'82 Chronology-Hard Bargain

Event Date: October 20th, 1982

Event Description: Invaders Sign Hardman

Source: UPI

Veteran defensive lineman Cedrick Hardman was signed Tuesday as a player and coach of the Oakland Invaders of the fledging U.S. Football League and says he is thinking in terms of playing from three to five more years for the club.

Hardman, who averaged 12 sacks a season in his 12 years of play in the National Football league with the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, became the first player signed by the Invaders, who have changed their name to the Oakland Invaders from the Bay Area Invaders.

(Story-United Press International)

'82 Chronology-Optimism Abounds

Event Date: October 11th, 1982

Event Description: USFL Commissioner Optimistic

Source: United Press International

If the NFL players strike drags on it could provide a bit of a lift for the businessmen who are investing $100 million in the United States Football League, Commissioner Chester R. Simmons concedes.

He says a prolonged strike could make the fans hungry for pro football come March when the USFL launches its 20-game season and could induce some college players to sign with teams in the new league instead of holding out for jobs in the older league.

Simmons does not, however, expect the strike's impact on the new league's fortunes to be big in any case.

The major question is whether the fans will go for football from March through early July.

Frank M. Magid Associates, Inc., of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a major broadcast research firm, did the marketing survey for the promoters of the league and concluded most fans think the present pro football season is too short compared with the 162-game baseball season and the 82-game pro basketball season. Simmons said officials and clubowners of the new league are betting on success where the World Football League failed after two seasons.

It is not, of course, competing seasonally with the NFL.

“In addition, our clubs are much better financed,” he said. “John Bassett, the Canadian multimillonaire who had the Memphis club in the WFL and has the Tampa Bay club in our league, says he was the richest man in the WFL but is the poorest owner in the USFL.”

Simmons said the WFL never got real television money. The USFL has a two-year contract with ABC and a cable contract with Entertainment & Sports Network, Inc., which can pipe the games into 16.5 million homes.

The WFL raided NFL player rosters and got into a salary war with the older league. The USFL will avoid that trap, Simmons said. Since its rosters will necessarily be composed of very young players, its average salaries in the first season may be almost 50 percent less than those in the NFL, he said.

Simmons said there are plenty of players available and high-priced players don't necessarily mean interesting football games. “We've all seen a lot of bad football played by teams with a lot of expensive stars.” Ticket prices will be about $2 less than NFL prices, Simmons said.

He doesn't expect the majority of the USFL's 12 teams to break even the first season. For that, a team would have to gross about $6 million between gate receipts and broadcast and cable revenue share.

Simmons sees no possibility of players performing in both leagues even though their playing seasons do not overlap. A player's contract runs for 12 months. That creates a valid legal and technical overlap in his opinion. A few NFL players whose options had run out already have signed with USFL clubs.

Ten of the 12 cities in the USFL also are in the NFL and will use the same stadiums as NFL teams, thus providing additional revenues to the municipalities that own the stadiums. The other two are Birmingham and Phoenix.

Since the USFL will be taking players who may not have graduated, although their college eligibility has run out, the USFL teams will give them scholarships to return to college in the fall and a bonus for earning a degree.

(Story-UPI)

'82 Chronology-Canada Calling

Event Date: October 8th, 1982

Event Description: Gold Nuggets

Source: United Press International

Former Denver Broncos running back Larry Canada has begun talks with officials of the Denver Gold of the U.S. Football League.

Canada visited the Gold earlier in the week for discussions with Coach Red Miller and owner Ray Blanding.

“We're happy to have Larry visit the office and get things started,” said Miller, who coached Canada during his four years as coach of the Broncos. “It's the first session we've had with Canada and we'll be talking more with him in the days ahead. I'd love to have him because I know what he can do.”

Gold owner Ray Blanding said 23,000 season tickets have been sold as of the end of September.

“A lot of them were on the basis of 50 percent down payment,” Blanding added. “But we've taken in a million dollars in cash. That's way ahead of what other USFL teams have reported, although I guess that Tampa Bay has sold around 13,000 tickets.”

Blanding said the details of an agreement for rental of Mile High Stadium (capacity 75,123) have been worked out, although the contract is not signed. Under the terms, the team will pay the city 8 percent of ticket sales -- the same as the Broncos.

(Photo-Property Getty Images)

'82 Chronology-Star Signings

Event Date: September 29th, 1982

Event Description: Future Stars

Source: United Press International

The Philadelphia Stars Monday announced the signing of five players, including wide-receiver Rodney Parker, who played two years for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Stars President and General Manager Carl Peterson said that Parker, originally a sixth round draft choice of the Atlanta Falcons, signed with the Eagles in 1980 and played in 18 games including the Eagles NFC Championship victory over the Dallas Cowboys in which he caught four passes.

Also signed were Lester Melontree, a defensive end, who was in the Steelers pre-season camp; Casey Murphy, a punter from Temple, who was in the Eagles pre-season camp; and Greg Bamberger, a tackle from Duke.

All the players were signed to two, one-year contracts. Details of the contracts were not released.

In other USFL news;

Steve Ehrhart, USFL Director of Communications, issues a statement that all USFL teams have access to 352 NFL players who would become free agents February 1, 1983.

'82 Chronology-Devine Intervention

Event Date: September 15th, 1982

Event Description: Devine Rejects Offer

Source: United Press International

Dan Devine, the veteran college and professional coach who now heads an Arizona State University booster group, has withdrawn as a candidate to coach the Arizona Wranglers of the new United States Football League.

Devine said Tuesday he turned down a coaching offer from Wrangler owner Jim Joseph because of a “strong sense of loyalty and obligation” to the Sun Angels Foundation.

Devine became executive director of the foundation last February, more than a year after stepping down as coach at Notre Dame.

Devine, 57, said it was doubtful he would ever take a coaching job in the USFL. However, he said he might return to coaching in the National Football League if Indianapolis ever receives a franchise. A long-time friend of Devine is involved in efforts to get an Indianapolis franchise.

Devine began his coaching career at Arizona State in 1955 and later coached at the University of Missouri and Green Bay in the NFL before going to Notre Dame.

(Story: UPI)

'82 Chronology-Stallions Hire Head Coach

Event Date: September 2nd, 1982

Event Description: Steelers Lose Dotsch

Source: UPI-Pittsburgh Tribune

Pittsburgh Steelers assistant Rollie Dotsch will be named Thursday as head coach of the United States Football League's Birmingham Stallions, team officials confirmed Wednesday.

Team spokesman Hal Hayes said a news conference is scheduled for Thursday morning to make the official announcement.

Dotsch, the Steelers' offensive line coach for four years, has been talking to the Stallions for several weeks. He has been grooming former Kent State Coach Ron Blackledge to take over his position with Pittsburgh.

Dotsch played guard for Michigan in the early 1950s and has spent the last 11 years as an NFL assistant in Green Bay, New England, Detroit and Pittsburgh. Before coming to the NFL, he was an assistant at Northern Michigan, Colorado and Missouri.

He was also a head coach at Northern Michigan, where his teams compiled a 33-15-2 record in five seasons, including the only unbeaten regular season in the school's history.

The Thursday announcement will end a summer-long search for a head coach. Several names were mentioned along the way, and one candidate, Dallas Cowboys assistant Gene Stallings, turned down the job.

Among others who talked to the Stallions were Jack Gotta, coach of the Calgary Stampeders. Gotta was coach of the Birmingham franchise of the defunct World Football League. The Stallions will be in the league's Central Division along with Chicago, Detroit and Tampa.

'82 Chronology-Piracy?

Event Date: September 2nd, 1982

Event Description: High on Branch

Source: Chicago Tribune

'82 Chronology-Young at Heart

Event Date: August 31st, 1982

Event Description: USFL Plans

Source: United Press International

The U.S. Football League plans to begin an 18-game schedule the first weekend in March leading to a July 10th championship game, Commissioner Chet Simmons said Tuesday.

League owners and administrators met for three days in Washington and settled a variety of questions, but none pertained to George Allen, coach and general manager of the Chicago Blitz.

Last week, Allen signed 6-foot-6, 280-pound lineman Willie Young from Illinois. Young, 26, has three years of college eligibility remaining and enrolled at Illinois after four years of football in the Army.

Young said he quit the Illinois squad because he could not support his wife and five children. Allen signed him, but USFL rules prohibit signing players with collegiate eligibility remaining.

“Those are our rules,” said Simmons. “In fact, we recognize the fifth year of eligibility in red-shirt cases. But I have made no sanctions against any club. I don't have all the facts in the signing of Young. When I do, I suppose you could say I'll be judge and jury, and probably the executioner. But not until.”

Allen did not attend the meetings but sent his son, Bruce, the club's general manager, to represent the Blitz.

Simmons said the league will comprise of three divisions - Atlantic, Central and Pacific. The three division winners will join a wild-card entry, the team with the next-best overall record, in a two-week playoffs.

New York-New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington and Boston will form the Atlantic Division, with Birmingham, Chicago, Detroit and Tampa Bay in the Central. The Pacific Division will have Arizona (Phoenix), Los Angeles, Denver and The Bay Area (San Francisco-Oakland).

Each team will play each team in its division twice and meet each other team once. The remaining four games will be against two teams of each of the other divisions.

“We hope to have the schedule available in the next few weeks,' said Simmons. 'In a few cases, we're working out scheduling problems for stadiums that house major-league baseball. In one case, we're working with scheduling conflicts for a North American Soccer League team.”

The league set its collegiate draft for Jan. 4, after the bowl games but before most of the All-Star games that the NFL uses to help evaluate its talent. USFL teams, all planning to use a scholarship-incentive clause in contracts with rookies, will have 40-man rosters with a 10-man development' squad.

(Story-UPI)

'82 Chronology-Jauch Jumps

Event Date: August 26th, 1982

Event Description: Jauch Jumps

Source: United Press International

Washington's entry in the new United States Football League has been named the Washington Federals and will be coached by Ray Jauch.

Jauch, coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League, will join the new club at the end of the current CFL season in November.

He has compiled a record of 110-80-4 during 12 years in the CFL.

At a news conference Tuesday, club officials unveiled the new name, and team colors of kelly green and white, with silver and black trim. The logo features an eagle above the words Washington Federals.

Jauch, who was in Winnipeg, said 'We're going to try to build the type of team that the fans can be proud of. There are certain rules governing the acquisition of players. If there are Canadian players who are free agents, I would imagine they would have the opportunity to play in the new league.'

USFL teams can pick players from an assigned CFL team and Jauch will have the chance to pick players from his current team in Winnipeg. Contracts expire at the end of the season for seven or eight players with the Bombers.

'82 Chronology-Armed and Dangerous

Event Date: August 22nd, 1982

Event Description: No Stone Unturned?

Source: Chicago Tribune

A linebacker now in prison for armed robbery wants to play pro football, and George Allen, head coach and part-owner of the Chicago Blitz franchise in the fledgling U.S. Football League, wants to give him a tryout.

Allen wants a look at Michael Stifford, a Berwyn, Illinois, resident serving a 12-year sentence at Logan Correctional Center, the Chicago Tribune said in a story prepared for today's editions.

“If we can't get him a furlough, I will go down to Lincoln myself and give him a tryout,” said Allen, the former NFL head coach who created the so-called “Over-the-Hill Gang” when he coached the Washington Redskins.

Stifford, 23, is eligible for parole next January, just before the USFL is scheduled to begin its first season.

He wrote Allen, saying he is 6-foot-6, 225 pounds, and can bench press 420 pounds and run the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds. “I love football. I can play,” he wrote Allen. “Give me a chance and I will make you proud to say you did.”

The Tribune said Stifford was voted most valuable player when he played on the Stateville Correctional Center team.

(Story-Chicago Tribune/UPI)

'82 Chronology-Switching Leagues

Event Date: August 20th, 1982

Event Description: Campbell to USFL

Source: Los Angeles Times

Hugh Campbell, who led the Edmonton Eskimos to four straight victories in the Grey Cup -- Canada's equivalent of the Super Bowl -- will reportedly coach Los Angeles' entry in the United States Football League.

Campbell, a former All-American player who has coached Edmonton to Grey Cup victories since 1977, will move to the USFL at the end of the Canadian Football League's current season, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

He was an All-America wide receiver at Washington State in the early 1960s and caught 60 touchdown pases in a six-year career with Saskatchewan. Campbell served as assistant coach at Washington State for two years and became head coach at Edmonton in 1977.

(Story-United Press International)

'82 Chronology-Rule Breaker

Event Date: August 20th, 1982

Event Description: Allen Reprimanded

Source: Boca Raton News

'82 Chronology-Contract Talks

Event Date: August 19th, 1982

Event Description: Gold Pursue Knapple

Source: United Press International

The owner of the United State Football League's Denver Gold said he plans to meet with an agent next week to negotiate a contract for former Denver Broncos quarterback Jeff Knapple, whose rights were acquired in a trade with Boston.

Ron Blanding, owner of the Denver franchise, said his team traded the rights to two former Colorado State running backs to the USFL's Boston franchise for the rights to Knapple.

Knapple, who played for both Colorado and Northern Colorado, was at Calgary in the Canadian League last year. His USFL rights went to Boston in the territorial and random allocation of players held recently by the league.

“We wanted Knapple, and we worked very hard to get him,” Blanding said. Blanding said he expected to meet with Knapple's agent next week “to talk contract.”

The Knapple trade materialized after Boston came to terms with former NFL quarterback Mike Livingston. Boston personnel director Tom Marino said his franchise initially wanted the rights to four Denver players in exchange for Knapple, but lowered the price after signing Livingston.

“We had been dealing with Livingston too,” Blanding said. “But we wanted Knapple more than Livingston because of his local appeal and because he has worked with Red (Denver Gold coach Red Miller) before.”

(Story UPI)

'82 Chronology-Pivotal Experience

Event Date: August 18th, 1982

Event Description: Livingston Joins New League

Source: NYT

'82 Chronology-Landry Enlisted

Event Date: August 14th, 1982

Event Description: Sports People

Source: New York Times

The veteran quarterback Greg Landry yesterday became the second name player to sign with the United States Football League, joining the former U.C.L.A. all-American Tim Wrightman on the roster of the Chicago Blitz.

Landry was entering his 15th National Football League season when he was waived on July 23 by the Baltimore Colts. Landry did not disclose the terms of his two-year contract

In other USFL news:

The Oakland franchise announced that the entry in the new league would be named the Invaders.

'82 Chronology-Dotsch Rumors

Event Date: August 14th, 1982

Event Description: Dotsch to USFL?

Source: Pittsburgh Press

PITTSBURGH -- Both the Pittsburgh Steelers and offensive line coach Rollie Dotsch are keeping mum on reports that Dotsch is about to take a head coaching job in the new United States Football League.

“I can't say anything at this point,” said Dotsch, who would become the second Steeler assistant to jump to the USFL. 'There are several people involved, and anything I say at this time would be inappropriate.”

It would be the fifth change in the Steelers' coaching staff since last season. Assistant coach George Perles left earlier to become head coach of the Philadelphia franchise of the USFL.

However, Steelers president Dan Rooney indicated the team might fight to keep Dotsch, whom one report had headed for the USFL's Birmingham franchise.

“He's talked to us,” Rooney said. “We expect people to honor their contracts. It wouldn't be disastrous for us. It's up to the players and to (head coach) Chuck Noll to do the things that have to be done.”

(Story-Pittsburgh Press/UPI)