The 1985 season was the third and final season for the Los Angeles Express in the final year of United States Football League.
Season summary The Express finished 3–15–0 in the regular season, placing 7th in the Western Conference with a .167 win percentage. They were ownerless for the season after J. William Oldenburg had lost ownership of the team due to financial issues.
The 1985 season was a complete collapse from the Express’ 1984 playoff run, where they reached the Western Conference final. Ownerless, injury-plagued, and with poor attendance, the team struggled to field a competitive roster. Starting quarterback Steve Young, injured for most of the season, later bought out his massive contract to join the NFL.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 February 24, 1985 Houston Gamblers L 33–34 0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 18,828 2 at Portland Breakers L 10–14 0–2 Civic Stadium 25,232 3 at New Jersey Generals L 24–35 0–3 Giants Stadium 58,741 4 March 16 San Antonio Gunslingers W 38–7 1–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 10,410 5 March 23 Arizona Outlaws L 13–27 1–4 Sun Devil Stadium 20,835 6 March 31 Oakland Invaders L 6-30 1–5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 11,619 7 at Baltimore Stars L 6–17 1–6 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 5,637 8 at Houston Gamblers W 18–17 2–6 Astrodome 20,193 9 April 20 at Denver Gold L 0–51 2–7 Mile High Stadium 13,165 10 Portland Breakers W 17–12 3–7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 8,410 11 Tampa Bay Bandits L 14–24 3–8 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 4,912 12 May 11 at Oakland Invaders L 6–27 3–9 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 12,482 13 May 19 Birmingham Stallions L 7-44 3–10 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 4,658 14 May 25 at Jacksonville Bulls L 7-21 3–11 Gator Bowl 51,033 15 May 30 Denver Gold L 20–27 3–12 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 3,059 16 at San Antonio Gunslingers L 27–31 3–13 Alamo Stadium 4,963 17 June 15 Arizona Outlaws L 10–21 3–14 Shephard Stadium 8,200 18 June 18, 1985 Orlando Renegades L 10–17 3–15 Orlando Stadium 22,865
Final roster 1985 Los Angeles Express final roster Quarterbacks
Frank Seurer
Running backs
Robert Alexander RB
Wide receivers LeRoy Campbell
Duane Gunn Kris Haines Gary Lowell David Hersey
Tight ends Ken O'Neal RB/TE Mike Sherrod WR/TE Darren Long Offensive linemen
Joe Lukens LG Wayne Jones C /G Derrick Kennard G
/T /TE/LB Greg Loberg OL/C
Defensive linemen
Clay Ruyle LDE Eddie Weaver RDT
/DT Ray Cattage DE James Robinson LDT Charles Ussery RDE Linebackers Andy Melontree LB Danny Rich LLB
Defensive backs /FS
Darrell Patillo FS Ed Scott CB Troy West FS John Higgins SS Don Jones DB Special teams
Jeff Partridge P Developmental squad None - N/A Injured reserve None - N/A
rookies in italics
References