Canadian Football League (1994)
Tombstone
Born: July 26, 1993 – CFL expansion franchise11994 Canadian Football League Facts Figures & Records
Folded: April 1995
First Game: July 8, 1994 (W 32-26 @ Sacramento Gold Miners)
Last Game: November 5, 1994 (L 51-10 @ Edmonton Eskimos)
Grey Cup Championships: None
Stadium
Sam Boyd Stadium (31,000)21994 Canadian Football League Facts Figures & Records
Opened: 1971
Branding
Team Colors: Desert Sand, Black & White31994 Canadian Football League Facts Figures & Records
Ownership
Owner: Nick Mileti, Glenn Golenberg, Marshall Geller, et al.
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Las Vegas Posse Replica Jersey
We dig this line of superbly detailed replica jerseys from the Canadian Football League’s American expansion adventure that took place between 1993 and 1995.
Our partners at Royal Retros offer both home and away Posse replicas that are fully customizable with any name or number you like.
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Background
Following the demise of the NFL-funded World League of American Football (WLAF) in September 1992, the cash-strapped Canadian Football League (CFL) set its sights on an infusion of expansion fees from south of the border. The venerable CFL held steady with the same eight-city Canadian membership from 1954 until 1987, when Montreal dropped from the league. The remaining seven cities soldiered on into the 1990’s.
In January 1993 CFL owners voted to admit two refugees owners from the WLAF: Fred Anderson and his Sacramento Surge franchise and Larry Benson and his San Antonio Riders. Because of trademark issues, the clubs would be known as the Sacramento Gold Miners and the San Antonio Texans in the CFL. Benson would leave the CFL at altar, leaving the Gold Miners to go it alone as the CFL’s only American franchise in 1993. Meanwhile, CFL Commissioner Larry Smith continued to court other American cities for 1994 expansion franchises at $3 million a pop.
Nick Mileti
Smith found a buyer for Las Vegas in July 1993. Nick Mileti was a Cleveland sports impresario during the 1960’s and 1970’s. He founded the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA and owned Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians. Mileti also operated the Cleveland Arena and owned the hockey teams that played there – the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League and the Cleveland Crusaders of the World Hockey Association. The Las Vegas Posse seemed like a strange fit for the 63-year old in 1994. It marked both his return to pro sports after a 13-year absence and his first major sports investment outside of Ohio.
Rounding Up the Posse
The Posse hired former UNLV, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts head coach Ron Meyer to lead the team. Anthony Calvillo, a rookie free agent out of Utah State, emerged out of a nine-man training camp competition for the starting quarterback role. One of the competitors that Calvillo bested was the former Heisman Trophy finalist Darian Hagan, who quarterback the University of Colorado to the 1990 NCAA championship. Hagan stuck with the Posse as a seldom-used defensive back.
The team’s big splash was the controverial signing of Florida State’s electrifying receiver and kick returner Tamarick Vanover in February 1994. Vanover was just a sophmore at Florida State at the time with two years eligibility remaining. The CFL had a rule against signing undergraduates with remaining collegiate eligibility. Ultimately, Commissioner Smith upheld the signing. Vanover was the Posse’s marquee player – an exception to the league’s tight $2.5 million salary cap that covered all players and the coaching staff. Vanover reportedly received a four-year CFL deal worth $800,000.
Former Arizona State linebacker Greg Battle spearheaded the defense. Battle was a two-time CFL Defensive Player-of-the-Year (1990 & 1991) with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Battle was one of the few Posse players who had prior experience playing the CFL’s brand of 12-on-12, 3-down football. This lack of experience with the Canadian game helped doom the Posse’s only campaign. By contrast, the CFL’s Baltimore expansion franchise loaded up with CFL veterans and advanced to the Grey Cup title game in their first year of competition.
Oh…Canada
On July 16, 1994 the Posse hosted the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the regular season home debut at a mostly empty Silver Bowl. Singer Dennis Parks got things off to a fine start by massacring the Canadian National Anthem, O Canada, which he appeared to confuse at times with O Christmas Tree. In an era before viral video, Parks still managed to create an international incident. Owner Nick Mileti mailed a letter of apology to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and U.S. Vice President Al Gore even referenced the snafu in a speech during a state visit to Canada.
The Posse defeated the Roughriders 32-22 in overtime to move to 2-0 on the season. But the announced crowd of just 12,213 was a grim sign of things to come. Las Vegas dropped six of their next seven to fall out of contention. The team’s final four home games in September and October 1994 all drew fewer than 10,000 fans. On October 16, 1994, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers travelled to the Silver Bowl and crushed the Posse 48-17. The loss dropped their record to 5-10. The crowd of 2,350 was the smallest in modern CFL history.
Demise & Aftermath
Five days after the the humiliating home loss to Winnipeg in October, the CFL announced that the Posse were leaving Las Vegas. The league shifted the Posse’s schedule home finale on November 5, 1994 against the Edmonton Eskimos up to Edmonton. The Eskimos obliterated the Posse 51-10 in that game in what would be the final game for the Vegas franchise. They finished the season at 5-13 with six straight losses.
The Posse hung around in limbo for five more months as the CFL tried to find a buyer for the club. The league appeared to have a deal in the spring of 1995 to move the team to Jackson, Mississippi. Prolific sports investor William L. Collins III was reportedly ready to pay $1.8 million for the carcass of the franchise. But the deal collapsed at the last minute in April 1995.
Las Vegas Posse Shop
Editor's Pick
borders wars
The Era of American Expansion in the CFL
End Zones and Border Wars is the story of the Canadian Football League’s ill-fated period
of expansion into the United States during the early to mid-
1990s. It was a time filled with intriguing characters, from John
Candy to Nick Mileti to Pepper Rodgers, the coach who loved everything
about the Canadian game except the rules and the teams. With
a cast of investors who are hopeful but unfamiliar with the game,
bizarre stories emerge, from the Las Vegas Posse practising in the
parking lot of the Riviera to the Shreveport Pirates camping out
above a barn full of circus animals.
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Las Vegas Posse Video
The Posse’s debut game in Las Vegas on July 16, 1994 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Complete game broadcast including Dennis Parks’ legendary O Canada performance.
In Memoriam
Posse leading rusher Zedrick Robinson died in a motorcycle crash on October 30, 2004. He was 33.
Posse Head Coach Ron Meyer died of an aortic aneurysm while golfing on December 5, 2017. Meyer was 76 years old. New York Times obituary.
Downloads
10-7-1995 Posse @ Baltimore CFL Football Club Roster
10-7-1995 Las Vegas Posse Roster
Links
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