1984 USFL season
The 1984 USFL season was the second season of the United States Football League.
| 1984 United States Football League season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Regular season | ||
| Duration | February 26 – June 25, 1984 | |
| Playoffs | ||
| Start date | June 30, 1984 | |
| Eastern Conference champions | Philadelphia Stars | |
| Western Conference champions | Arizona Wranglers | |
| Championship | ||
| Date | July 15, 1984 | |
| Site | Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida | |
| Champions | Philadelphia Stars | |
| ||
Rule changes
- The USFL added the side judge to the game officials, making a seven-man crew.
- Teams played preseason games in 1984. There had been no preseason games in 1983.
Franchise changes
- Boston Breakers are sold and relocate to New Orleans, Louisiana as the New Orleans Breakers on October 18, 1983.
- Six expansion teams: Houston Gamblers, Jacksonville Bulls, Memphis Showboats, Oklahoma Outlaws, Pittsburgh Maulers and San Antonio Gunslingers
- Chicago Blitz's owner buys Arizona Wranglers and sells Blitz, all but two the Blitz players are traded to Arizona, all but two the Wranglers players traded to Chicago. The Blitz coaches also go to Arizona, with Chicago acquiring a new coaching staff in 1984. The franchises also trade draft choices. September 30, 1983.
General news
On September 21, 1983, the New Jersey Generals were sold to real estate tycoon and future President of the United States Donald Trump.
On October 19, 1983, the United States Football League awarded the 1984 USFL Champion Game to Tampa Stadium in Tampa, FL and the 1985 USFL Championship Game to the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, MI.
On February 15, the USFL took control of the Chicago Blitz.
The Denver Gold were sold during the 1984 season.
In May 1984, the USFL announced a "new" Chicago franchise would be created for the 1985 season.
Players vote to form a union, United States Football League Players Association, with former Buffalo Bills linebacker Doug Allen serving as executive director.
Philadelphia and Tampa Bay played in a post season exhibition game billed as "The Jetsave Challenge Cup" in Wembley Stadium on July 21. Philadelphia won 24–21.
On August 22, 1984, the owners voted to move to a fall schedule starting in 1986.
On October 19, 1984, the owners reaffirmed the move to the fall.
Regular season
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
y = Division Champion, x = Wild Card
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||
| Atlantic Division | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Stadium | 1984 Capacity | Avg. Att. | Avg. % filled | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Philadelphia Stars | 16 | 2 | 0 | .889 | 479 | 225 | Veterans Stadium | 72,204 | 28,668 | 40% | Jim Mora |
| x-New Jersey Generals | 14 | 4 | 0 | .778 | 430 | 312 | Giants Stadium | 76,891 | 37,716 | 49% | Walt Michaels |
| Pittsburgh Maulers | 3 | 15 | 0 | .167 | 259 | 379 | Three Rivers Stadium | 59,000 | 22,858 | 39% | Joe Pendry/Ellis Rainsberger |
| Washington Federals | 3 | 15 | 0 | .167 | 270 | 492 | RFK Stadium | 54,794 | 7,694 | 14% | Ray Jauch/Dick Bielski |
| Southern Division | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Stadium | 1984 Capacity | Avg. Att. | Avg. % filled | Coach |
| y-Birmingham Stallions | 14 | 4 | 0 | .778 | 539 | 316 | Legion Field | 77,000 | 36,850 | 48% | Rollie Dotsch |
| x-Tampa Bay Bandits | 14 | 4 | 0 | .778 | 498 | 347 | Tampa Stadium | 72,812 | 46,158 | 63% | Steve Spurrier |
| New Orleans Breakers | 8 | 10 | 0 | .444 | 349 | 395 | Louisiana Superdome | 72,675 | 30,557 | 42% | Dick Coury |
| Memphis Showboats | 7 | 11 | 0 | .389 | 320 | 455 | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 50,180 | 27,599 | 55% | Pepper Rodgers |
| Jacksonville Bulls | 6 | 12 | 0 | .333 | 327 | 455 | Gator Bowl Stadium | 80,100 | 46,730 | 58% | Lindy Infante |
| Western Conference | |||||||||||
| Pacific Division | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Stadium | 1984 Capacity | Avg. Att. | Avg. % filled | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Los Angeles Express | 10 | 8 | 0 | .556 | 338 | 373 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 94,000 | 15,361 | 16% | John Hadl |
| x-Arizona Wranglers | 10 | 8 | 0 | .556 | 502 | 284 | Sun Devil Stadium | 70,030 | 25,568 | 37% | George Allen |
| Denver Gold | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 356 | 413 | Mile High Stadium | 75,123 | 33,953 | 45% | Craig Morton |
| Oakland Invaders | 7 | 11 | 0 | .389 | 242 | 348 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 54,615 | 23,644 | 43% | John Ralston/Chuck Hutchison |
| Central Division | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Stadium | 1984 Capacity | Avg. Att. | Avg. % filled | Coach |
| y-Houston Gamblers | 13 | 5 | 0 | .722 | 618 | 400 | Houston Astrodome | 47,695 | 28,152 | 59% | Jack Pardee |
| x-Michigan Panthers | 10 | 8 | 0 | .556 | 400 | 382 | Pontiac Silverdome | 80,638 | 32,457 | 40% | Jim Stanley |
| San Antonio Gunslingers | 7 | 11 | 0 | .389 | 309 | 325 | Alamo Stadium | 32,000 | 15,444 | 48% | Gil Steinke |
| Oklahoma Outlaws | 6 | 12 | 0 | .333 | 251 | 459 | Skelly Stadium | 40,235 | 21,038 | 52% | Woody Widenhofer |
| Chicago Blitz | 5 | 13 | 0 | .278 | 340 | 466 | Soldier Field | 65,793 | 7,455 | 11% | Marv Levy |
Birmingham won the Southern Division championship over Tampa Bay based on a division record tiebreaker advantage (7-1-0 to 6-2-0). Birmingham and Tampa Bay tied in the first tiebreaking step, head-to-head (1-1-0).
Tampa Bay won the tiebreaker over New Jersey for the 3rd seed based on winning the head to head game.
Los Angeles won the Pacific Division championship over Arizona based on a conference record tiebreaker advantage (7-4-0 to 5-6-0). Los Angeles and Arizona tied in the first two tiebreaking steps, head-to-head (1-1-0) and best divisional record (3-3-0).
Michigan won the tiebreaker over Arizona for the 3rd seed based on winning the head to head game.
Pittsburgh finished ahead of Washington based on a head-to-head tiebreaker advantage (2-0-0).
Playoffs
Home team in CAPITALS
Divisional Playoffs June 30 – July 1
- PHILADELPHIA 28, New Jersey 7
- LOS ANGELES 27, Michigan 21 (3 OT)
- BIRMINGHAM 36, Tampa Bay 17
- Arizona 17, HOUSTON 16
Conference Championships July 7–8
- ARIZONA 35, Los Angeles 23
- PHILADELPHIA 20, Birmingham 10
USFL Championship Game July 15 (at Tampa, Florida)
- PHILADELPHIA 23, Arizona 3
Statistics
1984 regular season stat leaders
| 1984 Passing Leaders (over 100 pass attempts & 55+ QB rating) | ||||||||||
| Name, Team | Att | Comp | % | yards | YDs/Att | TD | TD % | INT | INT % | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Fusina, PHIL | 465 | 302 | 64.9 | 3837 | 8.25 | 31 | 6.7 | 9 | 1.9 | 104.7 |
| Fred Mortensen, DENV | 100 | 64 | 64.0 | 994 | 9.94 | 4 | 4.0 | 2 | 2.0 | 101.8 |
| Cliff Stoudt, BIRM | 366 | 212 | 57.9 | 3121 | 8.53 | 26 | 7.1 | 7 | 1.9 | 101.6 |
| Jim Kelly, HOU | 587 | 370 | 63.0 | 5219 | 8.89 | 44 | 7.5 | 26 | 4.4 | 98.2 |
| Mike Kelley, MEM | 120 | 82 | 68.3 | 1014 | 8.45 | 8 | 6.7 | 6 | 5.0 | 95.6 |
| Greg Landry, AZ | 449 | 283 | 63.0 | 3534 | 7.87 | 26 | 5.8 | 15 | 3.3 | 92.8 |
| John Reaves, TB | 544 | 313 | 57.5 | 4092 | 7.52 | 28 | 5.1 | 16 | 2.9 | 86.3 |
| Brian Sipe, NJ | 324 | 192 | 59.3 | 2540 | 7.84 | 17 | 5.2 | 15 | 4.6 | 82.3 |
| Walter Lewis, MEM | 276 | 161 | 58.3 | 1862 | 6.75 | 15 | 5.4 | 10 | 3.6 | 81.8 |
| Steve Young, LA | 310 | 179 | 57.7 | 2361 | 7.62 | 10 | 3.2 | 9 | 2.9 | 80.6 |
| Craig Penrose, DENV | 262 | 158 | 60.3 | 1984 | 7.57 | 12 | 4.6 | 14 | 5.3 | 76.9 |
| Bobby Hebert, MICH | 500 | 272 | 54.4 | 3758 | 7.52 | 24 | 4.8 | 22 | 4.4 | 76.4 |
| Fred Besana, OAK | 446 | 257 | 57.6 | 2792 | 6.26 | 14 | 3.1 | 12 | 2.7 | 75.4 |
| Robbie Mahfouz, JACK | 309 | 180 | 58.3 | 2174 | 7.04 | 11 | 3.6 | 13 | 4.2 | 74.3 |
| Mike Hohensee, WASH | 401 | 231 | 57.6 | 2766 | 6.90 | 17 | 4.2 | 20 | 5.0 | 72.2 |
| Johnnie Walton, NO | 512 | 280 | 54.7 | 3554 | 6.94 | 17 | 3.3 | 19 | 3.7 | 72.2 |
| Rick Neuheisel, SA | 383 | 211 | 55.1 | 2542 | 6.64 | 14 | 3.7 | 15 | 3.9 | 71.5 |
| Matt Robinson, JACK | 235 | 125 | 53.2 | 1687 | 7.18 | 7 | 3.0 | 12 | 5.1 | 65.0 |
| Glenn Carano, PITT | 354 | 190 | 53.7 | 2368 | 6.69 | 13 | 3.7 | 19 | 5.4 | 64.6 |
| Alan Risher, AZ | 103 | 63 | 61.2 | 722 | 7.01 | 3 | 2.9 | 7 | 6.8 | 63.7 |
| Ron Reeve, DENV | 140 | 72 | 51.4 | 843 | 6.02 | 2 | 1.4 | 4 | 2.9 | 62.9 |
| Tom Rozantz, PITT | 130 | 63 | 48.5 | 878 | 6.75 | 4 | 3.1 | 6 | 4.6 | 61.6 |
| Doug Williams, OKL | 528 | 261 | 49.4 | 3084 | 5.84 | 15 | 2.8 | 21 | 4.0 | 60.5 |
| Vince Evans, CHIC | 411 | 200 | 48.7 | 2624 | 6.38 | 14 | 3.4 | 22 | 5.4 | 58.3 |
| 1984 Rushing leaders | ||||
| Name, Team | Att | Yds | Ave. | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Cribbs, BIRM | 297 | 1467 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Kelvin Bryant, PHIL | 297 | 1406 | 4.7 | 13 |
| Herschel Walker, NJ | 293 | 1339 | 4.6 | 16 |
| Buford Jordan, NO | 214 | 1276 | 6.0 | 8 |
| Tim Spencer, AZ | 227 | 1212 | 5.3 | 17 |
| Curtis Bledsoe, WASH | 246 | 1080 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Maurice Carthon, NJ | 238 | 1042 | 4.4 | 11 |
| Kevin Long, AZ | 225 | 1010 | 4.5 | 15 |
| Greg Boone, TB | 193 | 1009 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Gary Anderson, TB | 267 | 1008 | 3.8 | 19 |
| Todd Fowler, HOU | 170 | 1003 | 5.9 | 11 |
| John Williams, MICH | 197 | 984 | 5.0 | 8 |
| Harry Sydney, DENV | 230 | 961 | 4.2 | 10 |
| Larry Canada, CHIC | 169 | 915 | 5.4 | 7 |
| Kevin Nelson, LA | 216 | 828 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Mike Rozier, PITT | 223 | 792 | 3.6 | 3 |
| Leon Perry, BIRM | 189 | 774 | 4.1 | 13 |
| Eric Jordan, OAK | 135 | 744 | 5.5 | 6 |
| Alan Reid, MEM | 191 | 723 | 3.8 | 3 |
| Sam Harrell, HOU | 120 | 697 | 5.8 | 14 |
| Marcus Dupree, NO | 145 | 684 | 4.7 | 9 |
| Mel Gray, LA | 133 | 625 | 4.7 | 3 |
| Tom Newton, OAK | 146 | 571 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Walter Lewis, MEM | 60 | 552 | 9.2 | 5 |
| Ken Lacy, MICH | 134 | 548 | 4.1 | 2 |
| Steve Young, LA | 79 | 515 | 6.5 | 7 |
| Scott Stamper, SA | 123 | 500 | 4.1 | 3 |
| 1984 Receiving Leaders | ||||
| Name, Team | Rec | Yds | Ave. | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Johnson, HOU | 115 | 1455 | 12.7 | 15 |
| Ricky Sanders, HOU | 101 | 1378 | 13.6 | 11 |
| Joey Walters, WASH | 98 | 1410 | 14.4 | 13 |
| Trumaine Johnson, AZ | 90 | 1268 | 14.1 | 13 |
| Jim Smith, BIRM | 89 | 1481 | 16.6 | 8 |
| Eric Truvillion, TB | 70 | 1044 | 14.9 | 9 |
| Marvin Harvey, TB | 70 | 938 | 13.4 | 9 |
| Gary Anderson, TB | 66 | 682 | 10.3 | 2 |
| Dan Ross, NO | 65 | 833 | 12.8 | 2 |
| Gordon Banks, OAK | 64 | 937 | 14.6 | 5 |
| Greg Anderson, PITT | 63 | 994 | 15.8 | 6 |
| Derek Holloway, MICH | 62 | 1219 | 19.7 | 9 |
| Derrick Crawford, MEM | 61 | 703 | 11.5 | 12 |
| JoJo Townsell, LA | 58 | 889 | 15.3 | 7 |
| Gary Shirk, MEM | 57 | 604 | 10.6 | 2 |
| Willie Collier, PHIL | 56 | 757 | 13.5 | 7 |
| Frank Lockett, NO | 56 | 1199 | 21.4 | 8 |
| Gary Clark, JACK | 56 | 760 | 13.6 | 2 |
| Scott Fitzkee, PHIL | 55 | 895 | 16.3 | 9 |
| Mike Cobb, MICH | 54 | 573 | 10.6 | 5 |
| Billy Taylor, WASH | 51 | 387 | 7.6 | 1 |
| Jackie Flowers, CHIC/PITT | 51 | 904 | 17.7 | 8 |
| Ron Wheeler, OKL | 51 | 651 | 12.8 | 2 |
| Willie Gillespie, TB | 50 | 803 | 16.1 | 5 |
| Alphonso Williams, OKL | 50 | 1087 | 21.7 | 7 |
| Marcus Anderson, CHIC | 50 | 940 | 18.8 | 5 |
| Kelvin Bryant, PHIL | 48 | 453 | 9.4 | 1 |
| Paul Bergmann, JACK | 48 | 647 | 13.5 | 3 |
| Larry Canada, CHIC | 48 | 358 | 7.5 | 2 |
| Lenny Willis, AZ | 48 | 814 | 17.0 | 7 |
| Steve Folsom, PHIL | 46 | 485 | 10.5 | 6 |
| Tim Spencer, AZ | 46 | 589 | 12.8 | 2 |
| Jerry Gordon, SA | 45 | 648 | 14.4 | 4 |
| Buford Jordan, NO | 45 | 427 | 9.5 | 4 |
| Perry Kemp, JACK | 44 | 730 | 16.6 | 2 |
1984 USFL regular season sortable offensive team statistics
| Team | Pts. | Ave. | Rank | Total Yards |
Ave. | Rank | Rush. Yards |
Ave. | Rank | Pass. Yards |
Ave. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 618 | 34.3 | 1 | 7684 | 427 | 1 | 2373 | 132 | 7 | 5311 | 295 | 1 |
| Birmingham | 539 | 29.9 | 2 | 6714 | 373 | 2 | 3313 | 184 | 1 | 3401 | 189 | 9 |
| Arizona | 502 | 27.9 | 3 | 6709 | 373 | 3 | 2719 | 151 | 4 | 3990 | 222 | 3 |
| Tampa Bay | 498 | 27.7 | 4 | 6634 | 369 | 4 | 2341 | 130 | 8 | 4293 | 239 | 2 |
| Philadelphia | 479 | 26.6 | 5 | 6426 | 357 | 5 | 2820 | 157 | 3 | 3606 | 200 | 8 |
| New Jersey | 430 | 23.9 | 6 | 5553 | 309 | 9 | 2848 | 158 | 2 | 2705 | 150 | 16 |
| Michigan | 400 | 22.2 | 7 | 6030 | 335 | 7 | 2194 | 122 | 11 | 3836 | 213 | 4 |
| Denver | 356 | 19.8 | 8 | 5325 | 296 | 12 | 2056 | 114 | 14 | 3269 | 182 | 11 |
| New Orleans | 349 | 19.4 | 9 | 6400 | 356 | 6 | 2589 | 144 | 5 | 3811 | 212 | 5 |
| Chicago | 340 | 18.9 | 10 | 5361 | 298 | 11 | 2230 | 124 | 9 | 3131 | 174 | 13 |
| Los Angeles | 338 | 18.8 | 11 | 5671 | 315 | 8 | 2464 | 137 | 6 | 3207 | 178 | 12 |
| Jacksonville | 327 | 18.2 | 12 | 5390 | 299 | 10 | 1731 | 96 | 17 | 3659 | 203 | 6 |
| Memphis | 320 | 17.8 | 13 | 4895 | 272 | 16 | 2163 | 120 | 12 | 2732 | 152 | 15 |
| San Antonio | 309 | 17.2 | 14 | 4808 | 267 | 17 | 2205 | 123 | 10 | 2603 | 145 | 17 |
| Washington | 270 | 15.0 | 15 | 5324 | 296 | 13 | 2002 | 111 | 16 | 3322 | 185 | 10 |
| Pittsburgh | 259 | 14.4 | 16 | 4909 | 273 | 15 | 2011 | 112 | 15 | 2898 | 161 | 14 |
| Oklahoma | 251 | 13.9 | 17 | 5152 | 286 | 14 | 1537 | 85 | 18 | 3615 | 201 | 7 |
| Oakland | 242 | 13.4 | 18 | 4592 | 255 | 18 | 2150 | 119 | 13 | 2442 | 136 | 18 |
1984 USFL regular season sortable defensive team statistics
| Team | Pts. | Ave. | Rank | Total Yards |
Ave. | Rank | Rush. Yards |
Ave. | Rank | Pass. Yards |
Ave. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 225 | 12.5 | 1 | 4863 | 270 | 2 | 1859 | 103 | 1 | 3004 | 167 | 2 |
| Arizona | 284 | 15.8 | 2 | 4517 | 251 | 1 | 2061 | 115 | 6 | 2456 | 136 | 1 |
| New Jersey | 312 | 17.3 | 3 | 5341 | 297 | 4 | 1992 | 111 | 4 | 3349 | 186 | 8 |
| Birmingham | 316 | 17.6 | 4 | 5541 | 308 | 6 | 1869 | 104 | 2 | 3672 | 204 | 14 |
| San Antonio | 325 | 18.1 | 5 | 5752 | 320 | 11 | 1910 | 106 | 3 | 3842 | 213 | 17 |
| Tampa Bay | 347 | 19.3 | 6 | 5583 | 310 | 8 | 2009 | 112 | 5 | 3574 | 199 | 10 |
| Oakland | 348 | 19.3 | 7 | 5911 | 328 | 13 | 2590 | 144 | 13 | 3321 | 185 | 7 |
| Pittsburgh | 373 | 20.7 | 8 | 5742 | 319 | 10 | 2633 | 146 | 15 | 3109 | 173 | 4 |
| Los Angeles | 379 | 21.1 | 9 | 5508 | 306 | 5 | 2207 | 123 | 8 | 3301 | 183 | 6 |
| Michigan | 382 | 21.2 | 10 | 5299 | 294 | 3 | 2268 | 126 | 9 | 3031 | 168 | 3 |
| New Orleans | 395 | 21.9 | 11 | 5573 | 310 | 7 | 2277 | 127 | 10 | 3296 | 183 | 5 |
| Houston | 400 | 22.2 | 12 | 5793 | 322 | 12 | 2136 | 119 | 7 | 3657 | 203 | 13 |
| Denver | 413 | 22.9 | 13 | 6196 | 344 | 15 | 2617 | 145 | 14 | 3579 | 199 | 11 |
| Jacksonville | 455 | 25.3 | 14 | 6328 | 352 | 16 | 2721 | 151 | 16 | 3607 | 200 | 12 |
| Memphis | 455 | 25.3 | 15 | 6116 | 340 | 14 | 2289 | 127 | 11 | 3827 | 213 | 15 |
| Oklahoma | 459 | 25.5 | 16 | 5704 | 317 | 9 | 2296 | 128 | 12 | 3408 | 189 | 9 |
| Chicago | 466 | 25.9 | 17 | 6877 | 382 | 17 | 3037 | 169 | 18 | 3840 | 213 | 16 |
| Washington | 492 | 27.3 | 18 | 6933 | 385 | 18 | 2975 | 165 | 17 | 3958 | 220 | 18 |
Awards
See also
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