Event Date: September 17th, 1983
Event Description: Franchise Swap
Source: United Press International
After weeks of negotiations, Phoenix heart surgeon Dr. Ted Diethrich Friday announced the purchase of the Arizona Wranglers and the sale of the Chicago Blitz in a deal that includes a swap of some players on the U.S. Football League teams.
The Blitz' head coach, George Allen, and his entire staff will move to the Arizona franchise as will Allen's son, Bruce, 26, who has been the Chicago general manager.
Diethrich said the Arizona team will now be known as the Outlaws, ending speculation he might also bring the “Blitz” name to Arizona. He said that decision was made by the new owners William Tatham and his son, William Tatham Jr.
“This has been an almost impossible task,” Diethrich said in making the announcement to reporters who packed a news conference at his Arizona Heart Institute.
Diethrich and the Tathams bought the Arizona franchise from California businessman Jim Joseph and sold the Chicago franchise to Dr. James F. Hoffman Jr. of Milwaukee.
Diethrich said there will be a number of players remaining in the cities where they played the inaugural USFL season, but some of the players would move when the franchise swap is complete.
Terms of the transactions were not announced, but sources put the value of each franchise at about $7 million. The Blitz won the league championship last season, but struggled at the turnstile, while the Wranglers struggled to a 1-17 mark.
Referring to the fact that a team with such a poor record is moving to the Midwest, Allen said, "I'm sure Chicago doesn't take this graciously."
Allen said he will build the new Arizona franchise more on draft picks than through free agents as he did in his NFL coaching days with the Redskins and Los Angeles Rams. He said that in the next draft the Outlaws will have two first-round picks and also extra selections in the third and fifth rounds. However, Allen did admit that the team will be pursuing a big-name quarterback in the days and weeks to come.
Allen was optimistic about the future of the USFL. “This league is here to stay,” Allen said. “There's too many solid people in it.”
Allen said one of his first tasks would be to improve the teams training facility at the closed East Phoenix High School and to hold a tryout camp in the Phoenix area. He said the training facilities need a weight room and improvements to the practice field.
The new Outlaws coach also joked that he was glad to be getting such schools as Arizona State and the University of Arizona in the league's territorial draft rather than the Chicago schools such as Northwestern and Northern Illinois.
And Diethrich said he was happy to have a team in his hometown, noting he had to leave Phoenix 17 times last spring to watch the Blitz play. “I think it's just impossible for an owner trying to establish a franchise to be outside his territory,” he said.
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