|
1
9 8 2 |
| May
11 - At "21" in New York, a press
conference is held announcing that the USFL will
begin playing spring football in March 1983. |
| - |
|
1
9 8 3 |
| - |
| March
- Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr. applies, in his own
name (rather than most, who applied as a
corporation or other business type that limited
liability) for a USFL franchise. His
application is almost immediately approved. |
| - |
| April
24 - The USFL announces that its first expansion
franchise has been awarded to DeBartolo and the
city of Pittsburgh, with the team to begin play
in 1984. |
| - |
| July
3 - DeBartolo hires San Francisco 49'ers VP and
General Counsel Paul Martha as President of
Pittsburgh Maulers, Inc., which was formed to
run the franchise. |
| - |
| July
6 - George Heddelston is named the Maulers
general manager. |
| - |
| August
8 - Joe Pendry is hired as the team's first head
coach. Less than three weeks later his
successor, Ellis Rainsberger, is brought on as
the team's offensive line coach. |
| - |
|
To
see more of the
Maulers timeline, visit the
USFL.INFO
Timeline of the USFL
|
| - |
|
| Years
Played in USFL: |
1984 |
| Club
Owner(s): |
Edward
J. DeBartolo, Sr. |
| Playing
Site: |
Three
Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Head
Coach(es): |
Joe
Pendry, Ellis Rainsberger (1984) |
| Overall
Record: |
3-15-0 |
| . |
. |
|
|
|
| Year |
Head
Coach |
W |
L |
T |
Pct. |
Finish |
Post-Season
Notes |
| 1984 |
Joe
Pendry |
2 |
8 |
0 |
.200 |
3rd,
Atlantic Div. |
Fired
During Season |
| - |
Ellis
Rainsberger |
1 |
7 |
0 |
.125 |
3rd,
Atlantic Div. |
Failed
to Qualify |
| Team
Totals |
3 |
15 |
0 |
.167 |
--- |
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It
was a shocking development. Among
the 24 applications for expansion
franchises there were two desiring to put
a USFL franchise in Pittsburgh for 1984 -
that surprised no one. The shock was
over who one of the applications
had been made by.
. |
|
Youngstown,
Ohio mall developer and Pittsburgh Penguins owner
Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr. had applied for
membership in the USFL. DeBartolo, a
self-made billionaire (and unlike L.A. Express
owner J. William Oldenburg, he really was one) and
the father of San Francisco 49'ers owner Edward
DeBartolo, Jr., was about the last person the USFL
expected to see apply for a franchise. But
as soon as he did, the league's powers that be
worked hard to see that it got quick
approval. DeBartolo as an owner would be a
major coup.
The USFL now had a strong owner in DeBartolo in a
football-crazy city in Pittsburgh. It seemed
like a match made in heaven by Lombardi
himself. But it was not to be. After a
"Name the Team" contest resulted in the
team being named the "Maulers," many
would be fans were put off, and many others who
didn't know the steel industry needed an
explanation of just what the hell a
"Mauler" was. Fans were excited at
the fact that the Maulers got the #1 overall draft
pick, hoping the team would use it to pick up
quarterback Steve Young... only to see them pick
Nebraska Heisman Trophy winning running back Mike
Rozier - a solid choice, just not who the
knowledgeable Pittsburgh fans thought the team
should take.
Unfortunately beyond Rozier the team didn't have
any "name" players to speak of.
Quarterbacks Glenn Carano and Tom Rozantz were
okay, but neither was a Steve Young in the eyes of
local fans. Sam Clancy was solid at
defensive end, but he wouldn't make the cut on the
famed "Steel Curtain" defense of the
1970's NFL Steelers. Mike Rozier proved okay
at running back, but he was no Franco
Harris. Simply put Pittsburgh's fans
expected a winner - now rather than later - and
they were disappointed. The team sold out
its home opener against the Birmingham Stallions
(this due almost entirely to former Steeler
back-up QB Cliff Stoudt playing for Birmingham; at
the game he was pelted with snowballs), but as the
losses mounted the fans stayed home.
Attendance dwindled from 53,771 in the opener to
14,418 in a mid-season home game against New
Jersey, to 16,832 against the Bandits in the
regular season finale. Team President Paul
Martha fired Joe Pendry after 10 weeks in an
effort to shake things up, but the losing
continued as the Maulers posted a 3-15-0 record in
what would prove to be their only season.
Despite the losses, both financial (he reportedly
lost $10 million, though USFL.INFO disputes
that figure) and on the field, DeBartolo was
prepared to retool and build a winner in
Pittsburgh for 1985. And then, just like
that, it was over. The USFL's ownership had
voted to move to a fall schedule for 1986.
There was no way his Maulers could or would
compete with the NFL's Steelers, and moving the
team to Cleveland wasn't an option - Cleveland
fans would accept getting a Pittsburgh
cast-off. So DeBartolo, without hesitation
and without so much as a press conference, shut
down the Maulers for good. |
| . |
|
