Baltimore Stars

United States Football League (1985)

Best Seller

Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars Custom Name & Number Replica Jersey
Customize Yours Today at Royal Retros

Background

The Baltimore Stars football team was established as the Philadelphia Stars, a charter member of the United States Football League (USFL), which began play in the spring of 1983. The team announced it was moving to Baltimore after the USFL decided to switch to a fall schedule beginning with the 1986 season.

Even before arriving in Baltimore, ahead of their third championship run in a row, it was widely believed the Stars, could have made a good showing against almost any NFL team of the day. However, they weren’t powerful enough to compete with the Eagles for fans and local media coverage after the switch to a fall slate was announced by the USFL in late August of 1984. 

Goodbye Philly, Hello Baltimore

Philadelphia mayor Wilson Goode was keen to keep the Stars in town, but the team’s ownership knew that wouldn’t be a workable situation. The Stars did have a lease to play in Philadelphia’s Veteran Stadium for the spring 1985 campaign but were able to get out of it. The move to Baltimore became official at a November 1, 1984 press conference, in which team owner Myles Tannenbaum announced the team was moving to Baltimore.

It seemed like the perfect destination for the Stars, as the city had been abandoned by the NFL Colts just five months earlier. Unfortunately, a stipulation in the Baltimore Orioles’ lease at Memorial Stadium prevented a football team from playing there in the spring of 1985. With no viable alternatives, the Stars ended up playing in Byrd Stadium at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD, 35 miles from downtown Baltimore. 

To make the situation even more challenging, the Stars kept their offices in Philadelphia and commuted to Maryland for games. Baltimore fans were relieved to have pro football back but were not keen to drive to College Park to see their new team. As a result, the Stars played before more empty seats than fans. After drawing over 28,000 fans a game during their 1984 championship season in Philadelphia, they drew just over 14,000 in College Park. Only the San Antonio Gunslingers and Los Angeles Express fared worse at the gate. 

The Final Season

After a period of adjustment that saw the Stars open the season with a mark of 1-3-1, they rallied to finish 10-7-1, good for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and a playoff spot. They downed the New Jersey Generals 20-17 in the first round before knocking off the Birmingham Stallions in the semi-finals. That propelled the Stars to their third straight championship game appearance.

In what would be the USFL’s final championship contest, the Stars defeated the Oakland Invaders 28-24. Shortly after the previous season ended, the Invaders merged with the Michigan Panthers, the team that beat the Stars in the league’s first title game in 1983.

Just over a year after the Stars hoisted the championship trophy, the decision in the USFL vs. NFL lawsuit came down in favor of the newer league. However, the USFL was awarded only $3 in damages. The USFL, along with the Baltimore Stars, were finished and suspended operations, never to return, on August 4, 1986.

Fun Facts/Trivia:

Baltimore is the only city to host championship teams in the NFL, USFL, and CFL

The Stars are only the third team in pro football history to move following a championship season. The other two were the 1945 Cleveland Rams (who moved to Los Angeles) and the 1962 Dallas Texans (who became the Kansas City Chiefs). Oddly, their successors, the Baltimore Stallions, also moved after winning a championship. Following the their triumph in the 83rd CFL’s Grey Cup, the team moved to Montreal to revive the Alouettes franchise.

Editor's Pick

Order from Amazon

Football For A Buck

The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL

By Jeff Pearlman

 

The United States Football League—known fondly to millions of sports fans as the USFL—did not merely challenge the NFL, but cause its owners and executives to collectively shudder. In its three seasons from 1983-85, it secured multiple television deals, drew millions of fans and launched the careers of legends such as Steve Young, Jim Kelly, Herschel Walker, and Reggie White. But then it died beneath the weight of a particularly egotistical and bombastic team owner—a New York businessman named Donald J. Trump.

In Football for a Buck, Jeff Pearlman draws on more than four hundred interviews to unearth all the salty, untold stories of one of the craziest sports entities to have ever captivated America. From 1980s drug excess to airplane brawls and player-coach punch outs, to backroom business deals and some of the most enthralling and revolutionary football ever seen, Pearlman transports readers back in time to this crazy, boozy, audacious, unforgettable era of the game. He shows how fortunes were made and lost on the backs of professional athletes and how, forty years ago, Trump was already a scoundrel and a spoiler.

 

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!

Baltimore Stars Video

The Stars best the Oakland Invaders in the 1985 USFL Championship Game at Giants Stadium.

In Memoriam

Linebacker Sam Mills died of intestinal cancer on April 18, 2005 at the age of 45. New York Times obituary.

Stars founder and owner Myles Tannenbaum died at age 82 on August 31, 2012. Philly.com obituary.

Downloads

1986 Baltimore Stars Ticket Brochure (Cancelled Fall Season)

Links

United States Football League Media Guides

USFL Programs

##