The Denver Gold were 0-1 as they took on the Birmingham Stallions in a United States Football League game on March 3, 1985. A team that drew well at home but failed to post a winning record in either of its first two USFL seasons, the Gold now was coached by Darrel “Mouse” Davis, formerly of Portland State and most recently offensive coordinator of the Houston Gamblers. Utilizing the high-powered run and shoot offense, the Gamblers had been exciting and productive. Now Davis was bringing the same scheme to Denver, but the run and shoot had misfired in the opening week 31-10 loss to Oakland.
Birmingham, coached by Rollie Dotsch, was coming off of a
14-4 record in ’84 and won its first contest of
1985 (over New Jersey). The Stallions had QB Cliff Stoudt and WR Jim Smith, both formerly of
the Steelers, and ex-Buffalo RB Joe Cribbs as key players on offense, which was
anchored by an outstanding line.
There were 27,400 fans in attendance at Legion Field in
Birmingham and they saw Denver get off to a fast start. On the offense’s first
play from scrimmage, QB Vince Evans connected with RB Bill Johnson on a screen
pass that gained 55 yards to the Birmingham one yard line. Johnson carried on
the next play to gain the final yard and a touchdown and Brian Speelman added
the extra point.
The Stallions responded by driving 80 yards in eight
plays. Cliff Stoudt finished the series off with a seven-yard TD run and Danny
Miller tied the score with the point after. It seemed as though the Gold would
score again on the next possession as they reached the Birmingham nine, but FS
Chuck Clanton recovered a fumble to snuff out the threat. Three plays later, however,
Stoudt fumbled a bad snap that went out of the end zone for a safety to put the
visitors back in the lead by 9-7.
Early in the second quarter, Evans threw long to RB
Vincent White for a 48-yard touchdown. Speelman’s PAT put the Gold ahead by
16-7. Shortly thereafter, a Stoudt pass was intercepted by Clanton and, two
plays after that, Evans completed a pass to WR Leonard Harris for a 39-yard TD.
Speelman again converted and Denver was up by 23-7 with 8:33 remaining in the
first half.
Later in the period, the Gold put together a 48-yard
drive in nine plays that concluded with Speelman kicking a 28-yard field goal. The
Stallions got a break on defense when Clanton intercepted his second pass of
the game, returning it 23 yards to the Birmingham 48. Stoudt tossed a touchdown
pass to Jim Smith eight plays later that covered nine yards with 32 seconds
left on the clock. Miller kicked the extra point and the score was 26-14 at
halftime.
Early in the third quarter, the Stallions drew closer as
Stoudt threw to WR Joey Jones for a 53-yard TD. Miller converted and the Denver
margin was down to five points at 26-21. The Gold came back with a 10-play,
78-yard series that was capped by Evans gaining one yard for a touchdown on a
quarterback sneak. Speelman’s kick made it a 33-21 contest.
Early in the fourth quarter, Denver scored again when
Johnson ran eight yards for a TD, followed by another Speelman extra point. The
Stallions had opportunities to close the gap again, but twice came up empty
inside the Denver ten in the final period. They picked up two more points when Evans was
tackled in the end zone for a safety, but it was of no consequence as the Gold
came away with a convincing 40-23 win.
Denver compiled a total of 564 yards, with 284 coming on
the ground, to 325 yards for the Stallions. The Gold also had the edge in first
downs (24 to 19) and time of possession (35:02 to 24:58). However, Denver was
hindered by five turnovers, to just one suffered by Birmingham, and 12
penalties, while only five flags were thrown on the Stallions.
Vince Evans completed 14 of 28 passes for 284 yards and
two touchdowns, although giving up three interceptions. RB Todd Gerhart led the
impressive running game with 119 yards on 21 carries, followed by Bill
Johnson’s 74 yards on 9 attempts that included two TDs, and Evans contributed
50 yards on five carries. Leonard Harris topped the Denver receivers with four
catches for 74 yards.
For the Stallions, Cliff Stoudt was successful on 17 of
38 throws for 259 yards and two TDs, giving up one interception and scoring
once on the ground. Joe Cribbs had just 36 yards on 9 carries. Jim Smith caught
6 passes for 83 yards and Joey Jones gained 96 yards on four receptions that
included a TD. Chuck Clanton (pictured at left) starred on defense, accumulating all three
interceptions, recovering a fumble, and getting credit for eight tackles.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” said Coach Davis of
his team’s performance. “We had too many picks (interceptions), but we’re
certainly pleased. We’re excited to get our first win and hope it’s the first
of many.”
Denver won four of its next five games on the way to an
11-7 record that placed second in the Western Conference. The team ranked third
in the USFL in total yards (6629) and, with Vince Evans splitting time at
quarterback with Bob Gagliano, rated third in passing yards (4550). In the
Gold’s only playoff game, they were thrashed in the Quarterfinal round by the
Memphis Showboats. The Stallions recovered to go 13-5 and finish at the top of
the Eastern Conference. They defeated Houston in the first round but lost to the
Baltimore Stars at the Semifinal level.
