All hail the action point

Quick … what happened on June 12, 1974?

A lot of things, I imagine.

The world population was 4,016,608,813 at the time, so a bunch of people were bound to be up to something.

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But as far as I’m concerned it’s one of the most important days in sports rulebook history, because this was the day the 7-point touchdown and action point were introduced.

Yep, World Football League commissioner Gary Davidson announced that his new league would be too cool for old school when it kicked off in July.

Touchdowns had an extra point, and that extra point was already included.

And the extra point kick was kicked to the curb, replaced by an “action point” conversion that would be executed via run or pass from the two and half yard line,“

There has been no suspense in football with the traditional point after touchdown being successful 99 percent of the time,” Davidson told the Associated Press. “Our new action point will provide a new and exciting element to the game.”

Not everyone was on board with it, though, including Southern California Sun coach Tom Fears.

“I don’t like it,” Fears told the Los Angeles Times. “Too much rides on that one play. You can go the length of the field to score in a close game and then, because they stop you on a two-and-a-half-yard play, you can lose a championship.

“The only reason we’ve got it is because the owners want to make the crowd happy.”

Speaking as a member of “the crowd” it certainly made me happy, which is rather important when you’re trying to get fans interested in a new product.

Over the last 47 years, various football leagues have come and gone, many with creative gimmicks. Yet none resonated with me like the kickless conversion after a 7-point TD.

The reasoning behind the scoring change for touchdowns was that the league rules committee decided a major score should exceed the total of two field goals. And I agreed with this. Not sure why, but I did and still do.

And the action point was a great change.

Despite the fact I was the placekicker for the L.M. Smith School 110-pound football team, PATs didn’t thrill me. Maybe it was because we never kicked them – we always just went for two. But beyond that, they really were mostly automatic at the college and pro level, and had an excitement level of zero.

In the WFL, a conversions would be anything but a sure thing. It was a solo point that took some work.

Over the next several days the WFL rolled out a bunch of great rules, such as no fair catches on punts, kickoffs from the 30, and a back allowed in motion before the snap.

But when I went to Legion Field on opening night (July 10), I was all about the 7-point TD and action point.

And I got to see them.

The Birmingham Americans defeated Southern California, 11-7, converting their lone action point of the night.

Jump to the end of the season and Birmingham’s 22-21 World Bowl victory over the Florida Blazers on December 5. The teams were a combined one-for-six on action points with an option sweep by quarterback Matthew Reed following the Ams’ second TD providing the margin of victory.

As a card-carrying goob (the card is in my wallet somewhere), I relish upending sports status quos. And while there was nothing overly outrageous about these changes, they were dramatic and damn near perfect.

The one scoring change I’d like to see more than any is the defense being awarded a point for a fumble recovery or interception. If that happened, it would be my favorite rule tweak in gridiron history.

Until then, the 7-point TD and action point hold the honor.

Long may they live – at least in my memories.

USFL, then and now

If I took a drink every time I scrolled through Twitter and saw the phrase “The USFL is back,” I’d have blacked out a long time ago.

Now that the man who brought you the Fall Experimental Football League and The Spring League (Brian Woods) has joined forces with FOX Sports to revive the United States Football League brand, fans have been all agog to hear every detail.

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl and Instagram @scottscribe60

“I’m extremely passionate about football and the opportunity to work with FOX Sports and to bring back the USFL in 2022 was an endeavor worth pursuing,” Woods said in a news release. “We look forward to providing players a new opportunity to compete in a professional football league and giving fans everywhere the best football viewing product possible during what is typically a period devoid of professional football.”

Will the Birmingham Stallions and Memphis Showboats resume their rivalry?

Will Tampa Bay embrace Banditball again?

Will the Boston/Portland/New Orleans Breakers find a new city/town/municipality?

Will the Washington Federals still be awful more than three and a half decades later?

Perhaps we’ll find out since the USFL is slated to take the field in the spring of 2022. But I’m going to be a nattering nabob of negativism here when I say I don’t believe the USFL is “back.”

“A” USFL might very well come to a stadium or living room near you in eight or nine months, but it would have to do some extremely heavy lifting for me to consider it a continuation of “The” USFL – that late, great league from 1983-85.

As a devoted fan of the Stallions, I got to cheer for guys like Joe Cribbs and Jim Smith, and Cliff Stoudt became one of my all-time favorite quarterbacks. I also had the chance to boo future Hall of Famers such as Jim Kelly and Reggie White (although I never did because I’m classy and refuse to boo greatness).

And when I’d watch the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars play, I knew I was looking at a team that could take a punch against National Football League competition if it ever stepped into the ring.

Point being, the old USFL was major league football. No, it wasn’t on par with the NFL, but it wasn’t that far off – and it was certainly the best competitor to come along since the American Football League. The new USFL doesn’t strike me as that kind of organization.

But I’m going to give the 2022 version an opportunity to prove me wrong, and will cheerfully admit I underestimated it if it does.

And what, exactly, must it do to make me a believer?

Thanks for asking (and thanks in advance for not taking this too seriously).

In 1983 the USFL had 12 franchises, expanded to 18 in 1984 and contracted to 14 in 1985. After the moronic decision to move to a fall schedule in 1986 (which was never played) , it was down to eight clubs.

Since the USFL plans to reboot with eight teams, it seems logical to start with the most successful franchises (in terms of winning percentage) from 1983-85. That means the lineup will feature the Baltimore Stars, Birmingham Stallions, Tampa Bay Bandits, Michigan Panthers, Houston Gamblers, New Jersey Generals, Oakland Invaders and Memphis Showboats.

That provides a nice bridge from the past to the present.

As for coaches, you need a mixture of big names, former NFL bosses and a few assistants looking to move up.

The owner of the Bandits would do well to give Steve Spurrier the right of first refusal. If the Head Ball Coach would take the Orlando Apollos job in the Alliance of American Football, surely he’d return to his old team in the USFL. I realize Spurrier is 76 but he could still teach ’em to pitch it and catch it and so forth.

Birmingham should make a run at Kansas City assistant Eric Bieniemy. Rex Ryan would be a good fit in New Jersey (I don’t know why – he just would). And Jim Mora Jr. might be a cool hire in Baltimore, especially since his dad turned the Stars into the league’s most successful franchise.

Next, you need to sign the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner. Might be Spencer Rattler of Oklahoma, might be Sam Howell of North Carolina, might be Bobby Boucher of South Central Louisiana State – doesn’t matter. The original USFL inked contracts with three consecutive Heisman winners in Herschel Walker (1982), Mike Rozier (1983) and Doug Flutie (1984).

By bringing the reigning Heisman winner to training camp you’ll carry on a great USFL tradition and prove you’re serious about this thing. And if the Heisman Trophy winner isn’t draft eligible – say Clemson sophomore QB D.J. Uiagalelei wins it – draft him anyway just to mess with the NFL.

And of course to be major league you’ve got to open up the vault and pay for established major league talent. The USFL wasn’t shy about throwing money around – especially in the direction of quarterbacks – so go big and go bold.

Despite a four-year, $134 million contract, Aaron Rodgers isn’t happy in Green Bay. So Birmingham would turn some heads by signing him to a four-year, $150 million contract, and make him (and me) very happy. Yes, the club and league could be more responsible with their spending, but where’s the fun in that?

And finally, don’t ever even consider moving to a fall schedule. That’s a thread from the past you really don’t want to pull. And thus you now have a solid template on how the United States Football League can truly make a comeback. I remain highly skeptical and believe it’ll be a made-for-TV developmental-type league, but vow to publicly apologize if Woods and FOX can make the USFL a big budget, big talent showcase once again. Meantime, I look forward to hearing about upcoming negotiations between the Stallions and Rodgers. He’d look dang good in red and gold.

Right idea, wrong time

Nine years before the United States Football League brought pro tackle football to the spring – and 17 years before the NFL unveiled the World League of American Football – Bill Caruso had a terrific idea.

It was ahead of its time, although the timing, as it turned out, was all wrong.

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl and Instagram @scottscribe60

With minor league football teams scattered across the country and receiving little if any publicity competing against the NFL and NCAA in the fall, Caruso in 1974 proposed the All-American Football League. It would consolidate all the top minor league teams and – more importantly – the schedules would shift to the spring.

Caruso was a plumbing executive who had worked with the Atlantic Coast Football League in 1970, the last year NFL teams had working relationships with minor league clubs.

That arrangement created conflict since only 12 NFL teams had access to second tier circuits, so the big league’s competition committee dissolved the limited farm system.

But Caruso’s confederation would solve that problem because there would be plenty of minor league squads to go around.

An organizational meeting with 34 team owners was held in New Jersey on October 27. Representatives from the Seaboard Coast, Mid-West, Pacific, Trans-American and Dixie leagues were there. The idea was to have three divisions – Atlantic, Midwest and Pacific – with each division split into North and South sections. The 10-game schedule would run from April 15 to July 1 and the circuit would have a draft at the end of the season to give major league teams the chance to get their pick of the litter.

There were only 26 NFL franchises in 1974 (the new World Football league started with 12 and was down to 10 by October), so the minor league player pool would be substantial. And, the feeder system was designed to be cost effective with a $75,000 operating budget for each team. “This is a new concept in minor league football,” Caruso told the San Francisco Examiner for an October 26, 1974 story. “We are attempting to bring all existing minor league operations in the country under one umbrella. They will play in the spring to develop players for the majors.”

The All-American League would be open to players age 25 and younger, so the teams would provide players who didn’t make pro rosters right out of college a chance to hone their skills.

“It’s ridiculous trying to compete against the National Football League with minor league teams,” Caruso said. “What we hope to do now is work hand-in-hand with the NFL to develop major league players. Our goal is to get a financial subsidy from the NFL.”

How much?

“The minor leagues as they operate today are strictly a loss operation,” Caruso told United Press International. “They play at the same time as the major leagues and are totally disorganized. My idea is to bring all the minor league teams together, go to a spring schedule and get the pro leagues to give us two coaches for each team and $25,000 from every big league club to develop talent for them.”

Considering the profit machine that the NFL is today, $25,000 is couch money. But that wasn’t so in 1974.

In fact, the New York Times reported that eight NFL teams lost money that year, and although its teams averaged an after‐tax operating profit of $256,000, that was down by 45 per cent from the average profit of $472,500 in 1973.

Plus, there was a player strike over the summer, resulting in the cancellation of the annual College All-Star Game. Exhibition games were played with all-rookie rosters.

Throw in the fact there had been a bidding war with the WFL, and there was little appetite for the NFL to spend money on anything other than itself. By February, 1975, the league was still being touted, only this time under the direction of Bill Flowers, an executive with the Orange County Rhinos. Of course, nothing came of it. Forty-seven years later the All-American Football League remains a good idea, but one that still hasn’t come to fruition.