USFL 1983

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
Atlantic Division
*Philadelphia Stars	18	15	3	0	379	204	.833
Boston Breakers	18	11	7	0	399	334	.611
New Jersey Generals	18	6	12	0	314	437	.333
Washington Federals	18	4	14	0	297	422	.222
Central Division
*Michigan Panthers	18	12	6	0	451	337	.667
*Chicago Blitz	18	12	6	0	456	271	.667
Tampa Bay Bandits	18	11	7	0	363	378	.611
Birmingham Stallions	18	9	9	0	343	326	.500
Pacific Division
*Oakland Invaders	18	9	9	0	319	319	.500
Los Angeles Express	18	8	10	0	296	370	.444
Denver Gold	18	7	11	0	284	304	.389
Arizona Wranglers	18	4	14	0	261	442	222

Reference: [1]

Home Team		Away Team
Divisional Playoffs
Philadelphia Stars	44	Chicago Blitz	38
Michigan Panthers	37	Oakland Invaders	21
1983 USFL Championship Game		Mile High Stadium, Denver
Michigan Panthers	24	Philadelphia Stars	22

Reference:[2]

USFL 1984

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
*Philadelphia Stars	18	16	2	0	479	225	.889
*New Jersey Generals	18	14	4	0	430	312	.778
Pittsburgh Maulers	18	3	15	0	259	379	.167
Washington Federals	18	3	15	0	270	492	.167
Southern Division
*Birmingham Stallions	18	14	4	0	539	316	.778
*Tampa Bay Bandits	18	14	4	0	498	347	.778
New Orleans Breakers	18	8	10	0	349	395	.444
Memphis Showboats	18	7	11	0	320	455	.389
Jacksonville Bulls	18	6	12	0	327	455	.333
Western Conference
Central Division
*Houston Gamblers	18	13	5	0	618	400	.722
*Michigan Panthers	18	10	8	0	400	382	.556
San Antonio Gunslingers	18	7	11	0	309	325	.389
Oklahoma Outlaws	18	6	12	0	251	359	.333
Chicago Blitz	18	5	13	0	340	466	.278
Pacific Division
*Los Angeles Express	18	10	8	0	338	373	.556
*Arizona Wranglers	18	10	8	0	502	284	.556
Denver Gold	18	9	9	0	356	413	.500
Oakland Invaders	18	7	11	0	242	348	.389

Reference: [3}]

Home Team		Away Team
Conference Semi-Finals
Philadelphia Stars	28	New Jersey Generals	7
Birmingham Stallions	36	Tampa Bay Bandits	17
Arizona Wranglers	17	Houston Gamblers	16
Los Angeles Express	27	Michigan Panthers	21
USFL Semi-Finals
Philadelphia Stars	20	Birmingham Stallions	10
Arizona Wranglers	35	Los Angeles Express	23
1984 USFL Championship		Tampa Stadium, Florida
Philadelphia Stars	23	Arizona Wranglers	3

Reference: [4]

USFL 1985

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
Eastern Conference
*Birmingham Stallions	18	13	5	0	436	299	.722
*New Jersey Generals	18	11	7	0	418	378	.611
*Memphis Showboats	18	11	7	0	429	337	.611
*Baltimore Stars	18	10	7	1	368	260	.583
*Tampa Bay Bandits	18	10	8	0	405	422	.556
Jacksonville Bulls	18	9	9	0	407	402	.500
Orlando Renegades	18	5	13	0	308	481	.278
Western Conference
*Oakland Invaders	18	13	4	1	473	359	.750
*Denver Gold	18	11	7	0	433	389	.611
*Houston Gamblers	18	10	8	0	544	388	.556
Arizona Wranglers	18	8	10	0	376	405	.444
Portland Breakers	18	6	12	0	275	422	.333
San Antonio Gunslingers	18	5	13	0	296	436	.278
Los Angeles Express	18	3	15	0	266	456	.167

Reference: [5]

v

Home Team		Away Team
Quarter-Finals
Baltimore Stars	20	New Jersey Generals	17
Birmingham Stallions	22	Houston Gamblers	20
Memphis Showboats	48	Denver Gold	7
Oakland Invaders	30	Tampa Bay Bandits	17
USFL Semi-Finals
Baltimore Stars	28	Birmingham Stallions	14
Oakland Invaders	28	Memphis Showboats	19
1985 USFL Championship Game		Meadowlands, New Jersey
Baltimore Stars	28	Oakland Invaders	24

Reference: [6]

Report

Michigan Panthers defeated Philadelphia Stars 24-22 in the 1983 USFL Championship Game, but the Stars were to win the only two other USFL Championships: 23-3 against the Arizona Wranglers in 1984 and 28-24 as the Baltimore Stars in 1985, triumphing over the Oakland Invaders.

The 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were the heyday of Rival Major Football Leagues to the National Football League. Not only did the American Football League of 1960 to 1969 become so successful that it forced a merger with the NFL, so that there is now a Super Bowl between the AFL and NFL Champions (since the 1970 merger AFC and NFC). The United States Football League was the third such league after the World Football League of 1974-1975. Styling itself the “Outlaw League” it had team names such as Houston Gamblers, Arizona Wranglers, Portland Breakers and San Antonio Gunslingers.

The United States Football League put teams in cities that did not have NFL teams, and played a Spring Schedule, which gave it an edge when looking for fans on seats in stadiums, however, it was locked out of Television Contracts by the NFL, which was proven in an anti-trust action taken by the USFL against the NFL. However, the League was only awarded €1 in compensation by the courts, and folded in its third season, making the mistake off going head-to-head with the NFL in the autumn, an idea of Donald Trump, owner of the New Jersey Generals, and President of the United States of America from 2016 to 2020.

References

Websites

[1] USFL.info (2017) 1983 Standings [Internet] Available from: http://www.usfl.info/1983standings.html [Accessed 3 February 2017]

[2] USFL.info (2017) 1983 Playoffs [Internet] Available from: http://www.usfl.info/1983playoffs.html [Accessed 3 February 2017]

[3] USFL.info (2017) 1984 Standings [Internet] Available from: http://www.usfl.info/1984standings.html [Accessed 3 February 2017]

[4] USFL.info (2017) 1984 Playoffs [Internet] Available from: http://www.usfl.info/1984playoffs.html [Accessed 3 February 2017]

[5] USFL.info (2017) 1985 Standings [Internet] Available from: http://www.usfl.info/1985standings.html [Accessed 3 February 2017]

[6] USFL.info (2017) 1985 Playoffs [Internet] Available from: http://www.usfl.info/1985playoffs.html [Accessed 3 February 2017]

Images

[7] Sports Logos History (2018) USFL Logo 1983-1985 [Internet] Available from: https://sportslogohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/united_states_football_league.png [Accessed 31 December 2019]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Jillian Glynn, Fiona Corrigan, Niamh Hughes, Jim Naughton, Kevin Smyth, Ian Collins, Ian Clarke, Brian Bird.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American & World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 3 January 2021

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.