'83 Chronology-Merger Talks

Event Date: August 18th, 1983

Event Description:  USFL Owners Meetings

Source: United Press International

Arizona Wranglers owner Jim Joseph says he and Dr. Ted Diethrich must decide within the next few weeks if they should continue negotiations for the sale of the team.

“I'm in a position now, that I can't wait anymore,” Joseph said.

However, Diethrich indicated late Wednesday night that he and Joseph are optimistic about coming to an agreement.

“Jim Joseph and I have been working diligently over the past few weeks in an effort to finalize an agreement regarding professional football in Phoenix,” Diethrich said in a prepared statement.

“There have been numerous obsta:les, many of which we had not anticipated and some beyond our control. These have caused considerable delay, but we do, however, anticipate a resolution in the near future.”

“We appreciate how eager the football fans are regarding this news and I trust that the final outcome will be very satisfying to them.”

Joseph said earlier in the day he is frustrated by the slow progress of the negotiations.

“The question is are we doing ourselves a disservice by dragging this thing out?” Joseph said from his California headquarters.

“When we started, I thought this would be settled by the first or second week of August. It's just elongated.”

Diethrich, a Phoenix heart surgeon who owns a majority of the Chicago Blitz, returned Wednesday from a USFL meeting in Toronto.

“We can go one of three ways,” Joseph said. “I'd own 100 percent, he would own 100 percent, or we could merge. The third way looks the least likely. It looked the most likely two weeks ago. But the basic reason is, I did not wish to be in a minority position.”

Diethrich also has indicated he prefers majority ownership.

Earlier reports indicated the only barrier to transfer of ownership was a simultaneous sale of the Chicago franchise. A Chicago businessman, Walter Kaiser, heads a group negotiating to buy the franchise from Diethrich.

Joseph said the USFL prefers a merger.

“They're very concerned about what is happening in Chicago, which is one of the three major markets,” Joseph said. “The original merging idea would have been easiest for the league to swallow.”

Joseph said there is no disagreement over the purchase price of about $7 million.

“It's the other things such as player contracts and draft rights,” he said.

Story-(UPI)