The team lured Ray Jauch to be its head coach; he had previously guided the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers to success in the Canadian Football League. At the time he was the fourth-winningest coach in CFL history. The Federals initially made a splash by signing running back Craig James, one half of the famous "Pony Express" backfield at SMU. More than any other team in the league, the Federals seemed dogged by inconsistency, bad timing, and terrible luck. A week before the season even began, their player personnel expert bolted to the NFL's New York Jets. The team changed quarterbacks almost weekly, with in-game quarterback changes in a number of games. Jauch's biggest mistake was probably giving the opening day starter, NFL veteran Kim McQuilken, the quick hook for rookie quarterback Mike Hohensee. From there the team never seemed to settle in with a quarterback for more than a few games in a row, and when McQuilken did play, he often pressed, forcing his throws into coverage. The team alternated between McQuilken and Hohensee, with occasional appearances by former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback "Jefferson Street" Joe Gilliam, who was far past his prime; he had last played a meaningful professional down in 1975, and he only threw for 673 yards. The only other quarterback on the team was rookie Mike Forslund, who never played.

Injuries also dogged the team. James was sidelined for five games with a fractured vertebra. Hohensee only played in nine games all season. At one point, all of the Federals′ receivers had leg injuries. The Federals had good linebackers in Joe Harris, Dan Lloyd, and Jeff McIntyre, who was Washington's best outside linebacker and could cover receivers downfield and stop the run. McIntyre lead the team in tackles and sacks until an ankle injury sidelined him for the final six games.

The first game in franchise history was a portent of things to come; the Federals were drilled at RFK Stadium 28–7 by the Chicago Blitz, the preseason title favorites coached by former Washington Redskins coach George Allen. The game was played on March 6, 1983. The Blitz, led by former Detroit Lions and Baltimore Colts quarterback Greg Landry, raced out to a 28–0 lead. The Blitz held Washington to only one first down and a mere 24 yards total offense in the first half; Chicago led 21–0 before the Federals even recorded a second first down. By that time, Landry had hit 15 of his first 17 pass attempts, including a 23-yard touchdown pass to Trumaine Johnson. McQuilken had a horrible debut as the Federals quarterback, and was replaced by back-up Hohensee; Hohensee accounted for the Federals only score, a 19-yard pass to Walker Lee. (The only positive was the attendance of 38,007; unfortunately, this was more than double what the Feds would draw in any of their 17 other games played in Washington.

Personnel

Staff

Roster

USFL draft

Round Pick Player Position School14Craig JamesRunning BackSMU221Tim LewisDefensive BackPittsburgh328Stephen StarringQuarterbackMcNeese State445Bob WincklerOffensive TackleWisconsin550Mike HohenseeQuarterbackMinnesota554Doug HowardOffensive TackleNorth Carolina State557Brett MillerOffensive TackleIowa663George ParkerRunning BackNorfolk State776Perry WilliamsDefensive BackNorth Carolina State10114Jeff NyceCenterNorth Carolina State10117Dennis FowlkesLinebackerWest Virginia11124Kiki DeAyalaLinebackerTexas 11130Steve BirdWide ReceiverEastern Kentucky12141Dee Dee HoggardDefensive BackNorth Carolina State13148William WallTight EndVirginia Union14165Jody SchulzLinebackerEast Carolina

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 March 6 Chicago Blitz L 7–28 0–1 RFK Stadium 38,007 2 at Los Angeles Express L 3–20 0–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 22,453 3 March 20 at Boston Breakers L 16–19 0–3 Nickerson Field 18,430 4 March 27 Michigan Panthers W 22–16 1–3 RFK Stadium 11,404 5 April 3 at Philadelphia Stars L 3–34 1–4 Veterans Stadium 14,576 6 Arizona Wranglers L 21–22 1–5 RFK Stadium 13,936 7 April 17 at New Jersey Generals L 22–23 1–6 Giants Stadium 35,381 8 April 24 Tampa Bay Bandits L 23–30 1–7 RFK Stadium 9,070 9 May 1 Birmingham Stallions L 3–35 1–8 RFK Stadium 12,818 10 May 8 at Chicago Blitz L 3–31 1–9 Soldier Field 11,300 11 at Oakland Invaders L 24–31 1–10 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 25,900 12 May 22 Boston Breakers L 14–21 1–11 RFK Stadium 33,812 13 May 29 New Jersey Generals L 29–32 1–12 RFK Stadium 11,264 14 at Denver Gold L 12–24 1–13 Mile High Stadium 40,671 15 June 11 at Arizona Wranglers W 18–11 2–13 Sun Devil Stadium 16,656 16 at Michigan Panthers L 25–27 2–14 Pontiac Silverdome 26,418 17 June 26 Los Angeles Express W 28–21 3–14 RFK Stadium 9,792 18 July 3 Philadelphia Stars W 21–14 4–14 RFK Stadium 11,039 statscrew.com 1983 Washington Federals Game-by-Game Resultsusflsite.com 1983 USFL Seasonprofootballarchives.com 1983 Washington Federals (USFL)

Standings

Awards Award Winner Position All-USFL Team Eric Robinson RB/KR

Final statistics Offense Federals Passing C/ATTYdsTDINTKim McQuilken188/3341912714Mike Hohensee92/190101797Joe Gilliam40/102673512Federals Rushing CarYdsTDLGCraig James202823424Billy Taylor171757534Curtis Bledsoe26133031James Mayberry42120211Eric Robinson499708Mike Hohensee1973019Kim McQuilken13917Rickey Claitt1101Buddy Hardeman3–304Joe Gilliam3–600Dana Moore1–80–8Federals ReceivingRecYdsTDLGBilly Taylor64523255Joey Walters63959642Craig James40342352Mike Holmes35654780Mike Harris26441242Eric Robinson18172020Buddy Hardeman18114016Stan Rome12157126Vince Kenney7120030Reggie Smith687022James Mayberry51406Vince Rogusky447020Jeff Postell43209Curtis Bledsoe42508Charles Chisley347030Bubba Diggs31908Walker Lee232119Rickey Claitt227014William Wall220011Tony Samuels130030Marc Brown118018Tony Loia0202

Defense Federals SacksSacksBennie Smith7.0Coy Bacon7.0Ronnie Estay6.5Bob Barber5.0Tony Suber4.0Mike Corvino2.5Joe Harris2.5Drew Taylor2.5Jeff McIntyre1.5Mike Muller1.0Robert Cobb1.0Mike Guess1.0Bob Shupryt1.0Doug Greene1.0Eddie Jackson0.5Don Harris0.5

Federals InterceptionsIntYdsTDLGPDDoug Greene9121135Jeff Brown627022Mike Guess549018Gregg Butler225014Donnie Harris112012Mike Corvino1202Scott Facyson1000

Federals FumblesFFFmbFRYdsTDKim McQuilken116–120Billy Taylor6100Craig James6000Mike Hohensee5300Eric Robinson4100Mike Harris3100Joe Gilliam2300Mike Guess2200Jeff Postell1100Rickey Claitt1100Gregg Butler1100Curtis Bledsoe1100Charles Chisley1000James Mayberry1000Steve Hoffman1000Eric Sanford1000

Special teams Federals KickingFGM–FGAXPM–XPASandro Vitiello10-1714-17

Federals PuntingPntYdsLngBlckDana Moore863480600Steve Hoffman15542490

Federals Kick ReturnsRetYdsTDLngEric Robinson21609194Mike Guess22486055Mike Harris15365071Curtis Bledsoe7109032Reggie Smith581031Louie Giammona366024Mike Muller234019Mike Corvino331013Joey Walters120020Rickey Claitt113013Kevin McLain112012Mike Hurst1404Bob Shupryt1303

Federals Punt ReturnsRetYdsTDLngEric Robinson24171029Mike Guess762043Gregg Butler839011Buddy Hardeman532017Reggie Smith220013Mike Harris1000Jeff Postell1000

1983 USFL profootballarchives.com

References