'87 Chronology-Fresh Start

Event Date: December 23rd, 1987

Event Description: Outlaws Name Coach

Source: UPI

The Oklahoma Outlaws of the United States Football League have named Woody Widenhofer as their head coach.

Widenhofer joins Oklahoma after a 16-year career as an assistant under Steeler head coach Chuck Noll. He was assistant head coach for two seasons and defensive coordinator for another five years. He joined the Steelers in 1973 as linebacker coach at which post he helped to develop such pros as Jack Lambert and Jack Ham.

He was a member of the defensive staff which developed the famous Steel Curtain. During his tenure with the Steelers, they won four Super Bowl championships but Widenhofer's biggest accomplishment might have been adjusting the Steel Curtain to the new 3-4 defense. In 1982, Pittsburgh ranked second in the NFL in sacks and fourth in interceptions while establishing a new team record for fewest rushing yards allowed per game, 84.7.

"Leaving Missouri after three years was a big decision for me. I always thought it would take a super situation to even make me think about moving and the Oklahoma Outlaws present such a situation," he said.

J. Walter Duncan, the Outlaws’ new owner, said, “When we evaluated our overall picture, we decided to go for someone who had worked many years in pro football and who had worked in a college environment. In Woody Widenhofer, we have exceeded our goals and expectations,” Duncan concluded.

Widenhofer added, “I'm convinced the Oklahoma Outlaws are a first-class program. The owners want to win and win fast. I'm impressed with the administration and the personnel department and I'm looking forward to working with them.”

Story-(UPI Modified)

'87 Chronology-Mouse Moves

Event Date: December 22nd, 1987

Event Description: Roster Moves

Source: Lakeland Ledger

'87 Chronology-Barroom Blitz

Event Date: December 22nd, 1987

Event Description: Kelly Tussle

Source: Associated Press

'87 Chronology-Cardinal Sins

Event Date: December 19th, 1987

Event Description: Football Roundup

Source: Lakeland Ledger

'87 Chronology-Bullish on Mouse

Event Date: December 18th, 1987

Event Description: Mouse Moves

Source: Register-Guard

'87 Chronology-Courtesy Call

Event Date: December 17th, 1987

Event Description: NFL Honorees

Source: Lakeland Ledger

'87 Chronology-Unruly

Event Date: December 12th, 1987

Event Description: Millard Charged

Source: Associated Press

'87 Chronology-Number Nine

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.

“These ten teams are very strong, very secure teams,”Usher said. “We now have strong, very popular teams. Frankly, all systems are go.”

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)

'87 Chronology-Flying High

Event Date: December 11th, 1987

Event Description: Cards Nix Columbus

Source: Associated Press

'87 Chronology-NFL Bound?

Event Date: December 5th, 1987

Event Descrition: Outlaws Out

Source: UPI

Bill Tatham Sr., who lost $21 million with the Arizona Outlaws of the USFL, says he wants to recoup his losses with a franchise in the NFL.

To that end, Tatham has come to Hawaii to begin the long process of convincing the NFL to award him a team in Arizona.

“We made our final decision (to drop out of the USFL) on Monday morning,” said Tatham. “We had been considering a lot of different actions for the last few months. What we want to do is field a football team and not be a part of a series of lawsuits and appeals.”

“We know it's not going to be easy, but we are willing to make the effort,” he said. “I think it will take some very hard lobbying and we are going to have to meet their financial and character requirements. We have a financial package already put together. The money is there right now.”

Story-(UPI Modified)

'87 Chronology-Severing Ties

Event Date: December 4th, 1987

Event Description: Outlaws Owners Moving On

Source: UPI

Bill Tatham Jr., president and general manager the Arizona Outlaws, announced Monday that the club is severing ties with the USFL in hopes of landing an NFL expansion franchise.

“We are formally announcing our withdrawal from the league, and will take appropriate steps to withdraw from the USFL in proper time,” Tatham said from Hawaii.

“We're out of it, and good riddance.” Tatham said only “technical things” remain to sever ties with the USFL. 

Tatham will head up a group called Arizonans for NFL Football, which hopes to land an expansion franchise as early as 1988.

“Our goal from the beginning was to bring professional football to Phoenix,” Tatham said. “We felt for some time the best way to acquire an NFL expansion team was to take this action.”

The group is the second to join in lobbying the NFL for an expansion franchise in Phoenix. Arizona NFL Expansion Franchise Ltd., headed by former American Football League commissioner Joe Foss and Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr, was the first.

USFL Commissioner Harry Usher said that the league is planning on playing in 1988, and that the Outlaws could be moved to another city in the very near future.

Story-(UPI Modified)

'87 Chronology-Future Considerations

Event Date: December 3rd, 1987

Event Description: Changes In Dallas

Source: Associated Press

'87 Chronology-Waiving Goodbye

Event Date: December 2nd, 1987

Event Description: McKeever Waived

Source: Lakeland Ledger

'87 Chronology-London Calling

Event Date: December 1st, 1987

Event Description: Dupree Done

Source: UPI

Running back Marcus Dupree, who suffered a career-ending knee injury, has agreed with Lloyd's of London to an out-of-court settlement on a $4.53 million insurance policy, his longtime advisor confirmed Wednesday.

Doctors say Dupree should never again play football, but advisor Kenneth Fairley said Dupree is considering playing professional baseball.

“Marcus wants to compete athletically in some field, if possible,” said Fairley, adding that Dupree has been playing in a local softball league. “This is a hard time for Marcus with all the football on TV.”

Dupree underwent additional orthoscopic surgery for cartilage damage Monday.

Dupree, who tore his knee ligaments while playing for the USFL's Portland Breakers, had filed a federal suit to be named the direct beneficiary of a $4.53 million insurance policy taken out on him by the now-defunct Breakers.

Lloyd's, in documents filed in federal court, claimed the policy benefits belonged to the Breakers and not Dupree. But last week, Lloyd's, the Breakers, Inc., and the United States National Bank of Oregon agreed to settle with Dupree.

“Marcus is very happy with the amount of the settlement,” Fairley said in a telephone interview. “Some players are forced to come back after serious injuries for financial reasons. Fortunately, Marcus doesn't have to.”

Fairley refused to disclose the amount of the settlement, but said agreement was reached Nov. 4 in Hattiesburg.

Dupree, a high school star from Philadelphia, Miss., was considered a Heisman trophy contender his sophomore year at Oklahoma, but he disappeared midway through the sophomore season. He subsequently resurfaced and enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi, then signed with the then-New Orleans Breakers of the USFL in March 1984.

Source:(UPI Modified)