Result
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| 21.07.1984 | Tampa Bay Bandits | 21 | Philadelphia Stars | 24 |
Report
The United States Football League played a Postseason Exhibition game in London, England, on 21 July 1984, only a week after the Philadelphia Stars were crowned Champions. The Stars and the Bandits played an entertaining game for 21,000 English fans, with many of the starters rested after a long season, with fans only getting a glimpse of the Philadelphia outstanding Running Back, Kevin Bryant.
This offered lesser known players an opportunity to stake a claim on the following seasons starting lineup, and Tom Riordan, was one such player, completing 18 of 26 passes for 201 yards, 3 touchdowns, and only one interception.
Stars’ safety Scott Warner intercepted Jimmy Jordan’s pass in the endzone with 12 seconds remaining, to preserve the Stars 24-21 victory. It was a fitting climax to an entertaining game. [2]
About the USFL
The USFL was the “Outlaw League” setting up as a Major League Rival to the NFL, although playing a Spring-Summer Schedule rather than Fall-Winter. The infamous US President Donald Trump owned the New Jersey Generals in the USFL. It was spectacularly popular in terms of bums-on-seats but was kept off the airwaves by the collusion of the NFL with the 3 Major TV Networks, as was proven in the subsequent Anti-Trust Trial. The League failed financially as a result:
See the USFL websites in the References Links for more info.
References
Websites
[1] USFL Site (2019) 1984 USFL Season [Internet] Available from: http://www.usflsite.com/1984season.php [Accessed 31 December 2019]
[2] USFL Site (2019) Tampa Bay Bandits 21 at Philadelphia Stars 21 Game Report [Internet] Available from: http://www.usflsite.com/usflgame.php?game_id=304 [Accessed 31 December 2019]
[3] Remember the USFL (2019) Home [Internet] Available from: https://sites.google.com/site/remembertheusfl/ [Accessed 31 December 2019]
Images
[4] Sports Logos History (2018) USFL Logo 1983-1985 [Internet] Available from: https://sportslogohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/united_states_football_league.png [Accessed 31 December 2019]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Jillian Glynn, Fiona Corrigan, Niamh Hughes, Jim Naughton, John Malone, Kevin Smyth, Ian Collins, Ian Clarke, Tony Meenaghan, Brian Bird.
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 30 December 2019
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2019
You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.