Remembering the United States Football League U.S.F.L.

[wdm1219inpenna]

Not sure how many of you actually remember spring football during 1983, 1984 and 1985, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Hard to fathom I was in high school when the USFL began, and that it's been 3 decades ago!

I know there are many websites that discuss how certain teams got their nicknames. I am unaware of any websites that explain how the USFL team names were inspired however. I'm venturing some guesses here:

New Jersey Generals - 1. Alliteration with "Jersey" & "Generals". 2. General George Washington crossed the Delaware River into Trenton NJ on Christmas night 1776 and surprised the British

Philadelphia Stars - Philadelphia was where our nation was founded. The flag has stars & stripes. I know they relocated to Baltimore. Not sure how one could attach Baltimore w/Stars.

Washington Federals - Makes sense since the Federal Government is located in D.C.

Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers - Made sense since breakers are like waves, and all 3 cities are coastal.

Pittsburgh Maulers - Loved this nickname. The guy holding the heavy hammer was akin perhaps to a steel worker who would sometimes have to "maul" the metal?

Birmingham Stallions - Awesome nickname & team colors. I imagine some horse-racing farms are in Birmingham, Alabama, so many stallions running about.

Tampa Bay Bandits - Alliteration aside, I recall Burt Reynolds "The Bandit" was part owner of this team.

Memphis Showboats - Memphis is near the Mississippi River, associated with riverboats.

Chicago Blitz - Wanted to keep the C.B. moniker similar to the Bears.

Michigan Panthers - Since Detroit had the Lions, and Tigers, they went w/Panthers I'm guessing.

Jacksonville Bulls - No idea why this nickname was taken, as Bulls I don't believe are very rampant in Jacksonville.

Arizona Wranglers - I suppose during the 1800s and still today there are those who handle large herds of cattle and other animals in that state.

Oakland Invaders - Clearly a direct rhyme/ripoff of the Raiders, namewise anyway, not logo-wise or color scheme wise.

Los Angeles Express - Perhaps because of all the traffic and the "expressways"?

Denver Gold - While I know the San Francisco 49ers nickname was inspired by gold prospectors of 1849, were there also gold prospectors in Denver?

Oklahoma Outlaws - Alliteration, during the 1800s in the "Old West" outlaws were in that part of the country. I hated it when they became the Arizona Outlaws (yawn)...

San Antonio Gunslingers - Another "Old West" tie in, with gunslingers during those days.

Houston Gamblers - More "Old West" tie-ins. Was gambling much more common in Houston versus other cities?

Orlando Renegades - No idea how this nickname was inspired. I know the logo had a tomahawk. Was Orlando, Florida ever famous for Native Americans living there?

[logoman]

Fred Bullard was the principal owner of the Jacksonville franchise. Therefore, the "Bulls" was selected as the nickname.

[MJWalker45]

Houston, San Antonio and really any other Southwest location would have had gambling saloons as well as Outlaws and Gunslingers. So really either moniker would have worked with either team. I believe there was a Gold Rush in Colorado after the find in San Francisco. Maybe the 1880's.

[wdm1219inpenna]

Thanks! If others have other 4-1-1 about this topic, I'd love to hear it!

[Needschat]

Little known fact: The San Antonio Spurs were almost called the Gunlingers

[sc49erfan15]

Denver Gold - While I know the San Francisco 49ers nickname was inspired by gold prospectors of 1849, were there also gold prospectors in Denver?

I believe there was a Gold Rush in Colorado after the find in San Francisco. Maybe the 1880's.

I think it's pretty safe to say Denver has a history with gold mining.

You may have also heard of another major Denver-based sports team with a mining-related nickname:

[dfwabel]

Thanks! If others have other 4-1-1 about this topic, I'd love to hear it!

Umm, usfl.info is the site set up by the CCSLC's own, "Mac the Knife". He and his site are kinda the source.

[B-Rich]

Similar to the Tampa Bay Bandits having Burt Reynolds as a minority owner, the Houston franchise had Kenny Rogers as a minority owner; hence the name "Gamblers".

The name "Chicago Blitz" was a result of a "name the team" contest. The "C.B." is a mere simiarlity.

Orlando Renegades refers to the Seminole Indians of Florida. "Renegade" is in fact the name of Chief Osceola's horse at FSU.

[Soarindude]

There was some great names that came out of the USFL. Los Angeles Express and Orlando Renegades are two of my favorites.

[leopard88]

Philadelphia Stars - Philadelphia was where our nation was founded. The flag has stars & stripes. I know they relocated to Baltimore. Not sure how one could attach Baltimore w/Stars.

The name was just a carryover, but . . . uh . . . you are aware that the Star Spangled Banner was written in Baltimore, right?

[Mac the Knife]

Thanks! If others have other 4-1-1 about this topic, I'd love to hear it!

Umm, usfl.info is the site set up by the CCSLC's own, "Mac the Knife". He and his site are kinda the source.

Aw, shucks... <kicks pebble>

The vast majority of USFL names were chosen by "name the team" contests, conducted during the very early days of their existence. I remember for example Pittsburgh's finalists included the Maulers as well as the Vulcans and the Point, along with several others.

The Tampa Bay Bandits and Houston Gamblers each had very specific references. The Bandits were named for the "Smokey and the Bandit" character popularized by team minority shareholder Burt Reynolds. Similarly, Houston's franchise could count among its minority owners Kenny "The Gambler" Rogers. The Washington Federals name choice escapes me, but the colors were inspired by the original owner's yacht. The Panthers were a sort-of extension of the Tigers/Lions motif, and the Invaders were definitely inspired by the Raiders, though in some of the original documents I have they're referred to as the "Bay Area" Invaders.

The Jacksonville Bulls were named for their owner, Fred Bullard. Native American heritage was cited behind Orlando's "Renegades," and "Gunslingers" was chosen by San Antonio owner Clinton Manges just because he liked the sound of it. Last came the Oklahoma Outlaws, who got their name last-minute, as the franchise actually had been originally awarded to San Diego... the Tatham family and the City of San Diego negotiated for months on a stadium lease for Jack Murphy Stadium, but to no avail. The family's patriarch, who lived near Tulsa, called then-commissioner Chet Simmons and advised, "I'm taking my team to Oklahoma," whereupon Simmons reportedly remarked to an assistant, "We've awarded a franchise to outlaws."

[NJTank]

Believe it or not in my house I have a yellowed New Jersey Generals Pennant hanging on my wall.

[leopard88]

You're not alone, Tank. Mac already has pictures of my Baltimore Stars snapback cap and Philadelphia Stars windbreaker.

[Yac12]

I was lucky enough to have gone to a Chicago Blitz game. I can remember the seats were 3 rows from the field and at the 20 yard line on the west side of Soldier Field. I bought a bumper sticker and wrist bands. But I can't remember who they played.

[smith03]

Do you recall was it the good blitz (83) or the bad blitz (84)?

[Mac the Knife]

Ironically I've been considering putting a lot of my USFL memorabilia up for auction on eBay. I have a wife and two daughters with no appreciation of the value of the things I have (and thus a fear that they'll get tossed out, rather than sold or donated to the HOF as my will directs). Most of my materials are stored, nary getting a look anymore. As much as I've enjoyed having them, maybe it's time for someone else to.

[NJTank]

I can hear it now

"DP Why do you have all that USFL crap in my attic I need to make room limited edition Flameless Candles I got from QVC."

[Brian in Boston]

I was a Boston Breakers season ticket-holder.

[Mac the Knife]

I can hear it now

"DP Why do you have all that USFL crap in my attic I need to make room limited edition Flameless Candles I got from QVC."

Au contraire, mon ami. That type of mindset disappeared with respect to my sports memorabilia collection around 1999. The reason? For the only time in my life I picked up and went through a Beckett's guide whilst killing time in a book store. As I did, I pointed out items to her that I owned, often times remembering what I'd paid for them at the time. Only instead of saying, "Yeah, I have one of those," I was able to say things like, "Yeah, I have 250 of those... apparently they only made 5,000" and "I paid $5 apiece for these, and this says they're worth $70 now," and so forth. She's never questioned a single thing I've bought since.

[NJTank]

I was just jesting