The
Bandits franchise was among the first awarded by
USFL founder David Dixon.
John Bassett, majority owner of the Bandits, had
also owned the Toronto Northmen/Memphis Southmen
of the World Football League of the 1970's.
Over its three years of existence, the Bandits
were among the league's best teams in terms of
reported official attendance, averaging either
near or over 40,000 each season.
At the request of general partner Burt Reynolds,
friend Jerry Reed composed and sang the team's
official song, "Bandit Ball:"
| . |
| "Defense!
Defense! Defense! |
| Defense!
Defense! Defense! |
| Defense! |
| . |
| We
come from down in gator country |
| We
are proud of Tampa Bay |
| We
play football and we are called the
Bandits, |
| and
we think our brand of ball is here to
stay. |
| . |
| Better
look out world, here comes them Bandits. |
| They're
lookin' proud and standing tall. |
| So,
come on folks, let's get the fever, |
| be
a Bandit Ball believer. |
| We
believe you're gonna love Bandit ball. |
| . |
| Bandit
ball - first and ten, do it again:
Bandit Ball! |
| Bandit
ball - hit 'em a lick, and make it
stick: Bandit Ball! |
| . |
| We
gonna be running, gonna be throwin', |
| gonna
be showin' ev'ryone |
| that
Bandit ball is a brand of ball that's an
awful lot of fun. |
| . |
| Bandit
ball - gotta hang tough, gotta be
rough: Bandit Ball! |
| Bandit
ball - touchdown play, all the way:
Bandit Ball! |
| . |
| C'mon
folks, let's catch the fever, |
| be
a Bandit ball believer. |
| We
believe you're gonna love Bandit Ball! |
Every report of official attendance the Bandits
ever made was an estimate based on a count of the
number of occupied rows at Tampa Stadium.
Actual counts of tickets were conducted at a later
time, but the initial counts relayed over the
stadium's PA system were maintained as
"official."
Steve Spurrier was hired as the Bandits head coach
at a reported starting salary of just $50,000 per
year.
When awarded the Bandits franchise, John Bassett
was given exclusive USFL rights for the entire
state of Florida. This resulted in his
receiving a payment from Jacksonville when it was
awarded an expansion franchise in 1984, and
another in 1985 when the Washington Federals moved
to nearby Orlando.
Donald Dizney was a limited partner in the Bandits
before buying the Washington Federals and moving
them to Orlando in 1985.
Bandits minority owner Stephen Arky was the
son-in-law of Birmingham Stallions majority owner
Marvin L. Warner. Less than ten days after
the 1985 USFL Championship Game, Arky, who was
under fire for his role in a banking scandal,
committed suicide. Lewis "Bugsy" Engelberg, the Bandits
original Director of Football Operations, would
also take his own life in 1987.
The Bandits training site was located at
Hillsborough Community College in Tampa.
The Bandits could be heard locally on WFLA-AM 970,
and pre-season games were broadcast on WTOG,
Channel 44.
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