Highlighted Year: Tim Delaney, 1974

Wide Receiver, The Hawaiians

Age: 26

1^st season in pro football

College: San Diego State

Height: 5’11” Weight: 185

Prelude:

Delaney was a two-time all-conference choice as a tight end in college, thriving in Head Coach Don Coryell’s pass-oriented offense, and once caught 16 passes for 275 yards and 6 touchdowns in a single contest against New Mexico. He failed to catch on in the NFL as a free agent wide receiver with the New York Giants.

1974 Season Summary

Appeared in 19 of 20 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 89 [1] 

Yards – 1232 [2]

Average gain – 13.8 [13]

TDs – 8 [6, tied with Dennis Homan & James Scott]

Scoring

TDs – 8 [14, tied with five others]

Action Points – 3

Points – 59 [15]

(Note: Touchdowns counted for seven points in the WFL)

Postseason: 2 G

Pass receptions – 10

Most pass receptions, game – 5 at Southern California, WFL First Round playoff; at Birmingham, WFL Second Round playoff

Pass receiving yards – 95

Most pass receiving yards, game – 55 at Birmingham, WFL Second Round playoff

Average yards per reception – 9.5

Pass Receiving TDs – 0

Awards & Honors:

1^st team All-WFL: League, Sporting News

Hawaiians went 9-11 to finish second in the WFL Western Division. Won First Round playoff over Southern California Sun (32-14). Lost Second Round playoff to Birmingham Americans (22-19).

Aftermath:

Delaney returned to the Hawaiians for 1975 but quit the team before the league pulled the plug in October. As it was, he still ended up among the league leaders with 44 catches for 594 yards (13.5 avg.) in 10 games and scored five touchdowns. Overall, Delaney was the WFL’s career pass receiving leader in its brief existence, catching 133 passes for 1826 yards (13.7 avg.) and 13 TDs.

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Highlighted Years features players who were first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

1974: Sun Lose Key Players, Then Lose WFL Playoff Game to Hawaiians

Befitting the state of the World Football League as it staggered toward the end of its first (and only complete) season, the outcome of the first round playoff game between the Southern California Sun and The Hawaiians was significantly determined by off-field events before the teams took the field on November 21, 1974.

Prior to the season, the Sun had made a splash with the signing of three prize rookies, FB James McAlister and RB Kermit Johnson from UCLA and OT Booker Brown out of USC. It was good publicity for the team, especially with all three players coming out of local major college programs. Indeed, the Sun was the most aggressive of the WFL clubs in pursuing their draft choices, with considerable success.

Coached by Tom Fears, a Hall of Fame end with the Rams who had also been the first head coach of the New Orleans Saints, Southern California had former Utah State QB Tony Adams running the offense that included several players with NFL experience, most notably WR Dave Williams, formerly of the Cardinals; TE Dave Parks, previously with the 49ers and Saints; and 13-year-veteran OT Joe Carollo, who had been with the Rams, Eagles, and Browns. The Sun easily won the Western Division with a 13-7 record.

For the WFL’s Honolulu-based team, the road to the playoffs had been more difficult. Coached by Mike Giddings, a former assistant with the NFL 49ers, The Hawaiians were also a young club with many players from West Coast schools. They had begun the season with rookie Norris Weese starting at quarterback, with predictable problems. The receiving corps was good, however, although the running game was lacking, and there was experience on defense. There was also a grueling round of travel, not helped by The Hawaiians insisting on playing Sunday afternoon home games while the rest of the league took the field on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

They got off to a 2-8 start, but the addition of several veteran players who were released from NFL contracts had a good effect in the second half of the year, in particular QB Randy Johnson (pictured at top), previously of the Falcons and Giants. By season’s end, The Hawaiians were 9-11, which was nothing special but enough to finish second in the Western Division and qualify to appear in the much-revamped postseason.

Just before the game, it was announced that McAlister (who was injured in any case), Johnson (the team’s leading rusher), and Brown would not be playing for the Sun. Because owner Larry Hatfield had missed a week’s payroll, the agent for the three players, Mike Trope, said that their contracts had thus been violated and they were now free agents. It was a huge blow for the club.

There was a disappointing crowd of 11,430 on hand at Anaheim Stadium. The Sun started 20-year-old Ralph Nelson and 258-pound Greg Herd at running back in place of the missing rookies.

In the first quarter, Tony Adams threw to Dave Parks for a 23-yard gain that set up a 47-yard field goal attempt by Rod Garcia, but it was missed with 9:47 to go in the period.

The Hawaiians had difficulty moving the ball on offense and finally scored thanks to a turnover. LB Jim Sniadecki picked off an Adams pass intended for Parks at the Sun 43 and returned it to the 23. Randy Johnson passed to TE John Kelsey for a 20-yard gain and HB Al Davis ran in for a touchdown from three yards out. The score remained 7-0 as Davis was stopped short on the action point attempt (touchdowns counted for seven points in the WFL and were followed by an action point, which could not be kicked).

The Hawaiians stopped the Sun on offense and got the ball back at their own 38. Johnson completed a 12-yard pass to WR Tim Delaney, who led the WFL in pass receptions during the season, and throws of 12 and 19 yards to Kelsey to set up a 23-yard field goal by R.A. Coppedge at just under three minutes into the second quarter.

Again Southern California couldn’t move the ball and Adams was sacked for a 14-yard loss on a third down play to force another punt from deep in Sun territory. CB Willie Williams returned the kick 27 yards to the Southern California nine yard line.

The Sun briefly got a break when a holding penalty backed The Hawaiians up ten yards, but gave it right back with a pass interference call that gave the visitors a first down at the five. Kelsey, running a crossing pattern, caught a touchdown pass from Johnson that gave The Hawaiians a 17-0 advantage (they again failed on the action point attempt, which consisted of Weese tossing an incomplete pass).

Southern California fought back thanks to the throwing of Adams and running and receiving of Herd, who gained 18 yards on a pass. Their next possession was finally stopped at The Hawaiians’ 20 yard line and Garcia kicked a 37-yard field goal with 3:54 left in the half to finally get the Sun on the board.

The Sun got the ball back as the clock ticked down to 41 seconds remaining before halftime and ran the ball, prompting boos from the crowd. Adams called a timeout and then threw to Nelson for 18 yards and 46 yards to WR Keith Denson for a touchdown. A pass was completed to HB Clay Jeffries for the action point and the score was 17-11 at the intermission.

The Sun still had the momentum as the third quarter began. The defense held The Hawaiians to a short possession and the offense then drove to The Hawaiians’ 16. However, they had to settle for a field goal when Adams was sacked for a nine-yard loss on third down. Garcia was successful on the 42-yard attempt and it was a three-point game with 9:07 remaining in the third quarter. It was the high point of the contest for Southern California.

The Hawaiians took the ensuing kickoff and went 72 yards in 12 plays. Davis capped the drive by diving into the end zone from two yards out for the TD. Weese ran for the action point, increasing the visitors’ lead to 25-14.

To make matters worse for the Sun, Adams was knocked out of the game with a knee injury after being tackled by DT Ron East early in the fourth quarter and backup Gary Valbuena came in to replace him. He was not up to the task of engineering a comeback as he was sacked three times and tossed three interceptions.

The second of the interceptions, by LB John Douglas, was returned 37 yards to the Southern California 14. Three plays later, Johnson threw to WR John Isenbarger for an eight-yard touchdown which not only sealed the win but started a fight when CB Jim Bowman of the Sun took a swing at Isenbarger. The Hawaiians again failed to convert the action point, but it no longer mattered.

Valbuena threw to WR Ike Harris for a 49-yard gain late in the game, but followed up with his third interception. Ex-USC and Philadelphia Eagles LB Adrian Young picked it off at the six. That was the last gasp for Southern California, and The Hawaiians advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 32-14 win.

The Sun, playing catch-up for almost the entire game, outgained The Hawaiians (402 yards to 254) and had more first downs (23 to 17). However, Southern California’s running game accumulated just 99 yards on 30 carries without Johnson and McAlister in the backfield; The Hawaiians sacked the Sun quarterbacks six times, at a loss of 58 yards, while Johnson was only dumped once; and the Sun turned the ball over four times while he visitors suffered no turnovers.


Randy Johnson completed 14 of 24 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns. John Kelsey caught 6 passes for 82 yards and a TD while Tim Delaney contributed 5 receptions for 40 yards. Al Davis (pictured at left) was the team’s top ground gainer with 49 yards on 12 carries that included two scores.

For the Sun, Tony Adams was successful on 11 of 21 passes for 189 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Gary Valbuena went to the air 17 times and had 10 completions along with three interceptions. Keith Denson caught 6 passes for 122 yards and the one long TD. Greg Herd ran for 52 yards on 10 attempts and Ralph Nelson added 39 yards on his 14 carries.

Afterward, there was plenty of frustration over the off-field issues expressed by Coach Tom Fears and the Southern California players.

“It sure as hell didn't help any not having Kermit and Booker,” said Fears.

“If management had done their part, we would have gone all the way,” complained DT Dave Roller. “You can’t win if you can’t concentrate and you can’t concentrate if you don’t get paid.”

The Hawaiians lost a close contest to the eventual-champion Birmingham Americans in the next playoff round. Both franchises returned for the abbreviated 1975 season, but James McAlister, Kermit Johnson, and Booker Brown jumped to the NFL and never played for the Sun again.

None of the three distinguished themselves post-WFL. McAlister played for two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and one with the Patriots, gaining a total of 677 yards rushing, catching 30 passes for 218 more, and returning kickoffs for an average of 20.5 yards. Johnson spent two years with the San Francisco 49ers and ran for just 124 yards, caught one pass, and had a 24.9 average on his 10 kickoff returns. Booker Brown also played just two seasons in the NFL, with the San Diego Chargers.

Both starting quarterbacks also defected to the NFL in 1975. Tony Adams, the league’s top passer and a co-MVP in ’74, became a backup with the Kansas City Chiefs. Randy Johnson joined the Washington Redskins, where he played behind Bill Kilmer along with Joe Theismann.

1975: Bell Spoils Calvin Hill’s Debut with Hawaiians

The World Football League’s Honolulu-based team, The Hawaiians, had started poorly in 1974 but improved throughout the course of the eventual 9-11 season. The team had used rookie Norris Weese at quarterback until veteran Randy Johnson, cut by the NFL’s Giants, came aboard at midseason. While WR Tim Delaney led the WFL in pass receptions with 89, the running game ranked last among the clubs that made it through the full season.

Several NFL veterans had been signed to contracts prior to the ’74 season, but other than Johnson, who only became available because the Giants released him, the club had to wait until 1975 to avail themselves of their services. Two of the players they had signed, San Francisco TE Ted Kwalick and Vikings WR John Gilliam, were allocated to other teams by the league (Philadelphia and Chicago, respectively). But RB Calvin Hill (pictured above), who had gained 5009 rushing yards in six years with the Dallas Cowboys, joined the Hawaiians for the ’75 season and it was anticipated that he would substantially upgrade the running attack. However, the team had lost Johnson as the quarterback, who jumped back to the NFL with the Washington Redskins.

On August 2, 1975 The Hawaiians traveled to Philadelphia where they opened the regular season against the Bell before a sparse crowd of 2732 fans at Franklin Field on a 94-degree Saturday night.

The Bell had undergone a change in head coach after Ron Waller, who guided the club in 1974, abruptly resigned during the preseason. After assistant Joe Gardi took over for an exhibition win over Portland, former Packers great Willie Wood was named to the position the Tuesday prior to the season-opening contest. Wood thus became the first African-American head coach of a major league pro football team in the modern era (some 14 years before Art Shell was hired in the NFL; Fritz Pollard had coached in the early 1920s).

Philadelphia scored first on a 37-yard field goal by Bob Cooper. The Hawaiians responded with a 72-yard drive that was capped when Hill caught a pass from QB Rick Cassata for a 13-yard touchdown. With a successful pass for the action point, they led 8-3 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, colorful Bell QB Jim “King” Corcoran threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Kwalick that was followed by RB J.J. Jennings running successfully for the action point. The Bell took an 11-8 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Corcoran threw a pass to WR Ron Holliday that went 15 yards in the air but was turned into a 55-yard touchdown when Holliday evaded three tacklers and ran down the right sideline for the score, although the action point attempt failed. Cooper followed with a 35-yard field goal to give Philadelphia a comfortable 21-8 lead after three quarters.

The Hawaiians narrowed the margin in the fourth quarter on a two-yard carry by RB Clayton Heath. The action point attempt failed but the Bell now led by just six points with plenty of time remaining.

The Hawaiians again moved into Philadelphia territory, but in a key defensive play by the Bell, Hill was stopped short at the Philadelphia 30 in a fourth-and-two situation. With time running out, The Hawaiians inserted backup QB Sonny Sixkiller into the game and advanced to the Bell 16 yard line with the help of a pass interference call and three offside penalties. With no timeouts remaining, Sixkiller threw to WR Tim Delaney in the end zone for an apparent game-winning score, but a holding penalty nullified the play and give Philadelphia the 21-15 win.

The Hawaiians had more first downs (23 to 16) while outrushing the Bell, 245 yards to 119; Philadelphia gained more net passing yards (154 to 84).

Calvin Hill ran for 155 yards on 32 carries and Clayton Heath added 68 yards on 17 attempts that included a TD. Rick Cassata completed just 7 of 19 passes for 61 yards with a TD and three interceptions while Sonny Sixkiller connected on both of his passes for 23 yards. Hill and Heath also each caught three passes, with Hill leading the club with 30 yards. Tim Delaney had 26 yards on his two catches.

For the Bell, King Corcoran was successful on 13 of 25 passes for 155 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. J.J. Jennings, who had been a league co-MVP with Memphis in ’74, ran for 57 yards on 11 carries to pace the rushing attack. Ron Holliday had five catches for 100 yards that included the long TD.


“Wow, if people wanted excitement, they certainly got their money's worth tonight,” said Willie Wood (pictured at right), a winner in his first game as a pro head coach. “Our guys really held them down at most crucial points although those offside penalties almost gave me heart failure.”

Neither team did particularly well in the WFL’s abbreviated second season that ended in October with the abrupt folding of the league. Both ended up with 4-7 records, which meant a last-place finish in the Eastern Division for the Bell at the point that the plug was pulled; the Hawaiians tied for fourth with the Portland Thunder.

The opening game performance was the best for Calvin Hill as he went down with a knee injury shortly thereafter and ended up with just 218 yards on 49 carries. He returned to the NFL with Washington in 1976, where he played for two seasons before moving on to the Cleveland Browns for four years. While still an effective role player, he never ran the ball more than 80 times in a season or exceeded his post-WFL high of 301 yards with the Redskins in ’76. As a receiver out of the backfield, he did catch as many as 38 passes with the Browns in 1979.

As for Willie Wood, he got another pro head coaching opportunity with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, becoming that league’s first black head coach.

1975: Hawaiians Pull Out One-Point Win at Portland

The August 9, 1975 World Football League matchup between the Portland Thunder and The Hawaiians at Portland’s Civic Stadium featured two clubs that had dropped their opening games a week earlier.

The Thunder, successor to 1974’s Storm, were coached by Greg Barton, who had been one of the Portland quarterbacks in the WFL’s first season. Succeeding to the starting quarterback job was an NFL veteran, Don Horn, who had played eight largely nondescript seasons, primarily with the Packers and Broncos. The chief offensive weapon was still RB Rufus “Roadrunner” Ferguson, who ran for 1086 yards in ‘74 and caught 49 passes for 369 more with a total of nine touchdowns. They lost their first game of the ’75 season to the Southern California Sun at Anaheim by a score of 21-15.

The Hawaiians had been one of the few relatively stable WFL franchises in the first year. Coached again by Mike Giddings, they had added RB Calvin Hill from the NFL’s Cowboys, and he gained 132 yards on 32 carries in the season-opening loss at Philadelphia. Another newcomer, QB Sonny Sixkiller (pictured above), a full-blooded Cherokee who had starred in college at the University of Washington and seen limited pro action with the NFL Rams and CFL Toronto Argonauts, had played well in the loss to the Bell.

There was a modest crowd of 7709 on hand for the Thunder’s home opening game. Turnovers put the Honolulu club in front by 17-7 as Horn fumbled twice and The Hawaiians followed each with a touchdown. First, QB Rick Cassata passed 15 yards for a TD to WR Dave Atkinson. Then, it was Sixkiller entering the contest and throwing an eight-yard touchdown strike to WR Grady Richardson. Still, Portland came back later in the second quarter as Horn threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to WR Jim Krieg. For all of the mistakes the club made in the first half, Portland was only down by 17-14 at halftime.

The Hawaiians defense made another big play in the third quarter, as CB Willie Williams forced Ferguson to fumble and safety Phil Andre grabbed the loose ball and ran 43 yards for a touchdown. Sixkiller ran for the action point and The Hawaiians held a 25-14 lead.

Don Warner kicked a 25-yard field goal for the Thunder to narrow the margin to 25-17, but neither team was able to run effectively against the opposing defense. With five minutes remaining in the contest, Portland drove 35 yards to The Hawaiians’ 12 yard line. Horn connected with TE Bob Christiansen for a touchdown, but the ensuing action point attempt failed as Ferguson dropped a pass in the end zone.

The Thunder had one last shot, getting the ball back at their own 43 yard line with 11 seconds remaining. Two desperation passes fell incomplete and then Warner attempted a 64-yard field goal that fell well short. The Hawaiians came away with a closely-fought 25-24 win.

The Portland defense had keyed on Calvin Hill, who was slowed by a rib injury. Taking advantage of turnovers and gaining ground with an effective short passing game made the difference for The Hawaiians. In particular, Sonny Sixkiller had helped his cause in the competition for the starting quarterback job by completing 8 of 15 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown and converting the decisive action point.

By the time the season abruptly ended in October due to the league’s collapse, both teams had 4-7 records and were tied for fourth in the Western Division. Calvin Hill was lost to injury along the way and gained just 218 yards rushing for The Hawaiians. Both Sonny Sixkiller and Rick Cassata quit the team before the plug was pulled on the WFL, as did WR Tim Delaney, who had led the league in pass receiving in ’74 and ranked second in ‘75, and star DE Lem Burnham.

Rufus Ferguson ended up as the WFL’s third-ranked rusher with 768 yards. Don Horn finished second in completion percentage (58.1) and pass completions (158, tied with Edd Hargett of Shreveport) and third in pass attempts (272) and yards (1742).

1974: Mark Kellar Scores 36 Points as Chicago Defeats Hawaiians

The World Football League’s Chicago Fire traveled to Honolulu to take on The Hawaiians before a sparse crowd of 12,608 at Halwala Stadium on July 28, 1974. While the league played its games on Wednesday nights in its first season, with a nationally-televised Thursday night contest, The Hawaiians insisted on playing their home games on Sunday afternoons.

The Hawaiians were coming off of a win over the Detroit Wheels in their home opener the week before and thus sported a 1-2 record. Coached by Mike Giddings, the offense was directed by rookie QB Norris Weese throwing primarily to first year wide receivers Tim Boyer, Grady Richardson, and Tim Delaney and TE John Kelsey. Running backs included Ernie O’Leary, Dave Buchanan, and Pete Taggares. The defense contained more experienced talent, most notably defensive linemen Ron East, Greg Wojcik, and Karl Lorch.

Chicago had won its first three games under Head Coach Jim Spavital and had a pro veteran at quarterback in Virgil Carter as well as TE Jim Seymour, plus speed at wide receiver with James Scott and Jack Dolbin. RB Cyril Pinder had played in the NFL with the Eagles, Bears, and Cowboys, but rookie Mark Kellar from Northern Illinois had emerged as the primary running back.

Kellar, nicknamed “the Baby Bull” for his straight-ahead power-running style, had been drafted by the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings in the 6th round after leading all Division 1-A rushers in ’73, but saw the WFL as a better opportunity. A classic fullback who was effective between the tackles but not particularly fast, he once told a Chicago Tribune reporter “I don’t have much speed. When I run the forty they have to use a calendar to time me.”

The tone of the contest in Honolulu was set on Chicago’s first possession as the offense rolled 69 yards down the field on four plays, capped by Kellar scoring a touchdown on a two-yard run. By halftime, the score was 30-7 and the Fire went on to win by a 53-29 margin. Kellar scored a WFL-record 36 points with five touchdowns and an action point.

Kellar led the club with 51 yards on 14 carries and three of the TDs while he also caught 3 passes for 35 yards and the other two touchdowns. RB Bob Wyatt added 47 yards on 19 runs and Cyril Pinder added 43 more on just four carries as Chicago rolled up 157 rushing yards. Virgil Carter completed 15 of 25 passes for 205 yards with three TDs against no interceptions. James Scott led the receivers with 6 catches for 68 yards and Jack Dolbin gained the most receiving yards with 78 on three receptions.

The Hawaiians, forced to go to the air early and often, gained just 21 yards rushing. Norris Weese passed for 338 yards as he completed 24 of 52 throws and tossed three TDs as well as three interceptions. Tim Delaney caught 9 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown and John Kelsey grabbed four for 67 yards, but the contest was long decided by the time the passing statistics began to add up.

The Fire failed to maintain the early momentum - after starting out at 7-2, the club lost its last 11 contests (the last by forfeit) and ended up at 7-13 and in third place in the Central Division. Injuries were a major factor as both Kellar and James Scott were lost for the season in a loss to Southern California in Week 11 and Virgil Carter went down two weeks later.

The Hawaiians recovered to go 9-11 and finish in second place in the Western Division, making it into the postseason (they also gained revenge in the rematch with the Fire in Chicago, winning 60-17). The Honolulu club won its first round playoff game against a demoralized Southern California Sun squad (the players had considered striking over missed pay and two key offensive performers refused to play and were cut from the team) before losing to the eventual WFL champions, the Birmingham Americans, in the semifinal round.

In his injury-shortened season, Mark Kellar ended up with 778 yards on 189 carries for a 4.1-yard average gain and nine touchdowns; he caught 28 passes for 342 yards and another six TDs. The Baby Bull went on to play for the Chicago Winds in the WFL’s abbreviated second season in ’75 and moved on to the NFL, where he was a backup with the Vikings for three years.

1974: WFL Debuts with Five Games

The World Football League kicked off its inaugural 20-week season with five games on July 10, 1974. The new league started off with 12 teams, along with great ambitions and several novelties. Most games were scheduled on Wednesday nights in order to avoid conflict with high school, college, and NFL games (a weekly nationally-televised game would be played on Thursdays). The July start (the league played no preseason games, although there were some intersquad scrimmages) gave the WFL a head start on the NFL, which was beset by a player’s strike during the preseason that kept veterans out of the training camps until late August.

The WFL instituted several rules changes, some of which the NFL had adopted for the ’74 season as well - they included moving the goal posts to the back of the end zone, allowing for an overtime period in case of ties, and bringing the ball back to the line of scrimmage if a field goal was missed outside the 20 yard line. While kickoffs in the NFL would now be from the 35 rather than 40 yard line, the WFL chose to kick off from the 30. Additionally, the new league banned fair catches of punts, allowed for forward motion by backs prior to the snap, required receivers to have just one foot in bounds for a catch to be legal, and prohibited the bumping of receivers beyond three yards of the line of scrimmage. Touchdowns would be seven, rather than six points, to be followed by an “action point” that could not be kicked. An invention called a “Dickerrod” was used instead of the traditional chains for measuring first down yardage.

There were 55,534 fans in JFK Stadium as the Philadelphia Bell hosted the Portland Storm, winning 33-8 behind QB Jim “King” Corcoran (pictured below left), who had the best passing night in the WFL’s first week. Corcoran, a semi-legendary figure in the world of minor league football, completed 21 of 38 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. The running tandem of Claude Watts (94 yards on 16 carries) and John Land (73 yards on 14 attempts) also had an impressive debut. WR Vince Papale, later to become celebrated as a walk-on free agent and special teams standout for the NFL’s Eagles, caught three passes for 39 yards.


Attendance at Orlando’s Tangerine Bowl was far less (18,625) as the Florida Blazers defeated The Hawaiians in a low-scoring 8-7 contest. RB Jim Strong was the star for the Blazers, catching a three-yard touchdown pass and then scoring the decisive action point. RB Derrick Williams gained 94 yards on 18 carries for The Hawaiians while Strong and fellow running backs Tommy Reamon and A.D. Whitfield combined for 104 yards for Florida. Blazers QB Bob Davis passed for only 55 yards and Norris Weese and Bill Donckers combined for just 106 yards for the Honolulu-based club.

A crowd of over 36,000 at Soldier Field saw the Chicago Fire record a 17-0 shutout of the visiting Houston Texans. QB Virgil Carter (pictured below right) threw two touchdown passes, although he also had three picked off. WR James Scott had 10 catches for 84 yards and one of the TDs. Houston ground out 116 yards rushing but veteran quarterbacks Don Trull and Mike Taliaferro passed for just 58 yards.


Legion Field in Birmingham was filled with 53,231 fans who saw the Birmingham Americans defeat the Southern California Sun by an 11-7 tally thanks to a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown by CB Steve Williams. RB Paul Robinson spurred the ground game with 79 of Birmingham’s 144 rushing yards although rookie RB Kermit Johnson of the Sun led all rushers with 88 yards on 24 attempts.

Elvis Presley was among 30,122 in attendance at the Liberty Bowl where the Memphis Southmen were winners over the Detroit Wheels, 34-15. Memphis RB J.J. Jennings (pictured at top) had the most rushing yards in the first week with 99, including a touchdown, and also caught four passes for 83 yards and another TD. Detroit WR Hubie Bryant had the best receiving game of the first week in defeat with 7 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown.

The following night, in the first nationally-televised contest with Commissioner Gary Davidson in attendance, the largest crowd of all, 59,112, was present at Jacksonville’s Gator Bowl as the Sharks defeated the New York Stars, 14-7. However, the game suffered a delay when a blown generator caused a blackout – it was perhaps a portent of bad things to come.

While the crowds were certainly encouraging, the scarcity of points was a disappointment. The league averaged just 13.8 points per game for the six contests. Scoring would improve as the season progressed, but other factors would cast a shadow over the WFL.

Several weeks into the season, it was divulged that attendance, particularly in Philadelphia and Jacksonville, had been considerably aided by the handing out of huge numbers of free tickets. Of the 55,534 fans at JFK Stadium, only 13,800 had actually paid; a crowd of 64,719 for the second home game, against New York, contained only 6200 paid attendees. The big opening night crowd at the Gator Bowl was padded by some 44,000 free passes.

League credibility never recovered from the disclosure, and the fact that the WFL was floating in a sea of red ink became clearer as the season progressed. By the end, 10 teams remained and two of those had relocated (Detroit and Jacksonville folded; the Houston Texans became the Shreveport Steamer and the Stars moved from New York to Charlotte, NC).