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The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be played in the autumn/winter, directly competing against the long-established National Football League (NFL). However, the USFL ceased operations before that season was scheduled to begin.
James Edward Kelly is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL). Kelly played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning offensive MVP honors in the 1981 Peach Bowl.
The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing 25 while going 0–2 in postseason competition. Home games were played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which was called The Meadowlands for Generals games.
The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their home games at Birmingham, Alabama's Legion Field. They competed in all three USFL seasons, 1983–1985. During their run, they were one of the USFL's more popular teams, and seemed to have a realistic chance of being a viable venture had the USFL been better run.
John Perry Pardee was an American professional football player and head coach. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). As a coach, he is the only head coach to helm a team in college football, the NFL, the United States Football League (USFL), the World Football League (WFL), and the Canadian Football League (CFL). Pardee was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.
Willie Miles Harper is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, twice earning consensus All-American honors. Harper won Super Bowl XVI with the 49ers during the 1981 season. He also played in the United States Football League (USFL).
Stanley Ray White is a former American football linebacker.
Michael Connan Johnson is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Cleveland Browns. He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Johnson began his pro career in the United States Football League (USFL) for the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars for two seasons.
Mark Snyder is an American football coach. He previously was the defensive line and linebackers coach for the Orlando Guardians of the XFL linebackers coach for the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL). Snyder served as the head football coach at Marshall University from 2005 to 2009 after a four-year tenure as defensive coordinator at Ohio State University.
Stanley Anthony Woods is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker and defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Seattle Seahawks from 1987 to 1992, as well as the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh.
The 1983 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 14th season in the National Football League, and the 24th overall. It was the first of three seasons for head coach Kay Stephenson. Bills running back Joe Cribbs was both the Bills' leading rusher, and the team's leader in receptions and receiving yards. The team looked to improve on its 4–5 record from 1982. With the NFL schedule back to 16 games, the Bills were a more competitive team during 1983. The team started 5–2 through its first 7 games. However, they would struggle the rest of the way, as they went 3–6 in its final 9 games en route to a mediocre 8–8 season. This season also saw the Bills beat the Dolphins in Miami for the first time since 1966, Miami's inaugural season. After beating the Chiefs, 14–9, in Arrowhead Stadium on December 4, the Bills would lose 22 road games in a row, which included going 0–8 on the road in each of the following two seasons.
Julian Luis "Kiki" DeAyala is a former American football linebacker in the United States Football League (USFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He still holds the University of Texas record for career sacks with 40.5.
Charles Edward Commiskey is a former American football guard and center who played for three seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints from 1986–1988. He also played for three seasons in the United States Football League (USFL) for the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars from 1983–1985. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the ninth round of the 1981 NFL draft. He played college football at Ole Miss.
Chester Robert Simmons was a television executive. He worked at ABC Sports, NBC Sports and ESPN, and was the first Commissioner of the USFL. From 1957 to 1964, he helped build ABC Sports into a leader in sports programming and was a key part of the development of Wide World of Sports. He joined NBC Sports in 1964, where he stayed for 15 years becoming the first President in 1977. At NBC, he pioneered instant replay and coverage of the Olympics and NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four. In 1979, he left NBC to join the soon to launch ESPN becoming its second President. At ESPN, he oversaw the launch of the network, the development of SportsCenter, the first broadcasts of the NFL Draft, coverage of the early rounds of the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four and the development of Chris Berman, Bob Ley, George Grande, Greg Gumbel and Dick Vitale. In 1982, he became the first Commissioner of the United States Football League and led it through three championships and players including Herschel Walker, Jim Kelly, Reggie White, Steve Young and Anthony Carter.
The Shepherd Rams are the athletic teams that represent Shepherd University, located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in Division II intercollegiate sports of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Rams compete as members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) for all 15 varsity sports since the 2019–20 academic year. They previously competed in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) from 2013–14 to 2018–19, and before that, the now-defunct West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) from 1924–25 to 2012–13.
Edward Eugene Williams is an American former professional football player who played seven seasons as a linebacker for the New England Patriots in the National Football League, including Super Bowl XX. Prior to that, he played college football as a defensive end for the Texas Longhorns.
The 1986 USFL season would have been the fourth season of the United States Football League. Plans and a schedule had been set for a 1986 season, which would have played in the autumn and winter months, but the failure to secure a large judgment or concessions through a landmark antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League, combined with the seizure of one of the team's assets, days before the season was to begin led the league to postpone, then ultimately cancel the season and cease operations. The federal court judgement found the NFL guilty of violating antitrust guidelines on July 29, 1986, but the USFL was only awarded $1 in damages plus court costs, as the jury found that the actions of the USFL owners had done as much in detriment to themselves as did the actions of the NFL. On August 4, the 1986 season was canceled. On August 7, all players were released from their contracts.
Donald Payne is an American football linebacker for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Stetson and was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2017 as the first player from Stetson to play in the NFL. He has also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Football Team, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers.
Azeem Victor is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Washington.
Chris Orr is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the linebackers coach for Jackson State. He played for the Wisconsin Badgers in college and for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He also played for the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL).
References
- ↑ "Dave Simmons". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
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