The 1983 season was the inaugural season for the Philadelphia Stars in the United States Football League. The Stars were led by head coach Jim Mora and finished with a 15–3 record en route to the USFL championship.
On May 11, 1982, the announcement of the USFL was officially made by league owner and antique dealer, David Dixon. The league's Philadelphia team would be owned by real estate developer Myles H. Tanenbaum. He had originally wanted to name the team the Stallions in honor of Rocky Balboa, who was nicknamed "The Italian Stallion." However, when the Birmingham entry snapped up the Stallions name, Tanenbaum settled on "Stars." George Perles was originally named as the team's head coach in July 1982. Perles, previously an assistant coach for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, never coached a game for the Stars, opting to take the head coach position for Michigan State instead. On January 15, 1983, the Stars hired Jim Mora to be their head coach.
The Stars began in Philadelphia in the USFL's inaugural 1983 season and played their home games at Veterans Stadium (the "Vet"). They compiled the league's best regular season record of , and advanced to the 1983 USFL championship game. Their "Doghouse Defense" allowed only 204 points in an 18-game season—the least in the history of the league. The Stars were led by fourth-year quarterback Chuck Fusina (1978 Heisman Trophy runner-up), fifth-year wide receiver Scott Fitzkee, rookie halfback Kelvin Bryant of North Carolina, rookie offensive tackle Irv Eatman of UCLA, rookie linebacker Sam Mills, and second-year safety Scott Woerner. The team also featured Towson's all-star rookie punter Sean Landeta. At the conclusion of the regular season, Bryant was named the USFL's Player of the Year by the Associated Press.
The Stars entered the playoffs as the top-seeded team. In the Semi-Finals, the Stars defeated the preseason favorites to win the 1983 title—George Allen's Chicago Blitz—by withstanding seven turnovers and erasing a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 44–38 in overtime. In the league title game at Denver's Mile High Stadium on July 17, the Stars lost to Jim Stanley's Michigan Panthers, 24–22. Just as they had against the Blitz, the Stars opened the game sluggishly, but finished with a flourish, after allowing the Panthers to carry a 17–3 lead into the fourth quarter. Many observers of the time believed that the Stars, Panthers and Blitz were almost NFL-quality units.
One of the few blemishes on the Stars' first season was the box office. They only attracted 18,650 fans per game. In addition to bad weather, there were lingering memories of a gate-papering scandal involving the World Football League's Philadelphia Bell in 1974. The Bell had claimed that a total of over 120,000 fans had attended their first two games, but it subsequently emerged that all but 19,000 of the tickets had been given away for free or for significantly reduced prices.
Personnel
Staff
Roster
USFL draft
Round Pick Player Position School17Irv EatmanOffensive TackleUCLA217Bart OatesCenterBYU332Greg HillDefensive BackOklahoma State441Antonio GibsonDefensive BackCincinnati556Allen HarvinRunning BackCincinnati665Tony CaldwellLinebackerWashington780Jimmy TurnerDefensive BackUCLA889Richard DentDefensive EndTennessee State893Rich KraynakLinebackerPittsburgh9104James CaverWide ReceiverMissouri10113Don DowOffensive TackleWashington11128Gary WorthyRunning BackWilmington 12137Allama MatthewsTight EndVanderbilt13152John WalkerDefensiveTackleNebraska-Omaha14161Sean LandetaPunterTowson
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 March 6 at Denver Gold W 13–7 1–0 Mile High Stadium 45,102 2 March 13 New Jersey Generals W 25–0 2–0 Veterans Stadium 38,205 3 at Birmingham Stallions W 17–10 3–0 Legion Field 12,850 4 March 27 Tampa Bay Bandits L 22–27 3–1 Veterans Stadium 18,718 5 April 3 Washington Federals W 34–3 4–1 Veterans Stadium 14,576 6 April 10 at Los Angeles Express W 17–3 5–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 18,671 7 at Oakland Invaders W 17–7 6–1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 34,901 8 April 24 Boston Breakers W 23–16 7-1 Veterans Stadium 10,257 9 at Tampa Bay Bandits W 24–10 8–1 Tampa Stadium 41,559 10 May 8 Denver Gold W 6–3 9–1 Veterans Stadium 14,306 11 May 15 Chicago Blitz W 31–24 10–1 Veterans Stadium 25,251 12 May 22 at Arizona Wranglers W 24–7 11–1 Sun Devil Stadium 18,151 13 May 29 at Boston Breakers L 17–21 11–2 Nickerson Field 15,668 14 June 5 Michigan Panthers W 29–20 12–2 Veterans Stadium 19,727 15 June 12 at New Jersey Generals W 23–9 13–2 Giants Stadium 32,521 16 Oakland Invaders W 12–6 14–2 Veterans Stadium 16,933 17 June 26 Birmingham Stallions W 31–10 15–2 Veterans Stadium 17,973 18 July 3 at Washington Federals L 14–21 15–3 RFK Stadium 11,039
Playoff schedule Round Date Opponent Result Record Location Divisional Playoffs Chicago Blitz W 44–38 1–0 Veterans Stadium USFL Championship July 17 Michigan Panthers L 22–24 1–1 Mile High Stadium
Standings
Awards Award Winner Position All-USFL Team Irv Eatman OT All-USFL Team Kelvin Bryant RB All-USFL Team Sam Mills LB All-USFL Team Scott Woerner S AP USFL Most Valuable Player Kelvin Bryant RB Leading Scorer Award David Trout K USFL Executive of the Year (TSN) Carl Peterson GM
Final statistics Offense Stars Passing C/ATTYdsTDINTChuck Fusina238/42127181510Jim Krohn19/3624910Steve Pisarkiewicz6/156900Allen Harvin1/34400Stars Rushing CarYdsTDLGKelvin Bryant31814421645Allen Harvin139681749Chuck Fusina63291318Booker Russell46225023David Riley31139019Anthony Anderson941012Jeff Rodenberger1240110Jim Krohn62012Steve Pisarkiewicz1000Chuck Commiskey1–30–3Sean Landeta1–50–5Stars ReceivingRecYdsTDLGScott Fitzkee55731344Kelvin Bryant53410150Willie Collier41771452Steve Folsom26286145Booker Russell17163239Tom Donovan15219321Rodney Parker13203029Allen Harvin13144123Dave Riley1061015Ken Dunek874023Al Kimichik1707Jeff Rodenberger1707Anthony Anderson1404
Defense Stars SacksSacksDon Fielder8.5Willie Rosborough5.0Sam Mills3.5John Bunting2.5Scott Woerner2.0Dave Opfar2.0Brad Anae2.0Jon Brooks2.0Buddy Moor1.5Frank Case1.5Glenn Howard1.0Antonio Gibson1.0George Cooper0.5Jon Sutton0.5Jeff Gabrielson0.5
Stars InterceptionsIntYdsTDLGPDScott Woerner850022Mike Lush652033Jon Sutton453031Sam Mills313010Antonio Gibson3000Jon Brooks215015Roger Jackson2909Glenn Howard2000Vince DeMarinis116016Willie Rosborough111011John Bunting1000
Stars FumblesFFFmbFRYdsTDChuck Fusina15700Jim Krohn7300Kelvin Bryant4200Dave Riley3100Scott Woerner36160Allen Harvin2100Steve Pisarkiewicz2100Sean Landeta1100Steve Folsom1000Rodney Parker1000Cleo Montgomery1000Booker Russell1100Jon Sutton1400
Special teams Stars KickingFGM–FGAXPM–XPADavid Trout28-4237-40
Stars PuntingPntYdsLngBlckSean Landeta863601721
Stars Kick ReturnsRetYdsTDLngAllen Harvin31723067Booker Russell563022Jeff Rodenberger342016Dave Riley236019Mark McCants117017Ken Dunek1707Jon Sutton1000
Stars Punt ReturnsRetYdsTDLngScott Woerner43360020
References