1983 Philadelphia Stars season

1983 Philadelphia Stars season
OwnerMyles Tanenbaum
General managerCarl Peterson
Head coachJim Mora
Home stadiumVeterans Stadium
Results
Record15–3
Division place1st Atlantic Division
PlayoffsWon Divisional Playoffs (vs. Blitz) 44-38 (OT)
Lost USFL Championship (vs. Panthers) 22-24

The 1983 season was the inaugural season for the Philadelphia Stars in the United States Football League. The Stars were led by head coach Jim Mora and finished with a 15–3 record en route to the USFL championship.

On May 11, 1982, the announcement of the USFL was officially made by league owner and antique dealer, David Dixon.[1] The league's Philadelphia team would be owned by real estate developer Myles H. Tanenbaum. He had originally wanted to name the team the Stallions in honor of Rocky Balboa, who was nicknamed "The Italian Stallion." However, when the Birmingham entry snapped up the Stallions name, Tanenbaum settled on "Stars." George Perles was originally named as the team's head coach in July 1982. Perles, previously an assistant coach for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, never coached a game for the Stars, opting to take the head coach position for Michigan State instead. On January 15, 1983, the Stars hired Jim Mora to be their head coach.[2]

The Stars began in Philadelphia in the USFL's inaugural 1983 season and played their home games at Veterans Stadium (the "Vet"). They compiled the league's best regular season record of 15–3 (.833), and advanced to the 1983 USFL championship game. Their "Doghouse Defense" allowed only 204 points in an 18-game season—the least in the history of the league. The Stars were led by fourth-year quarterback Chuck Fusina (1978 Heisman Trophy runner-up), fifth-year wide receiver Scott Fitzkee, rookie halfback Kelvin Bryant of North Carolina, rookie offensive tackle Irv Eatman of UCLA, rookie linebacker Sam Mills, and second-year safety Scott Woerner. The team also featured Towson's all-star rookie punter Sean Landeta. At the conclusion of the regular season, Bryant was named the USFL's Player of the Year by the Associated Press.[3]

The Stars entered the playoffs as the top-seeded team. In the Semi-Finals, the Stars defeated the preseason favorites to win the 1983 title—George Allen's Chicago Blitz—by withstanding seven turnovers and erasing a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 44–38 in overtime.[4][5] In the league title game at Denver's Mile High Stadium on July 17, the Stars lost to Jim Stanley's Michigan Panthers, 24–22.[6] Just as they had against the Blitz, the Stars opened the game sluggishly, but finished with a flourish, after allowing the Panthers to carry a 17–3 lead into the fourth quarter.[7][8] Many observers of the time believed that the Stars, Panthers and Blitz were almost NFL-quality units.

One of the few blemishes on the Stars' first season was the box office. They only attracted 18,650 fans per game. In addition to bad weather, there were lingering memories of a gate-papering scandal involving the World Football League's Philadelphia Bell in 1974. The Bell had claimed that a total of over 120,000 fans had attended their first two games, but it subsequently emerged that all but 19,000 of the tickets had been given away for free or for significantly reduced prices.

Personnel

Staff

1983 Philadelphia Stars staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches


[9]

Roster

1983 Philadelphia Stars roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Practice squad
Rookies in italics

[10]

USFL draft

Main article: 1983 USFL draft
Round Pick Player Position School
1 7 Irv Eatman Offensive Tackle UCLA
2 17 Bart Oates Center BYU
3 32 Greg Hill Defensive Back Oklahoma State
4 41 Antonio Gibson Defensive Back Cincinnati
5 56 Allen Harvin Running Back Cincinnati
6 65 Tony Caldwell Linebacker Washington
7 80 Jimmy Turner Defensive Back UCLA
8 89 Richard Dent Defensive End Tennessee State
8 93 Rich Kraynak Linebacker Pittsburgh
9 104 James Caver Wide Receiver Missouri
10 113 Don Dow Offensive Tackle Washington
11 128 Gary Worthy Running Back Wilmington
12 137 Allama Matthews Tight End Vanderbilt
13 152 John Walker DefensiveTackle Nebraska-Omaha
14 161 Sean Landeta Punter Towson

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 March 6 at Denver Gold W 13–7 1–0 Mile High Stadium 45,102
2 March 13 New Jersey Generals W 25–0 2–0 Veterans Stadium 38,205
3 March 21 at Birmingham Stallions W 17–10 3–0 Legion Field 12,850
4 March 27 Tampa Bay Bandits L 22–27 3–1 Veterans Stadium 18,718
5 April 3 Washington Federals W 34–3 4–1 Veterans Stadium 14,576
6 April 10 at Los Angeles Express W 17–3 5–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 18,671
7 April 16 at Oakland Invaders W 17–7 6–1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 34,901
8 April 24 Boston Breakers W 23–16 7-1 Veterans Stadium 10,257
9 April 30 at Tampa Bay Bandits W 24–10 8–1 Tampa Stadium 41,559
10 May 8 Denver Gold W 6–3 9–1 Veterans Stadium 14,306
11 May 15 Chicago Blitz W 31–24 10–1 Veterans Stadium 25,251
12 May 22 at Arizona Wranglers W 24–7 11–1 Sun Devil Stadium 18,151
13 May 29 at Boston Breakers L 17–21 11–2 Nickerson Field 15,668
14 June 5 Michigan Panthers W 29–20 12–2 Veterans Stadium 19,727
15 June 12 at New Jersey Generals W 23–9 13–2 Giants Stadium 32,521
16 June 20 Oakland Invaders W 12–6 14–2 Veterans Stadium 16,933
17 June 26 Birmingham Stallions W 31–10 15–2 Veterans Stadium 17,973
18 July 3 at Washington Federals L 14–21 15–3 RFK Stadium 11,039

Playoff schedule

Round Date Opponent Result Record Location
Divisional Playoffs July 9 Chicago Blitz W 44–38 (OT) 1–0 Veterans Stadium
USFL Championship July 17 Michigan Panthers L 22–24 1–1 Mile High Stadium

[11][12][13]

Standings

USFL Atlantic Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Philadelphia Stars 15 3 0 .833 4–2 379 204 L1
Boston Breakers 11 7 0 .611 5–1 399 334 W1
New Jersey Generals 6 12 0 .333 2–4 314 437 L1
Washington Federals 4 14 0 .222 1–5 297 422 W2

Awards

Award Winner Position
All-USFL Team Irv Eatman OT
All-USFL Team Kelvin Bryant RB
All-USFL Team Sam Mills LB
All-USFL Team Scott Woerner S
AP USFL Most Valuable Player Kelvin Bryant RB
Leading Scorer Award David Trout K
USFL Executive of the Year (TSN) Carl Peterson GM

Final statistics

Offense

Stars Passing
C/ATT Yds TD INT
Chuck Fusina 238/421 2718 15 10
Jim Krohn 19/36 249 1 0
Steve Pisarkiewicz 6/15 69 0 0
Allen Harvin 1/3 44 0 0
Stars Rushing
Car Yds TD LG
Kelvin Bryant 318 1442 16 45
Allen Harvin 139 681 7 49
Chuck Fusina 63 291 3 18
Booker Russell 46 225 0 23
David Riley 31 139 0 19
Anthony Anderson 9 41 0 12
Jeff Rodenberger 12 40 1 10
Jim Krohn 6 2 0 12
Steve Pisarkiewicz 1 0 0 0
Chuck Commiskey 1 –3 0 –3
Sean Landeta 1 –5 0 –5
Stars Receiving
Rec Yds TD LG
Scott Fitzkee 55 731 3 44
Kelvin Bryant 53 410 1 50
Willie Collier 41 771 4 52
Steve Folsom 26 286 1 45
Booker Russell 17 163 2 39
Tom Donovan 15 219 3 21
Rodney Parker 13 203 0 29
Allen Harvin 13 144 1 23
Dave Riley 10 61 0 15
Ken Dunek 8 74 0 23
Al Kimichik 1 7 0 7
Jeff Rodenberger 1 7 0 7
Anthony Anderson 1 4 0 4

Defense

Stars Sacks
Sacks
Don Fielder 8.5
Willie Rosborough 5.0
Sam Mills 3.5
John Bunting 2.5
Scott Woerner 2.0
Dave Opfar 2.0
Brad Anae 2.0
Jon Brooks 2.0
Buddy Moor 1.5
Frank Case 1.5
Glenn Howard 1.0
Antonio Gibson 1.0
George Cooper 0.5
Jon Sutton 0.5
Jeff Gabrielson 0.5
Stars Interceptions
Int Yds TD LG PD
Scott Woerner 8 50 0 22
Mike Lush 6 52 0 33
Jon Sutton 4 53 0 31
Sam Mills 3 13 0 10
Antonio Gibson 3 0 0 0
Jon Brooks 2 15 0 15
Roger Jackson 2 9 0 9
Glenn Howard 2 0 0 0
Vince DeMarinis 1 16 0 16
Willie Rosborough 1 11 0 11
John Bunting 1 0 0 0
Stars Fumbles
FF Fmb FR Yds TD
Chuck Fusina 15 7 0 0
Jim Krohn 7 3 0 0
Kelvin Bryant 4 2 0 0
Dave Riley 3 1 0 0
Scott Woerner 3 6 16 0
Allen Harvin 2 1 0 0
Steve Pisarkiewicz 2 1 0 0
Sean Landeta 1 1 0 0
Steve Folsom 1 0 0 0
Rodney Parker 1 0 0 0
Cleo Montgomery 1 0 0 0
Booker Russell 1 1 0 0
Jon Sutton 1 4 0 0

Special teams

Stars Kicking
FGM–FGA XPM–XPA
David Trout 28-42 37-40
Stars Punting
Pnt Yds Lng Blck
Sean Landeta 86 3601 72 1
Stars Kick Returns
Ret Yds TD Lng
Allen Harvin 31 723 0 67
Booker Russell 5 63 0 22
Jeff Rodenberger 3 42 0 16
Dave Riley 2 36 0 19
Mark McCants 1 17 0 17
Ken Dunek 1 7 0 7
Jon Sutton 1 0 0 0
Stars Punt Returns
Ret Yds TD Lng
Scott Woerner 43 360 0 20

[9]

References

  1. ^ "USFL History - USFL (United States Football League)".
  2. ^ "PHI - United States Football League - Revisited". Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "Standings/Awards - United States Football League - Revisited". Archived from the original on April 28, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Jauss, Bill (July 10, 1983). "Blitz has big fall off 21-point perch". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
  5. ^ Zonca, Tony (July 10, 1983). "Blitz sees Stars in comeback". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. p. 73.
  6. ^ Jauss, Bill (July 18, 1983). "Michigan has magic touch in USFL title game". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 4.
  7. ^ Domowitch, Paul (July 18, 1983). "A final rally for title not in Stars". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Knight-Ridder. p. 17.
  8. ^ Lowitt, Bruce (July 18, 1983). "Panthers tops stars for crown". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. p. 13.
  9. ^ a b "1983 Philadelphia Stars (USFL) Scores, Roster, Stats, Coaches, Draft".
  10. ^ "1983 Philadelphia Stars football Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  11. ^ "1983 Philadelphia Stars football Game-by-Game Results on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  12. ^ "1983 USFL Season - USFL (United States Football League)". www.usflsite.com.
  13. ^ "1983 Philadelphia Stars (USFL) Scores, Roster, Stats, Coaches, Draft". www.profootballarchives.com.
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