Search Results for: Pittsburgh Maulers

1984 Pittsburgh Maulers media guide from the United States Football League

Pittsburgh Maulers

February 27, 2011

The original Pittsburgh Maulers were a One-Year Wonder in the United States Football League during the spring of 1984. The Maulers were best known for signing 1983 Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mike Rozier of the University of Nebraska before he could enter the 1984 NFL draft. But Rozier was banged up from his senior season of college football and the rest of the roster was awfully thin. The Maulers staggered to a wretched 3-15 record. When a faction of USFL leaders headed by Donald Trump announced that the USFL would abandon the league’s spring football niche to compete head-to-head with the NFL in the fall of 1986, Maulers owner Edward DeBartolo Sr. cut his losses and folded the team after only one season.

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Pittsburgh Gladiators Arena Football League

Pittsburgh Gladiators

January 23, 2018

The Pittsburgh Gladiators were one of four founding members of the Arena Football League in 1987. The novelty of 50-yard indoor football caught some traction in the Steel City in the summer of ’87. All four of the Glads’ home games in the summer of 1987 drew strong crowds, culminating when Pittsburgh hosted Arena Bowl I at the Civic Arena before 13,232 and an ESPN national TV audience on August 1, 1987.

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Paul Child of the Pittsburgh Spirit on the cover of a 1984 Major Indoor Soccer League program

Pittsburgh Spirit

January 21, 2013

The Spirit were Pittsburgh’s indoor soccer team at the Civic Arena from 1978 until 1986. During their peak years in the early 1980’s, the Spirit was owned by Pittsburgh Penguins owner Edward DeBartolo and frequently drew better crowds than the Pens. That dynamic changed with the NHL debut of Mario Lemieux in 1984 and the Spirit closed their doors in the spring of 1986.

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Illustration of quarterback Doug Williams on the cover of the 1984 Oklahoma Outlaws media guide from the United States Football League

Oklahoma Outlaws

April 24, 2011

United States Football League (1984) Born: July 7, 1983 – USFL expansion franchise Died: December 5, 1984 – Merged with Arizona Wranglers First Game: February

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Jacksonville Bulls United States Football League

Jacksonville Bulls

April 6, 2013

When it comes to the United States Football League, the 1980’s spring football adventure that still enjoys a sizable cult following today, you might say the Jacksonville Bulls are the team that time forgot.  The Bulls, for example, barely merit a mention in director Mike Tollin’s definitive and affectionate Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? documentary for ESPN’s 30-for-30 film series. So let me make a brief case for why the Jacksonville Bulls deserve a lot more love from retro football fetishists.

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