Category: Alternative Football

In the long, storied tradition of sports debates, I’m guessing few people argue about the greatest semi-pro football dynasty of all-time. There have been countless no money/beer money leagues throughout the game’s history, and tracking them all is next to impossible.

But …

This year is the 40th anniversary of the American Football Association’s final season, and in doing research on it I uncovered some interesting info.

First, the Carolina Storm won the final two AFA championship games, finishing 12-0 in 1982 and 7-0 in 1983. Not only that, they were dominant, scoring a lot while allowing the opposition very little in the way of points.

But just as I was about to suggest we crown the Storm semi-pro GOAT, I learned about the California Football League’s San Jose Tigers.

And what did I learn?

The Tigers were 14-0 in league play in 1977 and 14-0 in 1978.

They were also a club that overwhelmed the competition, and I decided that maybe they were even better than the Storm.

But …

After running roughshod through their foes in 1977, the Tigers squared off with the Pierce County (Washington) Bengals of the Northwest International Football League in what amounted to a championship of teams in the Pacific Northwest. So, I looked for a score from that one and found that Pierce County knocked San Jose from the unbeaten ranks, 28-27, at San Jose’s Spartan Stadium in a showdown dubbed the Holiday Bowl.

The game account, courtesy of the Tacoma News Tribune, reads like the script from a sports movie – complete with an ending that might’ve inspired a pivotal scene in All The Right Moves.

The turnover-prone Bengals trailed 14-0 at halftime, battled back to take a 15-14 lead, but found themselves down, 27-15, with 3:06 left.

Former University of California backup quarterback Mark Cahill quickly led the Steve Harshman-coached team down the field on the ensuing drive, capping it off with a 15-yard TD pass to Al Ketter that cut the deficit to 27-22 with just 1:22 left.

An onside kick failed, so all the Tigers had to do was run out the clock to wrap up a perfect season. However, a shaky exchange between San Jose QB Sonny Brasil and fullback Mike Bonds became a fumble following a hit by cornerback Mike Nelson, and the ball was picked up and returned for a 66-yard touchdown by safety Larry Smith with 26 seconds remaining.

“That was too lucky to believe,” Smith told the San Francisco Examiner after the game. “I was really surprised they didn’t just fall on the ball and run out the clock and win the game. We were just going for the ball and they gave us the chance.”

The Tigers still had a shot at winning with a 39-yard field goal attempt on the game’s final play, but the snap was high and the ball was never placed down.

As I continued to peruse the article, I discovered that the Bengals’ victory was their 32nd consecutive “W” dating back to early in the 1973 season – and that Harshman played offensive guard to go along with his coaching duties.

Naturally, I had to learn more.

And what I learned made me forget my plan to write about the Tigers and Storm, and take a deeper dive into the Pierce County dynasty.

The original Bengals existed from 1973 to 1981, and over nine seasons compiled a remarkable 86-8-1 record as members of the NWIL (1973-79) and Pacific Northwest Football League (1980-81).

As impressive as those numbers are, Pierce County also won five consecutive league championships from 1973-77, was named Pro Football Weekly national champions in 1977, and had three perfect seasons and only one campaign with more than one loss (an 8-3 mark in 1978).

In addition, they were two-time winners of the Can-Am Bowl, which pitted them against the top semi-pro team from Canada.

It was 1977, though, that stood out among all the standout seasons.

Cahill (Olympic, California and UNLV) led the team with 2,117 passing yards and 21 touchdowns. Ron Baines, Willis Freeman, Jim Whitman and Al Bessette were his primary targets.

Baines caught 35 passes for 648 yards and seven TDs that season and retired after the San Jose game.

Harlon Miles rushed for 450 yards on 90 carries to lead the rushing attack on a team that outscored the opposition 446-101.

And talk about a balanced attack; the Bengals averaged 210 passing and 145 rushing yards per game while limiting opponents to 35.9 rushing yards.

So, did the Bengals have the greatest semi-pro dynasty of all-time?

Who knows? If I wanted to take the time, I’m sure I could find other great teams lost to history.

But I do know if you ever decide to start a conversation on the topic, Pierce County most certainly belongs in it.

I can’t tell you how many people in Birmingham, Alabama, were closely following news of the Montreal Alouettes’ sale to Pierre Karl Péladeau on Friday, but I can tell you I was one of them.

Anything that affects the overall health of the Canadian Football League piques my interest.

But guess what?

More than 40 years ago, I was also interested in the Alouettes changing hands – although CFL information back then came at the speed of daily newspapers, not the speed of the real-time Internet.

On February 20, 1982, it was announced that George Allen was the new president and CEO of the club, and had agreed to purchase 20 percent of the franchise.

“I feel I’ve proven myself as a coach,” Allen said in a story published by the Associated Press. “One of my goals has been to be an owner. I was once offered five percent of a ball club in the NFL (Washington), but the offer was taken back before I could exercise it.”

This news – which was mostly filler in American publications – intrigued me. I was a fan of Canadian-style football and the Als were my second favorite team behind the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, so there was that.

Secondly, the Los Angeles Rams were the team I rooted for in the NFL as a youngster (runners-up to my favorites, the AFL New York Jets), and Allen was their coach during my formative football years.

I’ve never much cared for the Burgundy and Gold, so his seven seasons at Washington didn’t excite me. But I was glad to see him part of the three-down game, especially after compiling an 118-54-5 record in 12 NFL campaigns. And, I was wishing he’d add CFL head coach to his resume, which he didn’t rule out during his introductory press conference.

“There are 14 or 15 coaching applicants,” he said. “I’m going to interview everyone I think is a bona fide candidate. If I don’t find a coach, and the other areas of the club are in good hands, I’d consider coaching.”

The Als – under the primary ownership of Nelson Skalbania – were coming off a disastrous 3-13 season. In his first year heading op the franchise, Skalbania had spent big money signing American stars, including former Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo. Ferragamo was a bust in 1981, passing for just 2,175 yards with seven TD passes against 25 picks. He was benched later in the season.

Allen joined the franchise despite its $1.2 million in unpaid bills, including the balance of Ferragamo’s three-year (guaranteed) deal as well as fired coach Joe Scannella’s contract.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we can turn this club around,” Allen said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

He wasn’t there long.

In early April it was reported that Skalbania had turned over his controlling interest in the Alouettes to Los Angeles businessman Harry Ornest, and that Allen had threatened to quit.

That set in motion three weeks of uncertainty about the fate of both the franchise and Allen’s place in it.

Then, on April 22, Allen resigned.

“Well, that’s basically it,” Allen said at a press conference announcing his departure. “The team can’t stay in limbo the way it’s been. It now appears impossible for the team to be purchased or sold, and we have exhausted every avenue available to us in an effort to reach a solution.

“Something had to be done to bring this thing to a head, but this decision was a difficult one to make.”

Things went from bad to worse as the Alouettes folded on May 12, 1982, with only $3,000 left in the bank, according to Province News Services.

On May 14, however, Charles Bronfman was introduced as the owner of a new CFL team in Montreal, which took over most of the contracts of former Alouettes players.

Montreal’s new CFL club was christened the “Concordes” on May 26.

The Alouettes name returned in 1986, the franchise folded for the second time in 1987, and it again rose from the gridiron grave in 1996, born of the Baltimore Stallions’ ashes.

And today, it’s in the hands of a businessman and former politician with deep pockets; according to the Montreal Gazette, Péladeau’s net worth is $1.9 billion.

“I am delighted to be the new owner of the Montreal Alouettes, a team with a long history that has a significant impact on our community because it brings us together,” Péladeau said during Friday’s presser. “I love sports and I am a proud Montrealer. This team that I saw rise to the top of the CFL and win the Grey Cup is our team; it’s the fans’ team.

“I want to bring stability and a long-term vision, which will allow us to put Montreal back at the top of Canadian football.”

Although there are no certainties – especially in the CFL – hopefully this new chapter of Montreal professional football will lack the turmoil that surrounded the franchise four decades ago.

I find on-the-field drama much more interesting.

Week three of XFL 3.0 got under way Saturday and the second season of the FOX-owned USFL starts in a little over a month.

But the original United States Football League – the circuit that made pro football in the spring a beautiful thing – debuted 40 years ago. And as far as grand openings go, it was hard to label its inaugural weekend as anything other than a rousing success.

The 12-team league began play with five games on Sunday, March 6, 1983, and one on Monday, March 7. A total of 243,070 fans showed up for the contests with a per game average of 40,512.

The National Football League hadn’t faced a challenge since the ill-fated World Football League of 1974-75. But while the WFL season had some overlap with the NFL, the USFL had created a new gridiron season all its own.

The brainchild of Dave Dixon, the USFL was born on May 11, 1982. Dixon had done plenty of research, and results showed that 75 percent of adults living in major metropolitan areas thought of themselves as pro football fans, and 76 percent said they’d watch spring and summer football on TV.

“The point is that there are more football fans than anything else,” Dixon told the Los Angeles Times. “And for them, the present season is too short. Baseball clubs play 162 games, the NBA plays 82 and the NFL only 16. And 16 games aren’t nearly enough for a real fan. The one thing there’s more room for in America, today, clearly, is more football.”

Before ever signing a player or coach, the new league announced a two-year contract with ABC and later added ESPN as a media partner. And once it did start hiring, it had the NFL’s full attention.

No. 1 NFL Draft pick Tim Spencer out of Ohio State signed with the USFL’s Chicago Blitz, and Georgia Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker decided to pass up his senior season and go pro, joining the New Jersey Generals. Many NFL veterans soon followed their lead.

The league also had big-time coaches like George Allen, Red Miller and John Ralston, and up-and-comers such as Steve Spurrier and Jim Mora.

It’s no wonder that when Dixon’s idea finally became a reality, NFL leaders took it very, very seriously.

“The USFL has more leadership than any new sports league since the AFL,” Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell said. “I have a high regard for the ability and integrity of their commissioner, Chet Simmons. He is a television man, but they have enough football minds in that league.

“They have some persons of great affluence.”

The Arizona Wranglers were the attendance champion on opening day, drawing 45,167 fans to their 24-0 loss to the Oakland Invaders. The Denver Gold was just 65 fans off the pace, welcoming 45,102 patrons to the Mile High City in their 13-7 setback to the Philadelphia Stars.

Fans in Florida showed they liked hot weather football, as 42,437 experienced the Tampa Bay Bandits’ 21-17 clipping of the Boston Breakers.

The Blitz blitzed the Washington Federals, 28-17, before 38,110 fans in D.C.; Los Angeles drew 34,002 people to watch the hometown Express beat the Generals, 20-15; and in Monday’s game in Birmingham, the hometown Stallions lost to the Michigan Panthers, 9-7, with 38,352 folks looking on.

Fans in the stands are one thing, but ABC and ESPN wanted fans on the couch.

So, did Americans tune in during Week One?

Yes … yes, they did.

The Generals-Express game had a 16.6 rating and 34 percent share of the audience in New York. Those numbers were comparable to average NFL Sunday ratings in the fall and winter.

Nationally, the three Sunday USFL games televised by ABC drew 14.2, far outperforming the network’s hopes of a 5 or 6 rating.

The premiere of the new league was a chance for a couple of over-the-hill NFL quarterbacks to get a new lease on their football lives; Tampa Bay’s John Reaves threw for 358 yards, while Chicago’s Greg Landry had 251 passing yards with two TDs.

But it also showcased many young stars, like Grambling rookie Trumaine Johnson, who snared 158 receiving yards in his pro football debut for the Blitz. And overlooked players such as Oakland’s Fred Besana and Philadelphia’s Chuck Fusina proved they could shine, given the chance.  

Of course, the full story of the original United States Football League is hardly all sunshine and rainbows.

There was overexpansion, contraction, relocation and financial strife. Ultimately, when New Jersey’s Donald Trump convinced fellow owners to move to a fall schedule starting in 1986 in hopes of forcing a merger with the NFL (a stupid decision made official on August 22, 1984), the league was doomed. Even though the USFL filed an antitrust lawsuit against the sport’s biggest league in October, 1984, a “victory” in the courtroom two years later yielded just $3 in damages – $1,499,999,997 less than what was sought.

How long it would’ve lasted had it stayed in the spring, we’ll never know.

But while you’re enjoying your XFL games this weekend and gearing up for the reimagined USFL’s sophomore campaign in April, tip your cap to the league that started it all.

Long may it live, even if only in our memories.