Thirty-three years ago today, Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and San Francisco 49ers signal caller Steve Young put on an epic show for 64,503 fans at Candlestick Park – and millions more on television.
In leading Buffalo to a 34-31 victory, Kelly hit 22 of 33 passes for 403 yards and three touchdowns.
Young, on the other hand, connected on 26 of 37 aerials for a career-high 449 yards and three scores.
They were hall of fame-worthy performances by two future Pro Football Hall of Famers.
“I guarantee you,” Kelly told the Reno Gazette-Journal, “no Super Bowl will be this entertaining.”
Added Young, “I don’t know what to say … honestly, I don’t.”
The teams combined for 1,086 yards, with 820 racked up via the passing game. There were no punts, a first in a regular season National Football League contest.
By 1992, both men had already established themselves as superstars on football’s biggest stage. Once they were done, they were regarded as two of the greatest to ever play the game.
Kelly spent 11 seasons in the NFL, throwing for 237 touchdowns and 35,467 yards and making four Pro Bowls.
Young had a 15-year career in football’s apex league, ending with 232 TD passes, 43 rushing scores, 33,124 yards through the air and six passing crowns. He was also a three-time Super Bowl champion.
Yet, while they’ll always be known as NFL legends, they first made their bones in the United States Football League. And on February 24, 1985, they went head-to-head in what has come to be known as “The Greatest Game No One Saw.”
It was the dawn of the third year of the USFL, and the renegade league was struggling. In August, 1984, owners voted to move to the fall and take on the NFL in what some fans saw as a suicide mission. With many ticket buyers seeing the handwriting on the wall, there was a palpable dip in enthusiasm for the product in 1985.
When Kelly and the Houston Gamblers came to California to take on Young and his Los Angeles Express in the season opener, only 18,826 people showed up at the Coliseum. And ABC – the primary TV partner of the spring league – had decided it would televise only one national game each Sunday. On this day, the network chose to showcase the Birmingham Stallions hosting the New Jersey Generals, with Doug Flutie debuting as the Generals’ quarterback.
But those who bought tickets to the game in the Coliseum witnessed history – and one of the wildest gridiron games ever played.
Houston won, 34-33, which suggests a nip-and-tuck affair.
What the final tally doesn’t tell you, though, is that the Gamblers rallied from a 33-13 fourth quarter deficit to steal the victory.
When the smoke cleared, Kelly had connected on 35 of 54 passes for five touchdowns and an all-time American pro football record of 574 yards.
His yardage total eclipsed Los Angeles Rams QB Norm Van Brocklin’s previous best of 554 yards set in 1951. (Canadian Football League quarterback Sam Etchenverry of Montreal had the overall pro passing record with 586 yards in a 1954 game).
Young managed 255 yards and a TD against two interceptions, and he was quite impressed with his counterpart.
“He’s a great quarterback,” Young said to the San Bernardino County Sun. “That’s a great offense … it’d be a fun offense to play for. I can really relate to that offense. They have guys running all over the place, and he just drops back and throws it. It reminded me of our offense at BYU (Young’s college team).”
Kelly’s performance helped him bolster his reputation as one of the best young field generals in the sport; he was both the USFL Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year in 1984.
Kelly was one of five quarterbacks taken ahead of Dan Marino in the 1983 NFL Draft, and the man who chose the USFL said he had no problem comparing numbers with the Miami Dolphins’ starter.
“I’ll bet you can call him up tomorrow and (Marino) will know my stats,” Kelly told the Sun. “Sure, build it up as much as possible. I’m not out for the glory, but if it comes to me, fine.
“I can’t say that I’m better. If he says he’s better, that’s fine. He’s proved how good he is. All I can say is I know how good I am.”
Kelly added that he had no regrets about joining the alternative league.
“Zero,” he said. “My goal was the NFL, but I got paid enough money to take care of my family. I’m just happy playing football. I love Houston, and that’s better than 40 degrees in Buffalo.”
As you probably know, the 1985 campaign was the last for the USFL. It’s demise paved the way for Kelly and Young to begin their sterling NFL careers.
Kelly joined Buffalo in 1985, and seemed to adjust to the cold just fine since he spent his entire time as an NFL employee there.
Young was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1985 and 1986 before signing with the 49ers in 1987.
And while their exploits playing for “The Shield” ultimately got them to Canton, their USFL clash forty years ago showed just how great they could be.
Too bad less than 19,000 people were there to see it.
