1984 Memphis Showboats Roster.

Memphis started their first season just 2-7, but coach Pepper Rodger's club finished the season at a 5-4 clip.

The Showboats claimed territorial rights to two defensive standouts projected to be NFL first round draft picks in April: cornerback Leonard Coleman of Vanderbilt and defensive end Reggie White of Tennessee.Coleman elected to wait for the NFL draft in May. The Memphis Showboats entered the United States Football League as an expansion club for the spring league’s second season in 1984.

But it worked.The Showboats caught fire in the second half of 1985.

The following month, a Name The Team contest in The Memphis Commercial Appealgenerated 21,052 entries. Despite this pedigree, he was an obsessive Alabama Crimson Tide booster thanks to a close family friendship with the late Alabama coach The USFL held its college draft each year in January.

Running backs Tim Spencer and Harry Sydney revitalized what had been an anemic rushing attack in 1984.Finally, just a few weeks before the 1985 opener, the Showboats inked NFL free agent left tackle Luis Sharpe to a 4-year, $2.3 million contract. It was an odd move on paper. The Showboats crushed the Gold 48-7 to advance to the semi-finals. Sharpe was one of the finest young lineman in all of pro football.

But this time they lost, bowing the the USFL’s best regular season team, the Oakland Invaders, on July 6th, 1985.

In contrast to many other USFL cities, crowds in Memphis gradually grew during the 1984 season. Wt. It proved to be the final Showboats game.Memphis prepared for the 1986 USFL fall season as one of the just eight remaining franchises. Lewis ran the option at Alabama and was a more consistent runner than passer. The contraction put 200 players on the market and the Showboats plucked many of the best ones.

But after a crushing jury award in the league’s anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL, the USFL folded operations in August 1986.Just published! The 1985 Showboats now featured five players (Sharpe, White, Cade, Coleman and Spencer) who were actual or projected 1st round picks in the prior three NFL drafts.The Showboats opened the 1985 season 3-0, including a victory over the defending champion Baltimore Stars.

But the team dropped five of the next six to reach the midway point at a disappointing 4-5. Pepper Rodgers benched Walter Lewis in favor of Mike Kelley for the season’s second half. Walter Lewis (born April 26, 1962) is a former American and Canadian football quarterback.He played for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL) and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). A major factor in the contraction was the league’s controversial plan to switch from spring football to a fall schedule beginning in 1986.

The team reeled off victories in seven of its final nine games to make playoffs with an 11-7 record. But the Showboats made national headlines in January 1984 by signing White to a 5-year $4 million contract.The Showboats other major college signing was quarterback Walter Lewis from the University of Alabama. Dunavant was one of the backers of the fall switch.

When the passed in the summer of 1984, it set of a wave of moves and mergers as other USFL clubs fled NFL markets.

White was 43 years old.

One of FWIL’s Top Sports Books of 2017Showboats vs. the Baltimore Stars at the Liberty Bowl on March 9th, 1985.Behind-the scenes clips of Memphis Showboats football from Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White (Showboats ’84-’85) passed away on December 26, 2004 of a cardiac arrhythmia. After the USFL failed, he joined the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League as a … It was only the second sellout in the USFL’s two-year history.The USFL shrank from 18 to 14 teams for the 1985 season.

He played for the Tampa Bay Bandits and Memphis Showboats in the United States Football League. He played college football at Alabama, Where he was the first African American quarterback for the Crimson Tide and legendary Hall of Fame coach Bear Bryant. Linebacker John Corker, the league’s 1983 Defensive Player-of-the-Year, came over from the Michigan Panthers.

Mike Kelley (born December 31, 1959) is a former professional quarterback. “Showboats” beat out “Hound Dogs” and “Mudcats” from the list of three finalists.

Pro No. In Sep… It all culminated in a sellout crowd of 50,079 at the Liberty Bowl for the ‘Boats home finale on June 16th, 1984.

Initially Showboats vs. Philadelphia Stars. Mike Kelley and Walter Lewis split time at the quarterback position with By seeding, the game should have been played at Denver.

Once again, the Showboats hosted at the Liberty Bowl despite being the lower seed. Reggie White cracked the collarbone of New Jersey’s prized rookie Doug Flutie, sending their Eastern Conference rivals into the postseason with a back-up quarterback.Mike Kelley remained under center for the Showboats postseason debut on June 30th, 1985.

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The Memphis Showboats were yet another USFL team that developed a steady and loyal following.

In September 1983, Young signed former UCLA and Georgia Tech head coach Logan Young Jr. lived in Memphis and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to the open draft, the USFL also held a territorial draft that allowed teams to protect the rights to players from local colleges. Showboats founder and part-owner Logan Young was found dead at his home on April 11, 2006. Lewis was the top quarterback by rating in the USFL in 1985, with 16 touchdowns against just 5 interceptions.

But Memphis claimed an important scalp in the game.

But the Denver Gold’s attendance cratered in 1985 and league broadcaster ABC prevailed upon the league to switch the game to the Liberty Bowl where the crowd would look better on television. One of the Showboats few late season losses was a 17-7 loss to Donald Trump’s New Jersey Generals at Giants Stadium. Name Pos.

The team put up a respectable showing against the league’s eventual champions, the The Showboats finished their expansion season with a 7-11 record.