1983 New Jersey Generals season

From the beginning, USFL founder David Dixon placed a premium on putting a team in the New York area. Initially, Donald Trump was tapped to own the team. However, he backed out after paying an initial installment on the franchise fee, hoping instead to buy the struggling Baltimore Colts of the NFL. Needing a credible owner with the means to front a team in the nation's biggest market, Dixon persuaded Oklahoma oil magnate J. Walter Duncan to step in. Duncan had originally been slated to own the USFL's Chicago franchise, as he'd grown up in Chicago. However, he readily agreed to shift to New York.

1983 New Jersey Generals season
Owner	J. Walter Duncan
General manager	Chuck Fairbanks
Head coach	Chuck Fairbanks
Home field	Giants Stadium
Results
Record	6-12
Division place	3rd Atlantic Division
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Uniform

Duncan took on former New England Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks as a minority partner; Duncan knew Fairbanks from his days as head coach at the University of Oklahoma. Fairbanks also served as general manager and head coach. They initially had an uphill battle to get a lease at Giants Stadium, but were able to obtain one on condition that they brand their team as "New Jersey" rather than "New York." They named the team the "Generals" after the large number of generals based in New Jersey during the Revolutionary War.

The team made a big splash by signing Heisman Trophy-winning underclassman Herschel Walker, a running back from the University of Georgia. While the USFL had followed the NFL's lead in banning underclassmen from playing, league officials were certain that this rule would never withstand a court challenge. In an even more ominous development, Walker did not sign a standard player contract. Rather, he agreed to a three-year personal-services contract with Duncan. The contract was valued at $4.2 million—more than double the USFL's salary cap of $1.8 million. Nonetheless, the other owners knew having the incumbent Heisman winner in their fold would lend the USFL instant credibility, and allowed the contract to stand.

Despite the signing of Walker, who rushed for 1,812 yards and 17 touchdowns, the Generals finished their inaugural season with a 6–12 record. This was largely due to a porous defense which gave up the third-most points in the league (437) and a feeble passing attack led by ex-New Orleans Saints career backup Bobby Scott.

Personnel

Staff

1983 New Jersey Generals staff

Front office Owner – J. Walter Duncan General manager – Chuck Fairbanks Head coaches Head coach – Chuck Fairbanks Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator - Bill Austin Quarterbacks – John Polonchek Wide receivers – Mike Stock Tight ends – Mike Stock Offensive line – Bill Austin

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator - Doug Knotts Defensive line – George Wheeler Linebackers – Doug Knotts Defensive backs – Dick Moseley Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Rick Buffington

Roster

1983 New Jersey Generals roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 11 Dave Boisture 12 Gene Bradley 16 Jeff Knapple 10 Bobby Scott Running backs (RB) 44 Vickey Anderson HB 33 Maurice Carthon HB 35 Larry Coffey HB 36 Thomas Lott HB 22 Lance Olander HB/P 20 Terry Porter HB 46 Dwight Sullivan HB 34 Herschel Walker HB Wide receivers (WR) 80 Larry Brodsky 88 Mike Friede 86 Tom McConnaughey 85 Mark Slawson 84 Walter Tullis Tight ends (TE) 89 Sam Bowers 81 Victor Hicks

Offensive linemen (OL) 64 Wayne Harris G/OT 58 Kent Hull C 70 John Jewell G 67 Mike Mason OT 63 Troy McMillin G 76 Bryan Millard T/G 78 Greg Murtha OT 51 Frank Naylor G/C 77 Todd Thomas OT 79 Steve Williams G 68 Kari Yli-Renko T/G Defensive linemen (DL) 95 Joe Cugliari DE/DT 96 James Lockette DE 90 Mel Lunsford DE 93 Richard Murray DE 95 Ben Watts DT/DE 98 Ricky Williamson DE/DT 71 Tom Woodland DT

Linebackers (LB) 48 Andy Carino 59 Maurice Clemmons 55 Ray Costict 54 Steve Hammond 47 John Joyce 49 Fred Lang 43/50 Reggie Mathis 53 Mike McKibben 56 Rod Shoate 52 Mike Weddington Defensive backs (DB) 24 Terry Daniels CB 26 Don Harris S 22 Warren Harvey CB 23 William Holliday CB 28 Eric Johnson S 21 Keith Moody S/CB 37 Dana Joel CB 27 Sam Sopp S/CB 29 Mike Williams CB Special teams  4 John Roveto K  1 Dave Jacobs P

Rookies in italics

USFL Draft

Main article: 1983 USFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	5	Gary Anderson	Running Back	Arkansas
2	22	Mark Stewart	Linebacker	Washington
2	24	Darryl Talley	Linebacker	Washington
3	27	Ramsey Dardar	Defensive Tackle	LSU
4	46	Wes Hopkins	Defensive Back	SMU
5	51	Wayne Harris	Guard	Mississippi State
5	60	Mark Cooper	Offensive Tackle	Miami
6	70	Randy Grimes	Center	Bayler
7	75	Kent Hull	Center	Mississippi State
8	94	Maurice Carthon	Running Back	Arkansas State
9	99	Marlin Russell	Linebacker	Toledo
10	118	Charles Benson	Defensive End	Baylor
11	123	Danny Walters	Defensive Back	Arkansas
12	142	Bryan Millard	Offensive Tackle	Texas
13	147	Ricky Williamson	Defensive End	Mars Hill
14	166	James Britt	Defensive Back	LSU

Schedule

Week	Day	Date	TV	Opponent	Results		Location	Attendance
					Score	Record
1	Sunday	March 6	ABC	at Los Angeles Express	15-20	0-1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	34,002
2	Sunday	March 13	ABC	at Philadelphia Stars	0-25	0-2	Veterans Stadium	38,205
3	Sunday	March 20		Tampa Bay Bandits	9-32	0-3	Giants Stadium	53,307
4	Sunday	March 27		Boston Breakers	21-31	0-4	Giants Stadium	41,218
5	Sunday	April 3		at Arizona Wranglers	35-21	1-4	Sun Devil Stadium	31,382
6	Sunday	April 10	ESPN	Michigan Panthers	6-21	1-5	Giants Stadium	17,648
7	Sunday	April 17	ABC	Washington Federals	23-22	2-5	Giants Stadium	35,381
8	Monday	April 25	ESPN	at Chicago Blitz	14-17 (OT)	2-6	Soldier Field	32,182
9	Sunday	May 1	ABC	at Denver Gold	34-29	3-6	Mile High Stadium	47,940
10	Monday	May 9	ESPN	Birmingham Stallions	7-22	3-7	Giants Stadium	38,374
11	Monday	May 16	ESPN	at Michigan Panthers	24-31	3-8	Pontiac Silverdome	32,862
12	Sunday	May 22	ABC	Chicago Blitz	13-19 (OT)	3-9	Giants Stadium	33,812
13	Sunday	May 29		at Washington Federals	32-29	4-9	RFK Stadium	11,264
14	Saturday	June 4	ESPN	at Oakland Invaders	21-34	4-10	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	32,908
15	Sunday	June 12		Philadelphia Stars	9-23	4-11	Giants Stadium	20,500
16	Saturday	June 17	ABC	Los Angeles Express	20-12	5-11	Giants Stadium	31,807
17	Sunday	June 25	ESPN	Arizona Wranglers	21-14	6-11	Giants Stadium	30,612
18	Sunday	July 3		at Boston Breakers	10-34	6-12	Nickerson Field	15,798

Rewards

Award	Winner	Position
All-USFL Team	Herschel Walker	RB
USFL Outstanding Running Back	Herschel Walker	RB
USFL Rushing Yards Leader	Herschel Walker	RB
USFL Rushing Touchdown Leader	Herschel Walker	RB

Final Statistics

Offense

Generals Passing
	C/ATT	Yds	TD	INT
Bobby Scott	167/296	2174	7	16
Jeff Knapple	82/164	1017	3	10
Dave Boisture	16/35	160	1	2
Gene Bradley	7/19	81	1	1
Mike Friede	0/1	0	0	0
Generals Rushing
	Car	Yds	TD	LG
Herschel Walker	412	1812	17	83
Maurice Carthon	90	334	3	14
Dwight Sullivan	47	205	4	20
Walter Tullis	17	123	1	33
Thomas lott	18	110	1	16
Bobby Scott	19	71	0	14
Dave Boisture	7	45	0	11
Vickey Ray Anderson	5	29	0	9
Jeff Knapple	4	25	0	10
Larry Coffey	6	20	0	12
Mark Slawson	2	18	0	12
Sam Bowers	2	15	0	8
Lance Olander	3	11	0	6
Tom McConnaughey	1	1	0	1
Dave Jacobs	1	–5	0	–5
Victor Hicks	2	–11	0	–11
Generals Receiving
	Rec	Yds	TD	LG
Herschel Walker	53	489	1	65
Sam Bowers	43	719	1	49
Tom McConnaughey	42	691	3	37
Mike Friede	25	379	1	27
Victor Hicks	20	267	3	40
Maurice Carthon	20	170	0	22
Dwight Sullivan	20	99	0	11
Larry Brodsky	19	239	1	31
Mark Slawson	17	259	1	27
Larry Coffey	6	56	0	27
Vickey Ray Anderson	5	22	1	7
Walter Tullis	2	52	0	37

Defense

Generals Sacks
	Sacks
Mike Weddington	6.0
James Lockette	4.5
Terry Daniels	4.0
Rod Shoate	4.0
Tom Woodland	3.0
Ricky Williamson	2.5
Mike McKibben	2.0
Joe Cugliari	2.0
Richard Murray	1.0
Mel Lunsford	1.0
Scott Dawson	1.0
Maurice Clemmons	1.0
Donnie Harris	1.0
Sam Sopp	0.5
Rod Skillman	0.5
Steve Hammond	0.5

Generals Interceptions
	Int	Yds	TD	LG	PD
Mike Williams	8	68	0	26
Terry Daniels	4	26	0	23
Keith Moody	3	27	0	16
Sam Sopp	3	22	0	15
Rod Skillman	1	4	0	4
Dana Noel	1	1	0	1
Rod Shoate	2	50	0	31

Generals Fumbles
	FF	Fmb	FR	Yds	TD
Herschel Walker		12	4	0	0
Thomas Lott		2	6	0	–1
Bobby Scott		7	3	0	0
Jeff Knapple		4	4	0	0
Maurice Carthon		4	0	0	0
Dwight Sullivan		3	2	0	0
Sam Bowers		3	1	0	0
Larry Coffy		2	2	0	0
Rod Skillman		1	1	0	0
William Holliday		1	1	0	0
Dave Boisture		1	0	0	0
Frank Naylor		1	0	0	0
Larry Brodsky		1	0	0	0
Victor Hicks		1	1	0	0
Walter Tullis		1	3	0	0

Special Teams

Generals Kicking
	FGM–FGA	XPM–XPA
John Roveto	7-13	15-15

Generals Punting
	Pnt	Yds	Lng	Blck
Lance Olander	54	1998	57	0
Dave Jacobs	23	788	51	0

Generals Kick Returns
	Ret	Yds	TD	Lng
Thomas Lott	53	1160	0	37
Larry Coffy	6	113	0	39
Lance Olander	6	89	0	22
Dwight Sullivan	5	85	0	23
Herschel Walker	3	69	0	27
Mike Williams	2	49	0	30
Mike Weddington	4	41	0	14
Vickey Ray Anderson	1	19	0	19
Walter Tullis	1	7	0	7
Mike Friede	1	0	0	0

Generals Punt Returns
	Ret	Yds	TD	Lng
Thomas Lott	25	155	0	17
Mike Williams	5	58	0	18

Standings

Atlantic Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	Stadium	1983 Capacity	Avg. Att.	Avg. % filled	Coach
y-Philadelphia Stars	15	3	0	.833	379	204	Veterans Stadium	72,204	18,650	26%	Jim Mora
Boston Breakers	11	7	0	.611	399	334	Nickerson Field	21,000	12,817	61%	Dick Coury
New Jersey Generals	6	12	0	.333	314	437	Giants Stadium	76,891	35,004	46%	Chuck Fairbanks
Washington Federals	4	14	0	.222	297	422	RFK Stadium	54,794	13,850	25%	Ray Jauch