1983 Philadelphia Stars season explained

Team:Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars
Year:1983
Previous:None
No Prevseason:None
Record:15–3
Division Place:1st Atlantic Division
Coach:Jim Mora
General Manager:Carl Peterson
Owner:Myles Tanenbaum
Stadium:Veterans Stadium
Playoffs:Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Blitz) 44-38 (OT)
Lost USFL Championship (vs. Panthers) 22-24
Uniform:Philly Stars Uniform.png

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, 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

[9]

Roster

[10]

USFL Draft

See main article: article and 1983 USFL Draft.

RoundPickPlayerPositionSchool
17Irv EatmanOffensive TackleUCLA
217Bart OatesCenterBYU
332Greg HillDefensive BackOklahoma State
441Antonio GibsonDefensive BackCincinnati
556Allen HarvinRunning BackCincinnati
665Tony CaldwellLinebackerWashington
780Jimmy TurnerDefensive BackUCLA
889Richard DentDefensive EndTennessee State
893Rich KraynakLinebackerPittsburgh
9104James CaverWide ReceiverMissouri
10113Don DowOffensive TackleWashington
11128Gary WorthyRunning Back
12137Allama MatthewsTight EndVanderbilt
13152John WalkerDefensiveTackleNebraska-Omaha
14161Sean LandetaPunterTowson

Schedule

WeekDayDateTVOpponentResultsLocationAttendance
ScoreRecord
1SundayMarch 6ABCat Denver Gold13-71–0Mile High Stadium45,102
2SundayMarch 13ABCNew Jersey Generals25-02–0Veterans Stadium38,205
3MondayMarch 21ESPNat Birmingham Stallions17-103–0Legion Field12,850
4SundayMarch 27ABCTampa Bay Bandits22-273-1Veterans Stadium18,718
5SundayApril 3ABCWashington Federals34-34-1Veterans Stadium14,576
6SundayApril 10at Los Angeles Express17-35-1Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum18,671
7SaturdayApril 16ESPNat Oakland Invaders17-76-1Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum34,901
8SundayApril 24ABCBoston Breakers23-167-1Veterans Stadium10,257
9SaturdayApril 30ESPNat Tampa Bay Bandits24-108-1Tampa Stadium41,559
10SundayMay 8ABCDenver Gold6-39-1Veterans Stadium14,306
11SundayMay 15ABCChicago Blitz31-2410-1Veterans Stadium25,251
12SundayMay 22at Arizona Wranglers24-711-1Sun Devil Stadium18,151
13SundayMay 29ABCat Boston Breakers17-2111-2Nickerson Field15,668
14SundayJune 5ABCMichigan Panthers29-2012-2Veterans Stadium19,727
15SundayJune 12at New Jersey Generals23-913-2Giants Stadium32,521
16MondayJune 20ESPNOakland Invaders12-614-2Veterans Stadium16,933
17SundayJune 26Birmingham Stallions31-1015-2Veterans Stadium17,973
18SundayJuly 3at Washington Federals14-2115-3RFK Stadium11,039

Playoff Schedule

RoundDateOpponentResultRecordLocation
Divisional PlayoffsJuly 9Chicago BlitzW 44-38 (OT)1–0Veterans Stadium
USFL ChampionshipJuly 17Michigan PanthersL 22-241-1Mile High Stadium

[11] [12] [13]

Rewards

Award Winner Position
All-USFL Team OT
All-USFL Team RB
All-USFL Team LB
All-USFL Team S
AP USFL Most Valuable Player RB
Leading Scorer Award K
USFL Executive of the Year (TSN) GM

Final Statistics

Offense

Stars Passing
C/ATTYdsTDINT
Chuck Fusina238/42127181510
Jim Krohn19/3624910
Steve Pisarkiewicz6/156900
Allen Harvin1/34400
Stars Rushing
CarYdsTDLG
Kelvin Bryant31814421645
Allen Harvin139681749
Chuck Fusina63291318
Booker Russell46225023
David Riley31139019
Anthony Anderson941012
Jeff Rodenberger1240110
Jim Krohn62012
Steve Pisarkiewicz1000
Chuck Commiskey1–30–3
Sean Landeta1–50–5
Stars Receiving
RecYdsTDLG
Scott Fitzkee55731344
Kelvin Bryant53410150
Willie Collier41771452
Steve Folsom26286145
Booker Russell17163239
Tom Donovan15219321
Rodney Parker13203029
Allen Harvin13144123
Dave Riley1061015
Ken Dunek874023
Al Kimichik1707
Jeff Rodenberger1707
Anthony Anderson1404

Defense

Stars Sacks
Sacks
Don Fielder8.5
Willie Rosborough5.0
Sam Mills3.5
John Bunting2.5
Scott Woerner2.0
Dave Opfar2.0
Brad Anae2.0
Jon Brooks2.0
Buddy Moor1.5
Frank Case1.5
Glenn Howard1.0
Antonio Gibson1.0
George Cooper0.5
Jon Sutton0.5
Jeff Gabrielson0.5
Stars Interceptions
IntYdsTDLGPD
Scott Woerner850022
Mike Lush652033
Jon Sutton453031
Sam Mills313010
Antonio Gibson3000
Jon Brooks215015
Roger Jackson2909
Glenn Howard2000
Vince DeMarinis116016
Willie Rosborough111011
John Bunting1000
Stars Fumbles
FFFmbFRYdsTD
Chuck Fusina15700
Jim Krohn7300
Kelvin Bryant4200
Dave Riley3100
Scott Woerner36160
Allen Harvin2100
Steve Pisarkiewicz2100
Sean Landeta1100
Steve Folsom1000
Rodney Parker1000
Cleo Montgomery1000
Booker Russell1100
Jon Sutton1400

Special Teams

Stars Kick Returns
RetYdsTDLng
Allen Harvin31723067
Booker Russell563022
Jeff Rodenberger342016
Dave Riley236019
Mark McCants117017
Ken Dunek1707
Jon Sutton1000
[9]

Standings

Atlantic Division
TeamWLTPCTPFPAStadium1983 CapacityAvg. Att.Avg. % filledCoach
y-Philadelphia Stars1530.833379204Veterans Stadium72,20418,65026%Jim Mora
Boston Breakers1170.611399334Nickerson Field21,00012,81761%Dick Coury
New Jersey Generals6120.333314437Giants Stadium76,89135,00446%Chuck Fairbanks
Washington Federals4140.222297422RFK Stadium54,79413,85025%Ray Jauch

Notes and References

  1. Web site: USFL History - USFL (United States Football League).
  2. Web site: PHI - United States Football League - Revisited . 2017-05-08 . 2015-04-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150410034457/http://usflrevisited.webs.com/phi.htm . dead .
  3. Web site: Standings/Awards - United States Football League - Revisited . 2017-05-08 . 2015-04-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150428121411/http://usflrevisited.webs.com/standingsawards.htm . dead .
  4. News: Blitz has big fall off 21-point perch . Chicago Tribune . Jauss . Bill . July 10, 1983 . 1, sec. 3.
  5. News: Blitz sees Stars in comeback . Reading Eagle . (Pennsylvania). Zonca . Tony . July 10, 1983 . 73.
  6. News: Michigan has magic touch in USFL title game . Chicago Tribune. Jauss . Bill. July 18, 1983 . 1, sec. 4.
  7. News: A final rally for title not in Stars . Reading Eagle . (Pennsylvania) . Knight-Ridder . Domowitch . Paul . July 18, 1983 . 17.
  8. News: Panthers tops stars for crown . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . Associated Press . Lowitt . Bruce . July 18, 1983. 13.
  9. Web site: 1983 Philadelphia Stars (USFL) Scores, Roster, Stats, Coaches, Draft .
  10. Web site: 1983 Philadelphia Stars football Roster on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  11. Web site: 1983 Philadelphia Stars football Game-by-Game Results on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  12. Web site: 1983 USFL Season - USFL (United States Football League). www.usflsite.com.
  13. Web site: 1983 Philadelphia Stars (USFL) Scores, Roster, Stats, Coaches, Draft. www.profootballarchives.com.