumaine Johnson for scores. Oakland’s Fred Besana could only muster 191 yards passing, but was helped by a strong output from the tandem backs of Whittington and Smart, who combined for 146 yards. Oakland, after trailing the whole game, pulled within 7 at 12:47, but simply could not do anything right for the remainder of the 4th quarter, never mounting a serious scoring drive to challenge the Blitz in the 4th quarter. Oakland falls to 1-4 in the Sad Sack Pacific Division, while Chicago’s 3-2 record still keeps them in last place in the very tough Central. DEN 10 TBY 36—It was another strong outing from John Reaves and the Tampa Bay Bandits as they left Denver in their dust with a 26 point victory. Denver had been the only team at .500 in the Pacific, but will have to settle for 2-3 and first in the division after this loss. The star of the game was Tampa wideout Willie Gillespie, whose 136 yards receiving included an 86 yard bomb from Reaves. Gary Anderson, the elusive Bandit back, also contributed with 123 yards on the ground as Tampa dominated in all phases of the game. Tampa remains undefeated at 5-0 atop the Central Division. BIR 41 ARZ 20—It is safe to say that not many folks were laying down money on Arizona to defeat Birmingham. That was shrewd. While early in the third quarter the Wranglers were looking OK, scoring on their opening drive to pull within 3 at 17-14, the wheels fell off after that. 24 straight points by Birmingham over the next 15 minutes put the game away and left the 14,200 fans in attendance at Sun Devil Stadium with a let down feeling. The problem, it would seem, is the Wrangler’s absolute inability to win at the line of scrimmage. While they did get to Stallions QB 4 times for sacks, 3 of these were more about coverage than line play. Lane spent most of the day with a solid pocket, allowing him to complete 81% of his passes (18 of 22). And when the Stallions chose to run, they ran hard. Cornelius Quarles racked up 180 yards and 4 TD’s on the day. His backup averaged 6.1 yards a carry as well, on his way to 55 additional rush yards. So, a long day for the Wranglers, who are hoping that their matchup with Denver next week is a different story. MGN 14 LA 21—This one was a shocker. After switching QB’s from Mike Rae to Tom Ramsey a week ago, the LA offense looked slightly better, but no one expected the Express to upend the red hot Panthers. And it was not just offense, this was an all-phases win. LA held the Panthers run game to a meager 29 yards on the day, and while Bobby Hebert racked up 285 yards in the air, he also threw 3 interceptions. Ramsey provided solid, if not spectacular, leadership of the LA offense, including a TD toss to TE Ricky Ellis to put the Express up for good. He was complemented by 70 yards from RB LaRue Harrington, subbing for the hamstrung Tony Boddie. The win was LA’s first of the season. They will go for their second against an equally 1-4 Oakland squad.

Can Tampa get a 4th win? Can Chicago win with a backup QB at the helm? Who comes out ahead when the Pacific teams clash? All these questions and more are answered in an exciting 4th week of USFL action. TBY 21 NJ 20 – In their tightest match yet, the Tampa Bay Bandits found a way to win, defeating the New Jersey Generals by the slightest of margins. For much of the game it did not appear likely, as New Jersey ran out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter on the strength of two Bobby Scott TD passes. But, momentum shifted after an interception when Scott tried to push the ball downfield to Tom McConnaughey. The mood-shifting pick seemed to energize Tampa, who went on to score three times, with Reaves hitting each of his top 3 receivers (Truvillion, Buggs and Gillespie) with a scoring strike. In the end, despite 138 yards from Hershel Walker the Generals could not recover a rhythm and were unable to do more than score a field goal to bring them within one. CHI 26 PHI 31—In another nailbiter, Philadelphia held off Chicago to take a 5 point win in front of a raucous crowd of 32,300 in Veterans Stadium. The Blitz effectively held Kelvin Bryant in check, limiting him to only 44 yards rushing and one leaping TD (right), but Philly came with other weapons. Chuck Fusina hit TE Steve Folsom twice for scores, and spread the ball around to 7 different receivers. For Chicago, Tim Spencer led the charge, rushing for 117 yards and a TD. Backup QB Tim Koegel filled in admirably for the injured Greg Landry, but the Blitz fell just short to a tenacious Philly Stars team playing at home. The win moves Philly into first place in the Atlantic, and places Chicago at the basement of the Central. WSH 24 MGN 47—If you have not yet watched Michigan’s Bobby Hebert play, this was the week to catch him in action. The young Cajun Cannon threw for 475 yards and 4 TD’s to propel the Panthers to an impressive win over the Federals. Anthony Carter benefited most from the onslaught, reeling in one bomb after another to the tune of 208 yards on only 5 receptions. Derek Holloway also benefited, catching 2 TD’s and 165 yards as well. The Michigan defense also came to play, limiting Roger Craig to only 47 yards rushing, and holding the Federals’ Joey Walters to only 3 receptions on the day. It was a statement game for Michigan, who move to 3-1, while the reeling Federals will return home 2-2 after 4 weeks. BOS 27 BIR 35—In what proved to be a rough week for the Atlantic Division, Boston also took to the road, and returned home at 2-2 after a tough defeat to the Birmingham Stallions. Tough not only because Birmingham got the win, but because Boston blew a 27-14 lead after 3. The 4th quarter belonged to the Stalliions, who scored 21 in the final quarter to blow past the Breakers. Both Earl Gant and Cornelius Quarles scored on 1 yard runs, and Jim Smith added a 29 yard TD reception to break the hearts of Breaker fans and give Birmingham their 3rd win in 4 games. It now appears that the Central Division with Tampa undefeated and both Birmingham and Michigan at 3-1, is the lead division in the league. OAK 42 ARZ 27—Something had to break when the 4 Pacific Division teams faced each other, and what seemed to have broken is Arizona’s spirit. The Wranglers could not keep pace with a suddenly dynamic Oakland attack. Invaders RB Arthur Whittington had a field day in Tempe, racing for 138 yards and a TD. His running mate, Aaron Smart, got three goal line carries and converted them into 3 scores as well. For the Wranglers, Alan Risher tried to keep pace, but completed only 49% of his passes, including two errant throws that went the other way, including a 1st quarter pick-six that put the Invaders in front for good. Risher will have to play better, as will the entire Wranglers squad if they want to avoid falling even further behind in the division. For Oakland, their first victory has to be a welcome feeling, and if the offense can keep the ball rolling, this won’t be their last W. DEN 31 LA 21—Coach Campbell made the call this week. After 3 poor outings by QB Mike Rae, he gave Tom Ramsey a shot to prove his skills. Ramsey kept the Express in the game through three quarters, before a poorly thrown ball led to a Loren Hawk 31 yard interception return for a back-breaking touchdown. The Express defense did not help their cause much, allowing Gold QB Ken Johnson to complete 30 of 40 attempts and the combination of Harry Sydney and Scott Stamper to gain 144 combined rushing yards. So, after 4 games, LA and Arizona have yet to notch a win, and we begin to worry that they may just not have the players on their squads to do anything but compete with each other twice this year. That first Wranglers-Express matchup is slated for week 7, a game perhaps to miss if both are 0-6 by then.

USA Today, April 6, 1983 With four weeks of play in the books and better than expected attendance and television viewership, it appears that the idea of professional football in the spring was not as far-fetched as many had claimed. The fledgling USFL has shown over the past month that there is an appetite for more football once the Super Bowl is over, and that even with only a handful of nationally known names, the games can be high quality football and fun for fans. The league has its issues, of course. Quarterbacking has been hit or miss, and some cities have embraced the experience more than others, but the overall reaction has been solid. Fans in cities such as Tampa, Denver, Birmingham and Detroit have come out strong for their teams, while some teams are struggling at the gate, either from stadium limitations—Boston plays in a 22,000 college stadium—or due to competition from other sports and good spring weather—the 0-4 LA Express are trailing all teams in attendance despite playing in one of the league’s largest stadiums, the cavernous LA Coliseum. The next challenges for the league will be balancing the revenue across all teams, not just those whose winning records keep fans in the stands, and preparing for what appears to be a growing player war with the NFL. In the USFL’s first year the plan seems to have been to seek out NFL players who were marginal on most rosters, recent retirees or free agents. The biggest names in the league are not NFL vets, but rookies fresh out of college, such as the league’s marquee player, RB Herschel Walker, who came to the USFL after only 2 years at Georgia. He is not alone, of course, as potential NFL first rounders such as WRs Anthony Carter and Eric Truvillion also jumped to the new league. The USFL is already talking expansion, with hopes of adding 2-6 new teams for 1984. This will bring added revenue through expansion fees and will also help fill in the national TV market for the league. But before they do that, they need to settle on their financial model, and a newly released revenue sharing plan aims to do just that. The USFL will split all television funds evenly across all franchises, and will go a step further, sharing a percentage of both merchandise and ticket revenue as well, essentially ensuring that a team like the LA Express who struggle at the box office are not severely hurt while another, like the New Jersey Generals rake in additional revenue with higher ticket prices. It is a daring plan, and one which might lead to greater franchise stability as the pressure to make local dollars will not be as high. Enforcing that each team will pull its weight to market and contribute to the shared pool will be the challenge going forward. Another challenge will be player acquisition. With the NFL Draft coming in just a couple of weeks, USFL officials have been making open overtures to top NFL prospects. Those not signed already from the December USFL Draft are free agents at this point in USFL eyes, and each USFL franchise is doing their best to entice NFL prospects to consider the USFL if they are not pleased by their selection in the NFL Draft. With big noise coming from anticipated #1 pick John Elway about the unwanted prospect of being chosen by the Baltimore Colts, and rumblings that other players (and their agents) plan to use the USFL to bargain with the NFL, it is possible that we will see even more top prospects jump to the USFL in 1984 rather than play this fall for the NFL. With each team now allowed 3 players who do not count against the USFL’s salary cap (a rule most are calling the “Walker Rule” in honor of Herschel Walker’s signing by New Jersey), it is possible that teams could start to sign not only top rookie prospects but a few NFL vets as well, a prospect that clearly has the NFL worried. All this and the league has only played 4 weeks. Perhaps it will all continue to come together, or perhaps there is trouble ahead for this spring phenomenon. Only time will tell. But, as first impressions go, the USFL has certainly made an resounding one.

What is wrong out West? Patterns seem to emerge as the Atlantic and Central Divisions rack up wins while the Pacific flounders, losing all 4 matchups this week. MGN 13 TBY 21 – The Tampa Bay Bandits come out of week 3 as the only undefeated team in the league, and with another strong performance from QB John Reaves, they have taken an early line as the team, and the player to beat this year. Reaves threw for 333 yards, and while he only accounted for 1 TD against a stout Panther defense, he controlled the second half of the game, with both Bandit TD’s coming in the 4th quarter. Bobby Hebert, on the other side, also had a respectable game, throwing for 239 yards and 2 TD’s, but a missed extra point, and a lack of focus in the 4th quarter doomed their comeback attempt. ARZ 20 BOS 28—Playing in the smallest stadium in the league, the Boston Breakers had the first sellout of the USFL season for any team. The 22,000 who showed up at Nickerson Field got to watch as Breaker RB Richard Crump held court. He rushed for 148 yards on 25 carries, eating up clock and converting on 3rd down after 3rd down on the way to an 8 point victory. His 3 touchdown runs were all Boston needed to secure the win. In a losing effort Arizona’s Alan Risher played well, completing 70% of his passes, but when it counted most, on 3rd downs, the Wranglers were only 3 of 11. Boston moves to 2-1, keeping pace with the rest of the very competitive Atlantic Division. Los Angeles 24 Washington 27—It was the LA Express’s best offensive performance of the year, but was still not enough to overtake the Federals on a rainy day at RFK. The star of the day was Federals QB Kim McQuilken who dinked and dunked his way to 220 yards and 3 TD’s. Craig James also had his best USFL outing to date, rushing for 102 yards on 27 carries. LA actually looked like they would take this one, building up a 24-7 lead in the early stages of the 3rd quarter, but then Washington went on a 20-0 run, including 2 TD passes from McQuilken, including a game-winning toss with only 48 seconds left in the game. BIR 20 CHI 26—The Blitz knocked Birmingham from the ranks of the unbeated with a solid three-phase victory on a windy afternoon at Soldier Field. 28,500 were there to watch as Greg Landry led the Blitz to a 23-10 lead at half, only to watch Landry go down to injury in the 3rd quarter. Without Landry the Blitz offense struggled and Birmingham was able to scratch back to within 1 score, but the Chicago D held and a strong effort from Stallions RB Cornelious Quarles (152 yards on only 18 carries) was for naught. Landry was diagnosed with an ankle sprain and should be back in action within 2-4 weeks. NJ 37 DEN 26—The woes for the Pacific Division continued as Denver fell to 1-2 with a loss to the Generals. New Jersey’s Hershel Walker ran over the Gold defense for 118 yards and 3 TD’s in the 11 poiint victory. By the end of 3 quarters, the Generals held a commanding 24 point lead (34-10) before softening enough for Denver to score 16 points in the final quarter. The Generals were never really at risk, though the softer zone defenses it used in the 4th quarter allowed Denver QB Ken Johnson to improve a stat line that looked quite dim after 3 quarters. New Jersey now shares a 2-1 record with the three other Atlantic teams while Denver’s 1-2 record keeps them atop the sad sack Pacific division, where they are the only squad to notch a win so far this season. PHI 24 OAK 10—Oakland fell for the third straight week as their strategy to bottle up Stars RB Kelvin Bryant led to a good day for QB Chuck Fusina.Stars wideout Scott Fitzkee notched 104 yards receiving on 9 catches, while teammate Tom Donovan brought in two short TD passes from the wily Fusina.The Stars held both Fred Besana and Alfred Whittington in check all day, allowing only 256 total yards in offense to the Invaders.While Philadelphia looks like a contender in the Atlantic, Oakland is still clearly trying to find a formula that will bring them more W’s.With 3 divisional play weeks in the next 4,

Surprises abound as several favorites fall in Week 2 action. CHI 27 NJ 24— The Blitz and the Generals played the kind of game where you hate that one team needed to be the loser. Greg Landry threw for 335 yards and 3 TD’s for Chicago, while Herschel Walker’s 92 yards allowed the Generals to catch Chicago with some play action passing, to the tune of 3 TD’s for Bobby Scott. In a game that saw 7 lead changes, it was Chicago that pulled it out in the 4th quarter, scoring one field goal to tie the game at 24 and a second to take the win. New Jersey had a chance at the end but needed a stop of 3rd and 3 to get the ball back with 1:53 left. Landry faked to Spencer and hit his TE to get the first down and the ability to run out the clock, taking their first victory of the season. TBY 31 PHI 26—TE Lewis Gilbert was the star of the show, catching 3 of John Reaves’s 4 TD tosses to take the 5 point win out of Philly. In a good game for both QB’s, Reaves just had enough firepower to edge the tenacious Stars. He ended the day with 437 yards passing, while Chuck Fusina, who completed over 70% of his passes, could only muster 259 and 2 TD’s. Kelvin Bryant scored twice for the losing side, but the day belonged to Reaves and Gilbert, the latter finishing with 157 yards receiving and 3 TDs. LA 7 BIR 27—On a beautiful spring day in Birmingham, the hometown Stallions thrilled a crowd of over 41,000 at Legion Field with a defense that smothered the LA offense all afternoon. The Express finished with only 166 in total yards as Birmingham shut them down series after series. The Expressed scored on their first possession and then never sniffed the endzone again. Mike Rae was harassed all day, leading to 2 interceptions, including one returned for six by Stallions safety William Cesare. The win brings the surprising Stallions to 2-0, while Hugh Campbell returns to LA 0-2 and with some significant changes needed to a team that just has not found any offensive rhythm in its first 2 games. ARZ 14 MGN 33—The Panthers are another early season surprise, beating the Arizona Wranglers handily as they opened the Silverdome for their first home game. Good performances by rookie QB Bobby Hebert (23-37 for 347 yards and 3 TD’s) and RB John Williams (25 attempts for 70 yards) kept the ball away from Arizona’s offense for much of the game. Michigan finished with over 41 minutes of possession in a game that was not as close as the score indicated. Arizona committed 11 penalties for 82 yards, shooting themselves in the foot on several occasions. For the Wranglers, an 0-2 start will lead to some changew, while Michigan is turning some heads with their 2-0 start to the season. WSH 26 DEN 21—The altitude at Mile High Stadium was not a factor for the Washington Federals, and neither was a raucous crowd of close to 50,000 for the Denver Gold’s home opener. The Federals, led by the rushing of Craig James (28 carries for 85 yards) were able to keep Denver’s offense in check for most of the game, but neither team could really take over the game, which went back and forth into the 4th quarter. Even after Sandro Vitello hit on a 44 yard field goal to extend a 23-21 lead up to 5 points, Denver still had a chance to take the victory, but a dropped swing pass on 3rd and 9 late in the game cost Denver their chance to regain the lead and the Federals held on to take their first win of the season. BOS 24 OAK 17—Boston flew out to the West Coast to take on the Oakland Invaders, and flew home with a win. In a very evenly matched game, it was veteran QB Johnny Walton who showed the moxie to take home the win. With the game tied at 17 in the 4th quarter, Walton led a game-ending drive, hitting wideout Frank Lockett with the winning score from the 3 yard line with just over a minute left to play. Oakland’s Fred Besana, who had relied on the running of Alfred Whittington (124 yards) all day to move the ball had to try to win the game in the air, and simply was unable to find open receivers against a stingy Breakers D. The game ended when Oakland receiver Gordon Banks earned a first down on the Boston 30 but was unable to get out of bounds to stop the clock. Besana was unable to get the Invaders to the line in time, and the Breakers walked away with a 7 point win, their first of the year.

The USFL's first week of play surprised many with its high quality brand of football, some nail-biters, and some upsets. With coverage on ABC and ESPN outpacing expectations, and attendance averaging just under 30,000 per game for the week, the new league seems tobe off and running. BRM 42 WSH 27—Birmingham QB Bob Lane had a monster game, throwing for 278 yards and 4 TD’s against a Washington Federals defense that had no answers. The Stallions combined for 441 total yards, including 114 receiving yards from Alabama State product Greg Anderson. The effective air attack was seconded by a ground assault that led to 140 rushing yards, including 93 yards on only 13 carries from lead back Cornelius Quarles. Washington was abysmal in the first half, scoring only 3 points to Birmingham’s 35, but fought back, scoring 3 TD’s in the second half. Too little, too late for the Federals as Birmingham wins the first match in USFL history. OAK 22 TBY 25 – Well, Bandit Ball promised to be exciting and this nailbiter sure was. In front of a solid crowd of over 47,000 in Tampa, the Bandits waited until the last minute to take the lead for the first time in the game. The score was 17-17 at half, with both QB’s having strong first halves. After a field goal, Oakland added a safety when they sacked Tampa QB in the endzone with about 8 minutes left. Tampa rallied, and after holding Oakland out of field goal range, they marched down the field, and with 40 second left Reaves hit star wideout Eric Truvillion on a fade route to take the lead. They went for 2 and got it, giving them the 3 point lead and leaving Oakland little time. Tampa came away with the win and the fans went home excited about USFL football. MGN 18 BOS 14 – Sometimes it just takes 1 play to change a game. Boston and Michigan had been going back and forth for 3 ½ quarters when that play happened. A broken coverage left former Michigan wideout Anthony Carter uncovered and rookie QB Bobby Hebert found him for a 76 yard score with 8 minutes left in the game. Boston would never recover. The Breakers had built their offense around the slow and steady running of Richard Crump and a short passing game from veteran QB Johnnie Walton, but when it came time to mount a final drive, the plays just were not there. Michigan got strong performances in all 3 phases of the game, including a safety as DE Ronnie Paggett found Walton in the endzone, and a 52 yard field goal from Novo Bojovic. DEN 20 CHI 9 – A shocker in Chicago as the highly favored Blitz fall to the unheralded Denver Gold. Denver took advantage of 4 Chicago turnovers and kept both Tim Spencer and Trumain Johnson in check throughout the game. While Chicago outgained Denver 336-299, it was the turnovers that told the story. The first, a Greg Landry interception by Denver MLB Putt Choate led to the game’s first score, a FG in the first quarter. A later interception would set up Denver for the first TD of the game, a 30 yard rumbling score from bruising back Harry Sydney. Chicago would never see the endzone, as the Denver D tightened up every time the Blitz sniffed the Red Zone. This was not the Blitz that most of the 33,500 fans at Soldier Field expected to see. For Denver fans, the Gold gave them a reason to look into getting tickets for their home opener next week against Washington. PHI 24 ARZ 20 – A hard fought game in the desert came down to who wanted it most, and the scrappy Philadelphia Stars were able to muster just enough to hold off the homestanding Wranglers. Both offenses played well, though scoring was tough. Philly’s Chuck Fusina found wideout Scott Fitzkee 6 times for 115 yards, while RB Kelvin Bryant averaged 4.3 yards a carry on his way to a 77 yard day. On the other side of the field, it was a mixed performance for former LSU QB Alan Risher, who threw for 318 yards but was unable to find receivers in the endzone. RB Calvin Murphy scored twice, but was only able to average 3.4 yards a carry against the stalwart Philly defense. In a game this close it is usually self-inflicted wounds, turnovers and penalties, that cost a team the win, and that was the case for Arizona, who had 2 turnovers and 7 penalties, including a costly defensive pass interference that wiped a TD off the board. A good game overall, and an exciting opening weekend in Phoenix. NJ 22 LA 12 – In the week’s marquee matchup it was the ability of the Generals, led by Herschel Walker, to pound out first downs and kill clock that helped them earn the win. The combination of a solid run game, with Walker gaining 94 yards on 26 carries, and a defense that caused LA to go 5 of 17 on 3rd down conversions made the difference in a game that saw 6 field goals in total and a weird safety on a penalty called against NJ wideout Mike Friede for hands to the face on a block far from the action when NJ was pinned back to the 2 yard line. For LA the inability of Tony Boddie to rush the ball effectively meant that former USC signal caller Mike Rae had to abandon the play action pass, and that just made it much easier for New Jersey to focus on obvious passing downs. I guess if there is good news, it is that there were plenty of Los Angelinos who missed the game, so the first impression of a lost was not a big one. Only 21,400 attended the first game in the cavernous LA Coliseum, despite the lure of Herschel Walker, a possible sign that all is not well in the world of LA football.

Sporting News, February 26 1983 We are just weeks away from the kickoff of a new adventure in professional football, the well-financed, well-publicized, and perhaps well-designed United States Football League (USFL). The USFL will begin with 12 franchises, predominantly playing in NFL cities and NFL stadiums. There are some well known names, from Chicago Head Coach George Allen to New Jersey Generals RB Herschel Walker, but there are also a lot of unknowns about this league. Early reports are that season ticket sales are doing well in most locations, and the addition of both ABC and the cable network ESPN as broadcast partners certainly adds potential to the league. But what about on the field? Will the play be of a quality to attract fans? With so many moving parts and unfamiliar faces, it is hard to say anything, but here is our best guess of what fans can expect in the USFL. ATLANTIC The Atlantic Division has its share of haves and have nots. At the top of the heap have to be the New Jersey Generals, who boast not only the face of the league in Walker, but also one of its most recognizable coaches in former Oklahoma and New England Patriots head man, Chuck Fairbanks. The Washington Federals also look like a team with some potential. They are led by another big time rookie signing, former SMU "Pony Express" RB Craig James. While their leader, Ray Jauch, is not well known to most American fans, he has proven to know how to win, leading the Edmonton Eskimos to a Grey Cup victory in 1975. The Philadelphia Stars and Boston Breakers don't have the name recognition of the other two squads, though there is some talent on both rosters. Philadelphia will be led by first-time head coach Jim Mora, formerly the D-Line coach in Seattle and New England. Boston, playing in the league's smallest stadium, BU's Nickerson Field, will need to sell out just to break even, but with a roster made up of WFL and NFL castaways, with only a few rookies of note, that may be hard to do. CENTRAL The ol' grey mare just ain't what she used to be, but longtime NFL coach George Allen may still have a few tricks up his sleeve. As we expect of Allen, his Chicago Blitz, were one of the more aggressive teams in signing NFL veterans instead of going for youth. Stan White, of the Lions, will likely lead a stalwart defense. That said, the Blitz did manage to sign two of the most promising offensive rookies in former Buckeye RB Tim Spencer and speedy wideout Trumaine Johnson of Grambling. The top competition for Chicago may come from the Tampa Bay Bandits, led by former Florida Heisman-winning QB Steve Spurrier. Spurrier has put together an interesting cast of characters, and boasts a couple of dynamic rookies as well in wideout Eric Truvillion of Florida A&M and RB Gary Anderson, who just a 6 weeks ago was roaming the sidelines of Fayetteville for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Spurrier showed a flair for trickery and wide open offense while serving as OC at Duke, something he hopes to bring to Bandit Ball. There are some intriguing storylines with both the Birmingham Stallions and the Michigan Panthers, but we are not sure if that will be enough to lead to winning records. Michigan is led by the defensive mind of Jim Staley, but their big star is wideout Anthony Carter, late of the Wolverines just up the road from the Silverdome. In Birmingham, they are relying on a steady stream of SEC talent, particularly from in state rivals Auburn and Alabama to attract fans and win games. Their best weapon, however, may be coming from across the state line, in Southern Miss QB Reggie Collier. Collier is a dual threat, but may need some seasoning, sitting behind Louisiana-Monroe product Bob Lane. PACIFIC It is hard not to like 5-time Grey Cup winning coach Hugh Campbell of the LA Express as the favorite to put together a winning team. Of course, he has a classic quarterback dual to deal with first, and a California classic at that. It's UCLA's Mike Rae vs. USC's Tom Ramsey to see who gets the nod to start for the Express. Supporting the winner will be another Bruin, wideout Jo-Jo Townsell. The Denver Gold roster reads a lot like a U. of Colorado alumni gathering, with no fewer than 20 former Buffs on the preseason squad. Most notable among them are QB's Ken Johnson and Bob Gagliano. They will throw to some familiar targets, including TE Bob Niziolek and wideout Vic James. Maybe familiarity will be the key to a fast start in the mountains. At least that is what former Bronco head coach Red Miller seems to be hoping. In the Bay Area, the loss of the Raiders to LA has been answered and fans are buying into the new Oakland Invaders. Head coach John Ralston, once the head man at Stanford, has put together a more veteran roster than most teams, but once again it is the new class of rookies that has folks excited about the Invaders. And there is definitely a California feel to the team. Stanford's Gordan Banks will be catching passes from Fred Besana (a Cal alum), while the defense will be bolstered by a pair of former rivals, Cal's Gary Plummer and UCLA's Frank Manumaleuga. Phoenix is new to professional football, with the Arizona Wranglers representing the first pro team in the state. After years of efforts to bring an NFL team to the Valley of the Sun, it looks like the USFL will have to do. And they will try to attract fans with some local favorites, including ASU LB Ben Apuna, Arizona TE Mark Keel and BYU wideout Neil Balholm. The biggest name on the roster is QB Alan Rischer, a former standout at LSU, and just the type of scrambling gunslinger that should excite fans in Phoenix. OUR VERY EARLY PREDICTION While it is hard to see just who has the right combination of playmakers and depth to win it all, we trust in good coaching and the ability to run the ball. Our prediction is that George Allen and the Blitz will have just enough talent to edge out Chuck Fairbanks and the NJ Generals for the title. But, along the way, let's hope for some good, solid football, a few surprises, and a spring unlike any other in the American sports calendar. Here comes the USFL, ready or not.