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Michigan Panthers

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Michigan Panthers
Established 1982
Folded 1984
Played in Pontiac Silverdome
in Pontiac, Michigan
League/conference affiliations
United States Football League (1983–1985)
  • Western Conference (1984)
    • Central Division (1983–1984)
Current uniform
Team colorsRoyal Plum, Champagne Silver, Light Blue, White
       
Personnel
Owner(s)1983–1984 A. Alfred Taubman
Head coach1983–1984 Jim Stanley (24–15)
Team history
Championships
League championships (1)
1983
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (1)
1983
Playoff appearances (2)
1983, 1984
Home stadium(s)

The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played its home games at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.

Amid financial struggles following the 1984 season, the team was merged with the Oakland Invaders in 1985, where they would operate under the Invaders name.

The Panthers won the inaugural USFL Championship, 24–22 over the Philadelphia Stars.

Team history

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The Michigan Panthers were named as a charter member of the United States Football League (USFL) on May 11, 1982. A. Alfred Taubman, one of the nation's leading real estate developers, headed the ownership group that included Judge Peter B. Spivak and Max M. Fisher.

The Panthers named Jim Spavital, general manager of the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders, as their General Manager on August 26, 1982. Michigan then hired Jim Stanley as their Head Coach on November 18, 1982, after George Perles decided to coach at Michigan State. Stanley brought a wealth of coaching experience, with stops at SMU, UTEP, Oklahoma State, Navy, and on the professional level with the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and NFL's New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons, mainly as an assistant coach. Stanley would be the club's only head coach. The coaching staff was rounded out by Larry Coyer, Pete Rodriguez, and Dick Roach (Defensive coaches). George Dickson, Bob Leahy, and Kent Stephenson were the offensive coaches.

The Pontiac Silverdome was the home of the Panthers. In the 1980s, most NFL teams did not have complete schedule control over their stadiums, which became common practice in the aftermath of the original USFL, so the Detroit Lions could not have blocked the Panthers (publicly, the Lions avoided discussion of the USFL). C. Bruce Martin, the ideologue behind Godstock, was the first male cheerleader for a professional football team when he cheered for the Michigan Panthers.

The USFL's first collegiate draft was held on January 4, 1983. The Panthers selected Wisconsin SS David Greenwood with their first round (10th overall) selection.

They also tabbed Michigan WR Anthony Carter in the USFL Territorial Draft – a process whereby USFL teams could protect up to 25 graduating seniors from a series of local universities. The Panthers had territorial rights to the University of Michigan, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Western Michigan. The Panthers used this draft to select two placekickers. One was Novo Bojovic, and the other was Michigan's Ali Haji-Sheikh. Sheikh spurned the Panthers to sign with the New York Giants of the NFL.

Michigan made a splash in signing some of the top young NCAA prospects in 1983 in Michigan WR Anthony Carter, Tulsa RB Ken Lacy, Wisconsin SS David Greenwood and QB Bobby Hebert of Northwestern State (La.). The Panthers also had a few key players with NFL experience. Tackle Ray Pinney and Tyrone McGriff had played for the Super Bowl Pittsburgh Steelers teams. Linebacker John Corker had played three seasons for the Houston Oilers. The Panthers also landed three former Cleveland Browns starters in running back Cleo Miller, defensive back Oliver Davis, and quarterback Mark Miller. The team also had former All-Pro punter Bob Grupp, who had played for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. However, Grupp had been a one-season wonder in Kansas City, and after a few inconsistent weeks, he was released, and safety David Greenwood did double duty taking over as the team's punter. Future Buffalo Bills linebacker and children's book author Ray Bentley was also a Michigan Panther.

1983 season highlights

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Michigan held its first training camp at City Island Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida, sifting through over 75 players.

On Monday, March 7, 1983; the Panthers opened the season with a 9–7 win over the Birmingham Stallions at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. This was the first professional football game ever broadcast on ESPN. Serbian kicker (via Central Michigan) Novo Bojovic kicked the winning field goal from 48 yards out in the waning moments.

The Panthers then dropped their next four contests, losing on March 12 to the Tampa Bay Bandits (19–7); Mar. 19 at home to the Oakland Invaders (33–27); Mar. 27 at the Washington Federals (22–16 in OT) and April 4 at home to the Denver Gold (29–21). Their slow start was attributed mostly due to a very porous offensive line that struggled to create holes or time for their offensive stars. Management addressed the issue by signing a bevy of experienced offensive linemen in OT Ray Pinney (Pittsburgh Steelers), OG Tyrone McGriff (Pittsburgh Steelers) and OG Thom Dornbrook (NY Giants). Dornbrook and McGriff would both make USFL all-league teams in 1983.

The Panthers had a six-game winning streak. Then, on May 23, they and the Birmingham Stallions were tied 20–20 in the fourth quarter. Michigan would have had the lead, but the extra point attempt was blocked. The game went into overtime and was won by Birmingham thanks to a 46-yard field goal by Stallions placekicker Scott Norwood.

The Panthers would bounce back with a 42–7 thrashing of the stellar Tampa Bay Bandits, coached by future Florida Gators head coach Steve Spurrier. The additions on the offensive line, combined with installing rookie Bobby Hebert as quarterback, helped the Panthers win 11 of their next 13 contests to finish with a 12–6 record. They actually tied the Chicago Blitz for the best record in the Central Division, but were awarded the division title after sweeping the Blitz in the regular season.

In the playoffs, the Panthers hosted the Western Division champion Oakland Invaders before a USFL-record crowd of 60,237. The Panthers' decisive 37–21 victory vaulted them to the inaugural USFL championship game in Denver, Colorado.

On July 17, 1983, the Panthers captured the USFL's first championship with a 24–22 win over the Atlantic Division champion Philadelphia Stars. QB Bobby Hebert hit WR Anthony Carter on a 48-yard touchdown strike with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter for what proved to be the deciding score. Hebert was named MVP of the game, throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns.

The Panthers' late season surge (counting the playoffs, they went 13–2 to finish the season) was fueled by the addition of NFL-comparable talent at several positions. Indeed, they were one of three USFL teams, along with the Stars and Blitz, that observers believed could have made a good account of themselves in the NFL. It came at a high price, however; they spent $6 million during the season—three times what USFL founder David Dixon recommended that a team spend in a single season.

1984 season highlights

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The Panthers were expected to roll to another Central Division title in 1984. Due to expansion, they were now in a Central Division with three expansion teams and a Blitz squad that had swapped nearly all of its players with the last-place Arizona Wranglers. They initially didn't disappoint, sweeping their first six games. However, in the sixth game, a win over the expansion San Antonio Gunslingers, star receiver Anthony Carter broke his arm and was lost for the season. Without their chief offensive weapon the Panthers promptly went into a tailspin, losing eight of their next ten games (the Panthers' only wins in this stretch both came in overtime) to sink to an 8–8 record. Needing to win their last two games against Oklahoma and Chicago just to make the playoffs, Michigan did just that, finishing 10–8.

The first-round playoff game against the Los Angeles Express (in a less-than-tenth-filled Los Angeles Coliseum) turned out to be longest professional football game in history. The Panthers took a 21–13 lead in the fourth quarter, only to have future Hall of Famer Steve Young throw a touchdown pass, then personally score the two-point conversion to tie the game at 21 with 52 seconds remaining. The Panthers had chances to win the game in both the first and second overtimes, but normally reliable kicker Novo Bojovic missed field goals each time. Finally, in the third overtime, rookie Mel Gray (who would later play for the Detroit Lions) ran 24 yards to give LA a 27–21 victory, ending pro football's longest day after 93 minutes and 33 seconds of play time. (Gray's touchdown would prove to be painful for the young star—the force of the tackle at the end of the play broke his arm.)[1]

It turned out to be the Panthers' last game. After the 1984 season was over USFL owners, largely under the influence of New Jersey Generals owner Donald Trump and Chicago franchise owner Eddie Einhorn began talking seriously about moving to a fall schedule in 1986. While the Panthers had developed a loyal following, Taubman was a strong believer in the original spring football concept. He also had no desire to compete with the Detroit Lions. Not only was he a decades-long Lions fan, but he was a longtime friend of Lions owner William Clay Ford.

The Panthers had been far more successful on the field than the Lions; at the time of the USFL's founding, the Lions had tallied only three winning seasons since the NFL-AFL merger, and had only made the playoffs once in a non-strike year since winning their last league title in 1957. However, Taubman knew that he wouldn't have even begun to be able to go head-to-head with the Lions even if he'd been inclined to do so. According to personnel director Mike Keller, the only colleges within reasonable driving distance of Detroit would not even consider opening their doors to a Panthers team playing in the fall, meaning that they would have had to play home games on Wednesdays or Thursdays. However, Taubman believed the Panthers would not have been able to get a lease for the Silverdome in the fall.[2] Even before then, a study of market conditions concluded that despite having a decent following by USFL standards, the Panthers would have been "better off moving out of the Michigan market" due to exorbitant advertising rates and a fan base with little tolerance for losing.[3]

Taubman felt like the move was a foregone conclusion. As a result, after the merger between the Oakland Invaders and the Oklahoma Outlaws collapsed, Taubman quietly approached Invaders owner Tad Taube about a possible merger with his Panthers. When the league owners met to vote on moving to the fall, Taubman sent his son, Robert, with a message for the commissioner—if the teams voted to move to the fall, the Panthers would merge with the Invaders, with the Invaders as the surviving team. When the vote to play in the fall passed, the Panthers and Invaders announced their merger, with Taubman as majority owner of the Invaders.

Aftermath

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Bolstered by a number of Panthers players, the Invaders made it all the way to the 1984 USFL Championship Game. They lost to the now-Baltimore Stars in a rematch of sorts of the 1983 title game.

It would be the last down that the merged team would play. After the USFL received only $3 in its antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, on which it had staked its survival, the league suspended operations and never returned. The league's abandonment of the Detroit market was a major factor behind the adverse jury award. Even before the trial, the Invaders suspended operations after Taubman pulled out altogether.

The A-11 Football League (A11FL), a planned spring football league which had intended to start play in 2015, had announced its intention to revive the Michigan Panthers for one of its charter franchises.

On November 22, 2021, a new version of the USFL announced that the Michigan Panthers would be one of eight teams in the league's re-launch in the spring of 2022.[4]

Single season leaders

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Season-by-season

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Season records
Season W L T Finish Playoff results
1983 12 6 0 1st Central Won Divisional (Oakland)
Won USFL Championship (Philadelphia)
1984 10 8 0 2nd WC Central Lost Quarterfinal (Los Angeles)
Totals 24 15 0 (including playoffs)

Game-by-game results

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1983

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Week Day Date Opponent Result Record TV Venue Attendance
Regular season
1 Monday March 7 at Birmingham Stallions W 9–7 1–0 ESPN Legion Field 30,305
2 Saturday March 12 at Tampa Bay Bandits L 7–19 1–1 ABC Tampa Stadium 38,789
3 Saturday March 19 Oakland Invaders L 27–33 1–2 ESPN Pontiac Silverdome 28,952
4 Sunday March 27 at Washington Federals L 16–22 (OT) 1–3 ABC RFK Stadium 11,404
5 Monday April 4 Denver Gold L 21–29 1–4 ESPN Pontiac Silverdome 11,279
6 Sunday April 10 at New Jersey Generals W 21–6 2–4 ABC Giants Stadium 17,648
7 Sunday April 17 Chicago Blitz W 17–12 3–4 ABC Pontiac Silverdome 11,634
8 Saturday April 23 Los Angeles Express W 34–24 4–4 ESPN Pontiac Silverdome 13,184
9 Sunday May 1 at Boston Breakers W 28–24 5–4 ABC Nickerson Field 10,971
10 Saturday May 7 at Arizona Wranglers W 21–10 6–4 Sun Devil Stadium 20,423
11 Monday May 16 New Jersey Generals W 31–24 7–4 ESPN Pontiac Silverdome 32,862
12 Monday May 23 Birmingham Stallions L 20–23 (OT) 7–5 ESPN Pontiac Silverdome 20,042
13 Monday May 30 Tampa Bay Bandits W 43–7 8–5 ESPN Pontiac Silverdome 23,976
14 Sunday June 5 at Philadelphia Stars L 20–29 8–6 ABC Veterans Stadium 19,727
15 Sunday June 12 at Los Angeles Express W 42–17 9–6 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 16,023
16 Saturday June 18 Washington Federals W 27–25 10–6 Pontiac Silverdome 26,418
17 Sunday June 26 at Chicago Blitz W 34–19 11–6 ABC Soldier Field 25,041
18 Sunday July 3 Arizona Wranglers W 33–7 12–6 ABC Pontiac Silverdome 31,905
Playoffs
Divisional
Playoff
Sunday July 10 Oakland Invaders W 37–21 ABC Pontiac Silverdome 60,237
USFL
Championship
Sunday July 17 vs. Philadelphia Stars W 24–22 ABC Mile High Stadium 50,906

1984

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Week Day Date Opponent Result Record TV Venue Attendance
Preseason
1 Bye
2 Saturday February 4 vs. Chicago Blitz W 21–20 1–0 Scottsdale, Arizona
3 Saturday February 11 vs. Los Angeles Express W 10–0 2–0 Tempe, Arizona
4 Saturday February 18 vs. Oakland Invaders L 6–7 2–1 Mesa, Arizona
Regular season
1 Monday February 27 Chicago Blitz W 20–18 1–0 ESPN Pontiac Silverdome 22,428
2 Saturday March 3 Pittsburgh Maulers W 27–24 2–0 ESPN Pontiac Silverdome 44,485
3 Sunday March 11 at Denver Gold W 28–0 3–0 ABC Mile High Stadium 41,623
4 Sunday March 18 Arizona Wranglers W 31–26 4–0 ABC Pontiac Silverdome 43,130
5 Monday March 26 at Houston Gamblers W 52–34 5–0 ESPN Houston Astrodome 38,754
6 Sunday April 1 San Antonio Gunslingers W 26–10 6–0 ABC Pontiac Silverdome 42,692
7 Saturday April 7 at Oklahoma Outlaws L 17–20 6–1 Skelly Stadium 21,510
8 Sunday April 15 Birmingham Stallions L 17–28 6–2 ABC Pontiac Silverdome 42,655
9 Monday April 23 Tampa Bay Bandits L 7–20 6–3 ESPN Pontiac Silverdome 31,433
10 Sunday April 29 at New Jersey Generals L 21–31 6–4 ABC Giants Stadium 50,908
11 Sunday May 6 Houston Gamblers W 31–28 (OT) 7–4 ABC Pontiac Silverdome 29,068
12 Sunday May 13 at New Orleans Breakers L 3–10 7–5 ABC Louisiana Superdome 21,053
13 Sunday May 20 at Los Angeles Express L 17–24 7–6 ABC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 10,193
14 Sunday May 27 Philadelphia Stars L 13–31 7–7 ABC Pontiac Silverdome 20,387
15 Friday June 1 at San Antonio Gunslingers W 23–17 (OT) 8–7 Alamo Stadium 16,384
16 Saturday June 9 at Oakland Invaders L 13–20 8–8 ESPN Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 23,918
17 Monday June 18 Oklahoma Outlaws W 34–24 9–8 Pontiac Silverdome 15,838
18 Sunday June 24 at Chicago Blitz W 20–17 10–8 Soldier Field 5,557
Playoffs
Divisional
Playoff(1)
Saturday June 30 at Los Angeles Express L 21–27 (3OT) ABC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 7,409

(1) – Longest game in professional football history.

References

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  1. ^ "Remember the USFL - USFL's Greatest Game". 2012-05-19. Archived from the original on 2012-05-19. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  2. ^ Reeths, Paul (2017). The United States Football League, 1982–1986. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1476667447.
  3. ^ Pearlman, Jeff (2018). Football For A Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0544454385.
  4. ^ "New USFL to revive eight original team brands". 22 November 2021.
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