Event Date: December 12th, 1987
Event Description: USFL Meetings
Source:-UPI
The United States Football League will be reduced from twelve teams to ten for the 1988 season and one of the franchises will be shifted, USFL commissioner Harry Usher announced Friday.
But by the conclusion of the two-day meeting Friday, only nine teams had provided letters of credit and other information that satisfied the league's financial requirements.
Holding franchises under the current plan are: New Jersey, Baltimore, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Birmingham, Memphis, Oakland, and Houston. The league is currently seeking a new owner for the Arizona franchise.
Usher also announced that the Denver Gold franchise would merge with Jacksonville, where the team would still be called the Bulls. The Gold, owned by Colorado automobile dealer Doug Spedding, has been looking for a new home for the club coached by Darrel “Mouse” Davis.
Dropped from plans for the 1988 season were the Portland Breakers who could no longer meet their financial obligations. The Breakers lost all their players to free agent last fall after failing to meet the payroll for the last four games of the season.
The USFL Players Association then sued Breakers Owner Joe Canizaro and the league for $1.2 million. Canizaro, a New Orleans real estate developer, was unsuccessful in raising $5 million from Portland investors to pay off team debts and fund the franchise for another season.
Usher said a league composed of an even number of teams would be desirable, but “we can equally manage with an odd number.”
He also said the USFL had an excellent chance of winning the damages portion of their anti-trust suit victory against the National Football League. The case is currently under appeal from the NFL.
The opening day of the USFL season and the release of the schedule is still pending, but the league did announce that the championship game will be held in Baltimore next June.
Story-(UPI Modified)
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