The Houston Gamblers, one of the United States Football League’s six expansion franchises for its second season, made a major acquisition on June 9, 1983 as prize QB Jim Kelly from the Univ. of Miami signed a contract.
Kelly had been chosen by the Buffalo Bills in the first
round of the NFL draft as part of a much-heralded quarterback class that
included Stanford’s John Elway and Dan Marino of Pittsburgh. While contract
terms were not released at the time of the signing, it was later revealed to be
a five-year fully-guaranteed deal for $3.3 million. While they were at it, the
Gamblers also signed Kelly’s roommate at Miami, RB Mark Rush, who had been
Minnesota’s fourth-round draft pick (he lasted five games with Houston before
being released).
“Kelly is more ready to play pro football than some of
the others because of the type of offense he was under in college,” explained
Gene Burrough, Houston’s general manager.
Playing under Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger at Miami,
who utilized a pro-style passing offense, Kelly set school records for pass
completions (376), passing yards (5228), and TD passes (31), but his college
career was curtailed when he suffered a separated shoulder against Virginia
Tech in the third game of the 1982 season. Already given a clean bill of
health, but with the USFL season not set to start until February of 1984, he
would have that much more time to fully heal.
While the Gamblers were coached by Jack Pardee, the
offensive coordinator was Darrel “Mouse” Davis, architect of the “run-and-shoot”
offense at Portland State. Houston lost its opening game, 20-17 to the Tampa
Bay Bandits, and Kelly passed for 229 yards and a touchdown while giving up two
interceptions. But the following week, on a Monday night, the Gamblers blasted
the San Antonio Gunslingers, another first-year club, and Kelly threw for 309
yards and a TD while running for two more. The Gamblers got off to a 3-1 start,
stumbled for two losses, and then went on to a 13-5 record that placed first in
the Central Division. Moreover, the offense was nothing short of sensational,
averaging 34.3 points per game on the way to racking up 618 points, which were
79 more than the runner-up, and scoring 79 touchdowns over the course of 18
games.
Kelly significantly exceeded rookie expectations, topping
the circuit in pass attempts (587), completions (370), yards (5219), and
touchdowns (44), although also in interceptions (26). In addition, he rushed
for 493 yards on 85 carries (5.8 avg.) and five TDs. Two of his receivers,
Richard Johnson (115 catches, 1455 yards, 15 TDs) and Ricky Sanders (101
receptions, 1378 yards, 11 TDs) finished first and second in pass receptions.
For his efforts, Kelly was a consensus first-team All-USFL selection and was
named Player of the Year by the league. That the Gamblers fell short in the
first round of the playoffs against the Arizona Wranglers took little luster
off of the season of accomplishments.
The Gamblers were without “Mouse” Davis in 1985, who
became the head coach of the Denver Gold, but it did not slow down Kelly and
the offense. In the opening game against the Los Angeles Express and another
heralded young quarterback, Steve Young, Kelly had a remarkable performance in
a 34-33 come-from-behind win. His 574 passing yards not only far exceeded the
existing USFL record but also the NFL mark of 554 set in 1951 by Norm Van
Brocklin of the Rams. He went to the air 54 times, completed 35, and five were
good for touchdowns.
Kelly maintained high production through another
outstanding season until he was sidelined for the last four games with a knee
injury, yet he still topped the USFL in pass attempts (567), completions (360),
yards (4623), and TD passes (39). He again received consensus first-team
All-USFL honors. And while Kelly returned for the postseason, Houston was once
more eliminated in the first round.
The 1985 season proved to be the end of the line for the
USFL. A planned move to the autumn in 1986 was aborted when an antitrust
lawsuit against the NFL led to a favorable ruling but, essentially, no cash
award (one dollar, times three), something that was desperately needed by the
USFL. The Gamblers had been merged with the New Jersey Generals during the
offseason in a move that was to put Kelly in the same backfield with star RB
Herschel Walker, but it was not to be. He left the USFL having thrown for 9842
yards and 83 TDs in just two seasons and 32 games.
Kelly went on to the NFL and the Buffalo Bills, who
retained his rights. He stayed with Buffalo for eleven years, passing for
35,467 yards and 237 touchdowns, and performing well in a fast-paced, no-huddle
offense that was similar to the one he had so much success with in the USFL.
The club won four straight AFC Championships between 1990 and ’93 and Kelly,
who received consensus first-team All-NFL honors once and was chosen to five
Pro Bowls, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
