1983: Blitz Wins USFL Debut as George Allen Returns to Washington

March 6, 1983 marked opening day for the new United States Football League (USFL), and the Washington Federals hosted the Chicago Blitz at RFK Stadium. It was something of a homecoming for Blitz Head Coach George Allen, who had coached the NFL Redskins from 1971-77.

Allen was the most prestigious of the new league’s head coaches, and thus he and the Blitz received a fair amount of attention prior to the USFL commencing its first spring season. After initially gaining notoriety as the defensive assistant for the Bears under George Halas when they won the 1963 NFL title, Allen had gone on to his first head coaching job with the Rams. Taking over a franchise that had posted six consecutive losing seasons prior to 1966, he immediately turned the team’s fortunes around and ended up with a 49-19-4 record before departing following the 1970 season. From there it was to Washington and a 69-35-1 tally that included a NFC championship in 1972. Hard-working and intense, he also was an outstanding motivator whose teams typically played with great spirit and enthusiasm.

Allen left Washington to return to the Rams for the ’78 season, but never made it through the preseason as he was replaced by Ray Malavasi. He retreated to the broadcast booth until taking on the challenge of coaching a new team in a start-up league. His arrival in Chicago heralded great expectations and, as Allen had done with the Rams and Redskins, a strong nucleus of veteran players was assembled.

QB Greg Landry (pictured below left), a 14-year NFL veteran, guided an offense that included the team’s two most significant rookie signings, WR Trumaine Johnson and RB Tim Spencer. The defense was filled with experienced players, most notably defensive ends Karl Lorch (WFL and Redskins) and Junior Ah You (CFL), DT Joe Ehrmann (Colts and Lions), LB Stan White (Colts and Lions), CB Virgil Livers (Bears), and safety Luther Bradley (Lions). Even punter/placekicker Frank Corral (Rams) was an experienced pro.


Chicago met expectations in the opener, easily defeating the Federals, 28-7. Landry directed the typically conservative but effective offense (a signature of Allen’s teams), completing 19 of 27 passes for 251 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. The rookie WR Johnson made an immediate impression, catching 11 of those passes for 158 yards and a score. Spencer led the running attack with 69 yards on 17 carries. On defense, Bradley picked off two passes and Ah You and Ehrmann each recorded a sack.

The Blitz outrushed the Federals, 143 yards to 36 (rookie RB Craig James gained 34 of those yards on 14 carries), and outpassed them 213 to 172. Washington had only three first downs in the first three quarters, didn’t score until the fourth quarter, and was forced to punt nine times.

Speculation that Chicago was the USFL’s dominant team grew to a fever pitch, although Allen attempted to calm the inflated expectations. “I don’t feel that we’ll dominate the league in any manner,” was his response, and it was proven so the following week when the Blitz gave up 18 points in the fourth quarter to blow a 29-12 lead over the Arizona Wrangers, who won 30-29.

At the end of the year, Chicago had a 12-6 record and the wild card spot in the playoffs (their record matched that of the Michigan Panthers in the Central Division, but the eventual-champion Panthers won the division title by sweeping the season series between the teams). They lost to the Philadelphia Stars in the Semifinal round. Washington, by contrast, went 4-14 and ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic Division.

The Blitz scored the most points (456) and had the third-ranked offense as well as top-ranked defense in the USFL. Trumaine Johnson topped the league with 81 catches for 1322 yards and Luther Bradley led in interceptions with 12. Allen was criticized for his offense’s predictability, and for sitting on late leads that made them vulnerable to opponents staging comebacks. However, the team suffered key injuries, losing Landry to a foot injury twelve weeks into the campaign as well as some key offensive linemen. But for the outsized expectations (and monetary losses that led the franchise to exchange locations with the Wranglers for 1984), it was a respectable showing and did nothing to damage a coaching career that landed Allen in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

List of the Day: Best Pass Receiving Seasons, 1940s NFL

Tom Fears

TOP 10 RECEPTIONS
1- Tom Fears, 1949 Los Angeles Rams
77 rec., 1013 yds., 13.2 avg., 9 TD

2- Don Hutson, 1942 Green Bay Packers
74 rec., 1211 yds., 16.4 avg., 17 TD

3- Bob Mann, 1949 Detroit Lions
66 rec., 1014 yds., 15.4 avg., 4 TD

4- Jim Keane, 1947 Chicago Bears
64 rec., 910 yds., 14.2 avg., 10 TD

5- Jim Benton, 1946 Los Angeles Rams
63 rec., 981 yds., 15.6 avg., 6 TD

6(tied)- Don Looney, 1940 Philadelphia Eagles
58 rec., 707 yds., 12.2 avg., 4 TD

6(tied)- Don Hutson, 1941 Green Bay Packers
58 rec., 738 yds., 12.7 avg., 10 TD

6(tied)- Don Hutson, 1944 Green Bay Packers
58 rec., 866 yds., 14.9 avg., 9 TD

9- Bill Chipley, 1949 New York Bulldogs
57 rec., 631 yds., 11.1 avg., 2 TD

10-Tom Fears, 1948 Los Angeles Rams
51 rec., 698 yds., 13.7 avg., 4 TD


Don Hutson


Bill Chipley

BEST BY FRANCHISES NOT IN TOP 10
New York Giants: Bill Swiacki, 1949
47 rec., 652 yds., 13.9 avg., 4 TD

Washington Redskins: Bob Nussbaumer, 1947
47 rec., 597 yds., 12.7 avg., 4 TD

Chicago Cardinals: Mal Kutner, 1947
43 rec., 944 yds., 22.0 avg., 7 TD

Pittsburgh Steelers: Val Jansante, 1948
39 rec., 623 yds., 16.0 avg., 3 TD

Boston Yanks: Hal Crisler, 1946*
32 rec., 385 yds., 12.0 avg., 5 TD

Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers: Perry Schwartz, 1941**
25 rec., 362 yds., 14.5 avg., 2 TD

* Yanks played from 1944-48
**Brooklyn folded after 1944 season


Bill Swiacki

TOP 10 YARDS
1- Don Hutson, 1942 Green Bay Packers
1211 yds., 74 rec., 16.4 avg., 17 TD

2- Jim Benton, 1945 Cleveland Rams
1067 yds., 45 rec., 23.7 avg., 8 TD

3- Bob Mann, 1949 Detroit Lions
1014 yds., 66 rec., 15.4 avg., 4 TD

4- Tom Fears, 1949 Los Angeles Rams
1013 yds., 77 rec., 13.2 avg., 9 TD

5- Jim Benton, 1946 Los Angeles Rams
981 yds., 63 rec., 15.6 avg., 6 TD

6- Mal Kutner, 1947 Chicago Cardinals
944 yds., 43 rec., 22.0 avg., 7 TD

7- Mal Kutner, 1948 Chicago Cardinals
943 yds., 41 rec., 23.0 avg., 14 TD

8- Jim Keane, 1947 Chicago Bears
910 yds., 64 rec., 14.2 avg., 10 TD

9- Don Hutson, 1944 Green Bay Packers
866 yds., 58 rec., 14.9 avg., 9 TD

10-Don Hutson, 1945 Green Bay Packers
834 yds., 47 rec., 17.7 avg., 9 TD


Mal Kutner

BEST BY FRANCHISES NOT IN TOP 10
Boston Yanks: Don Currivan, 1947*
782 yds., 24 rec., 32.6 avg., 9 TD

Washington Redskins: Hugh Taylor, 1949
781 yds., 45 rec., 17.4 avg., 9 TD

Philadelphia Eagles: Pete Pihos, 1948
766 yds., 46 rec., 16.7 avg., 11 TD

New York Giants: Gene Roberts, 1949
711 yds., 35 rec., 20.3 avg., 8 TD

Pittsburgh Steelers: Elbie Nickel, 1949
633 yds., 26 rec., 24.3 avg., 3 TD

New York Bulldogs: Bill Chipley, 1949**
631 yds., 57 rec., 11.1 avg., 2 TD

Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers: Perry Schwartz, 1940***
370 yds., 21 rec., 17.6 avg., 3 TD

* Yanks played from 1944-48
** Bulldogs records for 1949 only
***Brooklyn folded after 1944 season


Hugh Taylor


Pete Pihos


Elbie Nickel

1978: Cardinals Hire Bud Wilkinson as Head Coach

The St. Louis Cardinals had done well under Head Coach Don Coryell, winning the NFC East in 1974 and ’75 and just missing with a 10-4 record in 1976. It was the first time the team had made it to the postseason since 1948, but the Cardinals failed to win any playoff games, and when the club sank to 7-7 in 1977, Coryell was forced to resign.

On March 2, 1978 owner Bill Bidwill announced that collegiate coaching legend Bud Wilkinson would be the new head coach. The news was met with more than a little astonishment. To be sure, Wilkinson was a college coaching icon who had put together a 145-29-4 record at Oklahoma from 1947 thru 1963. In the midst of that was a remarkable 47-game winning streak from 1953-57. The Sooners won eight of ten bowl appearances during that time, as well as three national championships.

However, since leaving Oklahoma in 1963, Wilkinson had stayed away from coaching; he ran a losing campaign for the US Senate in 1964, served as director of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, and spent ten years as a broadcaster of college football games. There was speculation that, at age 62 (making him the oldest head coach in the NFL at the time), he had been away from active involvement in the game for too long and would have difficulty relating to modern pro football players.

The initial reaction of some of the Cardinals players was not encouraging. Center Tom Banks, already trying to renegotiate his contract, called the hiring “one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen. Insanity prevails.” Eric Williams, a second-year linebacker, summed up the feelings of several players when he stated “Everybody said, ‘Wow, like that dude is old.’”

To Wilkinson’s credit, he won over many of the doubters, including Banks. Known for his low-key and gentlemanly manner, he was an excellent motivator. He kept Coryell’s offensive line coach, Jim Hanifan, who had been a candidate for the head coaching job and fell in line behind the new coach, who in turn recognized that the offense had been one of the team’s strengths.

However, there were problems facing the Cardinals that persuasion couldn’t overcome. Coryell had clashed with Bidwill on personnel matters, and the team had typically drafted poorly. Before Wilkinson was hired, HB Terry Metcalf, an all-purpose talent who was the team’s best outside running threat, left for the Canadian Football League. WR Ike Harris and G Conrad Dobler were traded to New Orleans, weakening both positions.

The naysayers appeared to be vindicated when St. Louis proceeded to lose the first eight games of the ’78 season. Without Metcalf’s breakaway ability, the offense was forced to rely solely on the inside running tandem of FB Jim Otis and RB Wayne Morris – as a result, the Cardinals ranked 25th in team rushing (1954 yards). TE J.V. Cain suffered from a bad heel and the offensive line encountered numerous injury problems. The defense was poor against the run. First draft pick Steve Little, a placekicker/punter out of Arkansas who Wilkinson had promoted as the key to improving the team’s ability to win the battle of field position, suffered from a knee injury and was unable to dislodge veteran placekicker Jim Bakken while proving to be a mediocre punter.

Wilkinson took his share of the heat for the poor start, but he also drew credit when the club turned the season around and went 6-2 the rest of the way. As QB Jim Hart said, “He kept us together. He was always positive. I think people expected us to fall apart when we kept losing, but we didn’t and Bud was the major factor.” Hart, the 34-year-old offensive captain, played his part as he passed for 3121 yards and was voted the club’s MVP by his teammates.

While Wilkinson was able to maintain the team’s morale and, moreover, took a major step toward improving the running game with the drafting of RB Ottis Anderson from the University of Miami in the first round of the ’79 draft, deficiencies in the front office and the meddling of owner Bidwill ultimately brought a premature end to his coaching regime in the second year.

Tragedy in training camp, as Cain died of heart failure, cast an early pall on the 1979 season. Anderson had an immediate impact, rushing for 193 yards in the season opening game against Dallas, but the Cardinals lost that game and were 3-10 when Wilkinson was let go. Bidwill’s insistence on starting Steve Pisarkiewicz, the 1977 first round draft choice out of Missouri, ahead of the savvy veteran Hart at quarterback had been resisted by Wilkinson, and in combination with the failure to build upon the strong second half showing in ’78, was the final straw that led to the legendary coach’s dismissal. He had completed not quite half of the four-year contract he was signed to.

Larry Wilson, the all-time great Cardinals free safety, stepped in as interim coach for the rest of the way. With Pisarkiewicz at quarterback, St. Louis won two of the last three games for an overall 5-11 record and last place finish in the NFC East. The two wins didn’t herald stardom for the young quarterback – he was gone in 1980, finishing out his NFL career as a backup in Green Bay. Jim Hanifan, who had been passed over in favor of Wilkinson in ’78, was elevated to head coach.

As for Bud Wilkinson, the stint with the Cardinals was a mediocre postscript to an outstanding coaching career. His overall record for the 1978 and ’79 seasons was a dismal 9-20. However, he had displayed class and grace under pressure, and also showed that he had not lost his skill as a motivator. But he couldn’t overcome the organization’s failings, which likely doomed his tenure before it even started. And as a postscript, prior to the tenure of Ken Whisenhunt, who became the Cardinals’ coach in 2007, none of Wilkinson’s successors left the club with an overall winning record.

List of the Day: Best Passing Yardage Seasons, 1940s NFL

Sammy Baugh

TOP 10
1- Sammy Baugh, 1947 Washington Redskins
2938 yards, 210-354, 59.3 %, 25 TD, 15 INT

2- Sid Luckman, 1947 Chicago Bears
2712 yards, 176-323, 54.5 %, 24 TD, 31 INT

3- Johnny Lujack, 1949 Chicago Bears
2658 yds., 162-312, 51.9 %, 23 TD, 22 INT

4- Sammy Baugh, 1948 Washington Redskins
2599 yds., 185-315, 58.7 %, 22 TD, 23 INT

5- Sid Luckman, 1943 Chicago Bears
2194 yds., 110-202, 54.5 %, 28 TD, 12 INT

6- Paul Christman, 1947 Chicago Cardinals
2191 yds., 138-301, 45.8 %, 17 TD, 22 INT

7- Charlie Conerly, 1948 New York Giants
2175 yds., 162-299, 54.2 %, 22 TD, 13 INT

8- Bob Waterfield, 1949 Los Angeles Rams
2168 yds., 154-296, 52.0 %, 17 TD, 24 INT

9- Charlie Conerly, 1949 New York Giants
2138 yds., 152-305, 49.8 %, 17 TD, 20 INT

10-Cecil Isbell, 1942 Green Bay Packers
2021 yds., 146-268, 54.5 %, 24 TD, 14 INT


Sid Luckman


Johnny Lujack


Paul Christman

BEST BY FRANCHISES NOT IN TOP 10
Philadelphia Eagles: Tommy Thompson, 1948
1965 yards, 141-246, 57.3 %, 25 TD, 11 INT

New York Bulldogs: Bobby Layne, 1949*
1796 yds., 155-299, 51.8 %, 9 TD, 18 INT

Detroit Lions: Fred Enke, 1948
1328 yds., 100-221, 45.2 %, 11 TD, 17 INT

Boston Yanks: Paul Governali, 1946**
1293 yds., 83-192, 43.2 %, 13 TD, 10 INT

Pittsburgh Steelers: Johnny Clement, 1947
1004 yds., 52-123, 42.3 %, 7 TD, 9 INT

Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers: Ace Parker, 1940***
817 yds., 49-111, 44.1 %, 10 TD, 7 INT

* Bulldogs records for 1949 only
** Yanks played from 1944-48
***Brooklyn folded after 1944 season


Bob Waterfield


Charlie Conerly


Cecil Isbell

1984: Jacksonville Bulls Score 53 Points in USFL Debut

The Jacksonville Bulls were one of six new teams in the USFL for the 1984 season. Owned by Fred Bullard (hence the Bulls nickname) and coached by Lindy Infante, they took the field for their first game on February 26 before 49,392 fans at the Gator Bowl. They didn’t disappoint, rolling up 53 points as they obliterated the visiting Washington Federals.

The first points came on a safety as Washington punter Dana Moore fell on a fumble in his end zone. The first touchdown occurred on a 74-yard pass play from QB Matt Robinson to WR Aubrey Matthews. It was 16-0 at the end of the first quarter after RB Larry Mason scored from a yard out.

By the end of the first half, the Bulls had a 29-0 lead as Mason scored a second TD on an eight-yard run (the PAT failed) and Robinson connected on another long pass play, this one covering 54 yards to WR Wyatt Henderson. Washington finally got on the board in the third quarter on a one-yard run by QB Mike Hohensee, but it was Jacksonville accumulating the next 17 points as the Bulls cruised to the 53-14 victory.


Robinson (pictured at right), who had played in the NFL with the Jets, Broncos, and Bills, completed 15 of 25 passes for 299 yards with three touchdowns against two interceptions. Rookie WR Gary Clark led the team with 4 pass receptions (for 65 yards), although Matthews had the most receiving yards with 74 on his lone catch, the long TD. Larry Mason led the team’s runners with 36 yards on 11 carries with the two scores.

WR Joey Walters had an outstanding statistical day in a losing effort for the Federals as he gained 205 yards on 8 receptions that included a 51-yard TD on a pass from relief QB Reggie Collier.

It was a great start for the franchise both on the field and in terms of attendance. But while the Bulls would set a USFL single-game attendance record in their next game with 73,227 on hand to witness a heartbreaking loss to the New Jersey Generals, and would go on to lead the league in attendance over the course of the season, they went 6-12 on the way to a last place finish in the Southern Division. The Federals also finished last with a 3-15 record, tied with the Pittsburgh Maulers in the Atlantic Division.

Matt Robinson ended up splitting time at quarterback with Robbie Mahfouz. Gary Clark was the top receiver, with 56 catches for 760 yards. However, the team finished next to last in the USFL in rushing with 1729 yards; Mason’s 495 yards led the club.

Defense was a problem as the team failed to consistently put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and ended up surrendering 455 points. They were good at picking off passes, with 28 interceptions (led by safety Don Bessillieu’s seven), but defensive lineman Bob Clasby was the team’s leader with just five sacks.

The franchise’s enduring legacy was the fan support that it generated. Long after the Bulls disappeared with the rest of the USFL, the NFL awarded Jacksonville an expansion franchise for the 1995 season. The enthusiasm generated for the Bulls apparently played a role in that decision.

1965: Buffalo Trades Cookie Gilchrist to Denver

The Buffalo Bills had won the AFL championship in 1964 in no small part to the efforts of their 250-pound battering ram fullback Cookie Gilchrist, the league’s leading rusher with 981 yards on 230 carries. But on February 24, 1965 they traded Gilchrist to the Denver Broncos for a lesser fullback, Billy Joe.

Gilchrist had been a mainstay of the Buffalo backfield since joining the team in 1962 after six years in the Canadian Football League. He had been an outstanding all-around player north of the border, but wore out his welcome with three teams before heading back to the US and the American Football League. With the Bills, he was both a powerful and productive runner, twice leading the league in rushing and setting a single-game record of 243 yards while gaining a well-earned reputation as an outstanding pass blocker. He was also outspoken and assertive in ways that sometimes annoyed teammates and most certainly led to disputes with Head Coach Lou Saban and the front office.

Prior to the ’64 season, Gilchrist had openly requested a trade to New York, where he saw greater potential for off-field business opportunities. He was often late for practice and openly disagreed with QB Jack Kemp, who wanted to throw the ball more. The situation came to a head during a game on November 15 against the Boston Patriots. The Bills were trailing late in the first half and had been passing far more often than running (Gilchrist had five carries for 23 yards, while Kemp had gone to the air 22 times). With the offense driving, Gilchrist suddenly pulled himself out of the game and sent in rookie Willie Ross to replace him.

The team lost for the first time all year, and an angry Coach Saban placed Gilchrist on waivers two days later. Not surprisingly, three teams claimed him, but a group of players interceded with Saban to have him recall the big fullback from waivers. Kemp had played a part – whatever their differences regarding offensive philosophy, the two were friends off the field – and convinced Gilchrist to apologize to the team and request a reinstatement. Whatever annoyances he had caused, his teammates were well aware that he always showed up motivated to play and they needed him if they were to win the division and league titles.

Saban agreed to allow Gilchrist back on the team, but once the season was over and a championship won, he was ready to take action. There were plenty of explanations offered by the club as to why they dealt him – most notably, although he had played in the AFL for just three years, he was 30 years old and, combined with his years in the CFL when he had also played linebacker on defense, his body had taken a beating. But in reality, he had simply become too difficult to handle.

Billy Joe was about the same size as Gilchrist, at 6’2” and 235 pounds and had been the league’s Rookie of the Year in 1963 after arriving as an 11th round draft choice out of Villanova. But his 646 yards in that first season ended up being his career high. He wasn’t the punishing and productive runner that Gilchrist had been, nor nearly as effective a blocker. In ’65, he contributed 377 yards with just a 3.1 average gain per carry (HB Wray Carlton led the team with 592 rushing yards), although he caught a career-high 27 passes. The Bills, with Kemp still at quarterback, an outstanding offensive line, and excellent defense, still had more than enough to win another championship.

Gilchrist gained 954 yards for the lowly Broncos (4-10) in 1965, which ranked second in the AFL, on 230 carries. It was a last hurrah for the big fullback with the big personality, and he refused to report to the club for the ’66 season. Placed on reserve to start the season, he ended up being dealt to the expansion Miami Dolphins midway through the campaign.

Ironically, Gilchrist and Joe were teammates in Miami in 1966 – the Dolphins had selected Joe from Buffalo in the expansion draft. Appearing in eight games, Gilchrist gained 262 yards on 72 carries (30 more yards than Billy Joe gained over the course of the entire season). He went back to Denver, where, in another irony, he was reunited with Lou Saban, but played in just one game before it was apparent that his knees could no longer provide the power needed to continue as an effective power back.

Cookie Gilchrist was certainly one of the most memorable characters in the AFL, and one of its best players. He was a force on the football field and a larger-than-life personality off of it – charming and intelligent, but also brazen and defiant. As a general manager of the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts put it, “Put up with him for a season or two, he’ll be great. But then get rid of him before you have a nervous breakdown.”

The Bills got three good years out of him, including a key role in a league championship season.

1983: Herschel Walker Signs with USFL

Football fans received stunning news on February 23, 1983 as the new United States Football League (USFL), slated to begin play in just a few weeks, announced the signing of Heisman Trophy-winning RB Herschel Walker to a contract with the New Jersey Generals. There had been something of a false start earlier in the month when Walker, whose agent had been in contact with the league for some two months, signed but then took advantage of a 24-hour escape clause to back away. However, this time it was a done deal and the 6’1”, 220-pound phenom, just short of his 21st birthday, was officially a professional.

The news was both surprising and controversial. Walker, who had been a Heisman candidate since his freshman year at Georgia in 1980 (he finished third in the voting), had won the award as a junior in ’82. It was widely anticipated that he would duplicate Archie Griffin’s feat of twice attaining the Heisman trophy, especially since at the time it wasn’t possible for underclassmen to enter the NFL draft.

The USFL had initially stated that it would follow the NFL’s no-underclassmen rule. It had also been the new league’s policy to take a go-slow approach to challenging the older league. They would be playing in the spring, rather than going directly head-to-head with the NFL in the fall, and payrolls were to be held to $1.6 million per club.

The payroll structure began to unravel even before the Walker signing as several major players coming out of college such as North Carolina’s RB Kelvin Bryant, Grambling WR Trumaine Johnson, and Michigan WR Anthony Carter had inked contracts that stretched their respective team payrolls beyond the limit (the owners used personal services contracts to circumvent the cap). Walker’s deal, which was a personal services contract with Generals owner J. Walter Duncan, came to $3.9 million for three years and included incentives that took the figure over $4.2 million.

Both the NFL and NCAA cried foul at the signing of the underclassman Walker, and several colleges banned the new league’s scouts from their campuses. USFL Commissioner Chet Simmons insisted that no other underclassmen would be signed and that Walker presented a “special case”. The truth was that, in having his agent approach the new league, Walker had already compromised his college eligibility for 1983, and had he pressed a court case, he might well have forced his way into the USFL through judicial decision (a threat of a lawsuit challenging the draft was something the NFL feared and ultimately led to its ending the ban on underclassmen).

There may have been plenty of controversy, but Herschel Walker was the biggest name in college football and a huge prize for the new league. Signing with the team that would play in the New York metropolitan area only enhanced the effect. It also assured that he would receive intense scrutiny, and when he started slowly (he gained just 65 yards on 16 carries in his first game, a nationally-televised 20-15 loss to the Los Angeles Express) the criticism was quick to come. However, maintaining his composure throughout, Walker ended up leading the league in rushing with 1812 yards over the course of the 18-game season, although the Generals were a disappointing 6-12.