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PANTHERS
TRIVIA |
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| David
Dixon's original plans for the USFL were to hold
the line when it came to spending as part of a
minimum three year strategy toward building the
league as a viable alternative to the NFL. |
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| Panthers
owner A. Alfred Taubman however greatly exceeded
Dixon's initial salary cap suggestions, losing a
reported $6 million in 1983 alone. |
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| Under
Dixon's original plan, $6 million should have
operated a USFL franchise for almost four full
seasons. |
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Panthers
head coach Jim Stanley took 1985 off, then joined
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their defensive
coordinator. Today he's still active in pro
football as a scout for the Arizona
Cardinals.
Defensive assistant coach Larry Coyer is currently
a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching
staff.
Panthers minority owner James Spivak served as the
interim commissioner of the USFL from September
1981 until the hiring of Chet Simmons in June,
1982.
The popular Panthers logo depicted on their helmet
was not the original choice of owner A. Alfred
Taubman, who instead picked another design.
The league however asked him to reconsider, seeing
the marketing potential in the design that was
ultimately used.
Bobby Hebert was the Most Valuable Player of the
1983 USFL Championship Game, and was among those
most likely to win the 1985 Championship Game
award had his Oakland Invaders defeated the
Baltimore Stars.
The Chicago Blitz were heavily favored to win the
USFL Central Division in 1983, but the Panthers
winning 11 of their final 13 regular season games
propelled them to a surprising 12-6-0 finish,
beating out the Blitz via tiebreakers for the
division crown.
On December 6, 1984, the Michigan Panthers ceased
to exist as members of the USFL, the franchise
being merged into that of Tad Taube's Oakland
Invaders. The corporation controlling the
team would continue to exist in a technical sense
until 1991, however.
Panthers majority owner A. Alfred Taubman was
convicted on conspiracy charges in 2001 and
sentenced to 366 days in prison. Max Fisher
and Peter Spivak, Taubman's minority partners in
the Panthers, have since died. |
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