1983 Michigan Panthers season

Michigan held its first training camp at City Island Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida, sifting through over 75 players. On Monday, March 7, 1983; the Panthers opened the season with a 9–7 win over the Birmingham Stallions at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. This was the first professional football game ever broadcast on ESPN. Serbian kicker (via Central Michigan) Novo Bojovic kicked the winning field goal from 48 yards out in the waning moments.

1983 Michigan Panthers season
OwnerA. Alfred Taubman
General managerJim Spavital
Head coachJim Stanley
Home fieldPontiac Silverdome
Results
Record12-6
Division place1st Central Division
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs (vs. Invaders) 37-21
Won USFL Championship (vs. Stars) 24-22
Uniform

The Panthers then dropped their next four contests, losing on March 12 to the Tampa Bay Bandits (19–7); Mar. 19 at home to the Oakland Invaders (33–27); Mar. 27 at the Washington Federals (22–16 in OT) and April 4 at home to the Denver Gold (29–21). Their slow start was attributed mostly due to a very porous offensive line that struggled to create holes or time for their offensive stars. Management addressed the issue by signing a bevy of experienced offensive linemen in OT Ray Pinney (Pittsburgh Steelers), OG Tyrone McGriff (Pittsburgh Steelers) and OG Thom Dornbrook (NY Giants). Dornbrook and McGriff would both make USFL all-league teams in 1983.

The Panthers had a six-game winning streak. Then, on May 23, they and the Birmingham Stallions were tied 20–20 in the fourth quarter. Michigan would have had the lead, but the extra point attempt was blocked. The game went into overtime and was won by Birmingham thanks to a 46-yard field goal by Stallions placekicker Scott Norwood.

The Panthers would bounce back with a 42–7 thrashing of the stellar Tampa Bay Bandits, coached by future Florida Gators head coach Steve Spurrier. The additions on the offensive line, combined with installing rookie Bobby Hebert as quarterback, helped the Panthers win 11 of their next 13 contests to finish with a 12–6 record. They actually tied the Chicago Blitz for the best record in the Central Division, but were awarded the division title after sweeping the Blitz in the regular season.

In the playoffs, the Panthers hosted the Western Division champion Oakland Invaders before a USFL-record crowd of 60,237. The Panthers' decisive 37–21 victory vaulted them to the inaugural USFL Championship Game in Denver, Colorado.

On July 17, 1983, the Panthers captured the USFL's first championship with a 24–22 win over the Atlantic Division champion Philadelphia Stars. QB Bobby Hebert hit WR Anthony Carter on a 48-yard touchdown strike with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter for what proved to be the deciding score. Hebert was named MVP of the game, throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns.

The Panthers' late season surge (counting the playoffs, they went 13–2 to finish the season) was fueled by the addition of NFL-comparable talent at several positions. Indeed, they were one of three USFL teams, along with the Stars and Blitz, that observers believed could have made a good account of themselves in the NFL. It came at a high price, however; they spent $6 million during the season—three times what USFL founder David Dixon recommended that a team spend in a single season.

Personnel

Staff

1983 Michigan Panthers staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator - Dick Roach
  • Defensive line – Pete Rodriguez
  • Linebackers – Larry Coyer
  • Defensive backs – Dick Roach

Special teams coaches


[1]

Roster

1983 Michigan Panthers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

[2] [3]

Rookies in italics

USFL Draft

Round Pick Player Position School
1 10 David Greenwood Safety Wisconsin
2 15 Wayne Radloff Center Georgia
3 34 Bobby Hebert Quarterback Northwestern State
4 39 Paul Skansi Wide Receiver Washington
5 58 Whit Taylor Quarterback Vanderbilt
6 69 Ken Lacy Running Back Tulsa
7 82 Craig Wederquist Offensive Tackle Drake
8 87 Ron Hopkins Defensive Back Murray State
9 106 Stanley Washington Wide Receiver TCU
10 111 Russ Graham Offensive Tackle Oklahoma State
12 135 Larry McCrimmon Quarterback Cameron
13 154 Kevin Sloan Offensive Tackle Washington State
14 159 John Williams Running Back Wisconsin

Schedule

Week Day Date TV Opponent Results Location Attendance
Score Record
1 Monday March 7 ESPN at Birmingham Stallions 9-7 1-0 Legion Field 30,305
2 Saturday March 12 ABC at Tampa Bay Bandits 7-19 1-1 Tampa Stadium 38,789
3 Saturday March 19 ESPN Oakland Invaders 27-33 1-2 Pontiac Silverdome 28,952
4 Sunday March 27 at Washington Federals 16-22 (OT) 1-3 RFK Stadium 11,404
5 Monday April 4 ESPN Denver Gold 21-29 1-4 Pontiac Silverdome 11,279
6 Sunday April 10 ABC at New Jersey Generals 21-6 2-4 Giants Stadium 17,648
7 Sunday April 17 ABC Chicago Blitz 17-12 3-4 Pontiac Silverdome 11,634
8 Saturday April 23 ESPN Los Angeles Express 34-24 4-4 Pontiac Silverdome 13,184
9 Sunday May 1 ABC at Boston Breakers 28-24 5-4 Nickerson Field 10,971
10 Saturday May 7 at Arizona Wranglers 21-10 6-4 Sun Devil Stadium 20,423
11 Monday May 16 ESPN New Jersey Generals 31-24 7-4 Pontiac Silverdome 32,862
12 Monday May 23 ESPN Birmingham Stallions 20-23 (OT) 7-5 Pontiac Silverdome 20,042
13 Monday May 30 ESPN Tampa Bay Bandits 43-7 8-5 Pontiac Silverdome 23,976
14 Sunday June 5 ABC at Philadelphia Stars 20-29 8-6 Veterans Stadium 19,727
15 Sunday June 12 at Los Angeles Express 42-17 9-6 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 16,023
16 Monday June 20 ABC Washington Federals 27-25 10-6 Pontiac Silverdome 26,418
17 Sunday June 26 ABC at Chicago Blitz 34-19 11-6 Soldier Field 25,041
18 Sunday July 3 ABC Arizona Wranglers 33-7 12-6 Pontiac Silverdome 31,905

Playoff Schedule

Round Date Opponent Result Record Location
Divisional Playoffs July 10 Oakland Invaders W 37-21 1–0 Pontiac Silverdome
USFL Championship July 17 Philadelphia Stars W 24-22 2-0 Mile High Stadium

[4][5][6]

Rewards

AwardWinnerPosition
All-USFL TeamRay PinneyOT
All-USFL TeamThom DornbrookG
All-USFL TeamBobby HebertQB
All-USFL TeamJohn CorkerLB
Defensive Player of the YearJohn CorkerLB
USFL Outstanding QuarterbackBobby HebertQB
USFL Passing Touchdowns LeaderBobby HebertQB
USFL QBR LeaderBobby HebertQB
USFL Championship Game MVPBobby HebertQB

Final Statistics

Offense

Panthers Passing
C/ATT Yds TD INT
Bobby Hebert 257/451 3568 27 17
Whit Taylor 17/34 353 1 0
Ken Lacy 1/1 38 1 0
Rick Partridge 0/1 0 0 0
Panthers Rushing
Car Yds TD LG
Ken Lacy 232 1180 6 59
John Williams 153 624 12 31
Cleo Miller 94 374 0 19
Tony Ellis 46 158 0 25
Terry Miller 33 123 3 22
Mike Hagen 13 68 0 16
Bobby Hebert 28 35 3 9
Whit Taylor 3 10 0 16
Jimmy Hargrove 2 4 0 3
Anthony Carter 3 1 0 9
Panthers Receiving
Rec Yds TD LG
Mike Cobb 61 674 5 31
Anthony Carter 60 1181 9 81
Ken Lacy 40 433 2 39
Derek Holloway 39 811 11 67
Donnie Echols 20 196 0 27
Frank McClain 19 264 0 39
Cleo Miller 12 92 0 28
John Williams 8 80 1 53
Tony Ellis 5 55 0 27
Jerome Staley 3 27 0 11
Mike Hagen 3 25 0 14
Jimmy Hargrove 2 24 0 17
Lonell Phea 1 14 0 14
Terry Miller 1 9 0 9
Ray Pinney 1 2 1 2

Defense

Panthers Sacks
Sacks
John Corker 28.0
David Tipton 12.0
Ronnie Paggett 9.5
Allen Hughes 4.0
Phil Dokes 2.5
Mike Edwards 2.0
Kyle Borland 2.0
Ira Albright 2.0
Robert Pennywell 1.0
David Greenwood 1.0
Ray Bentley 1.0
John Banaszak 1.0
Andy Cannavino 1.0
Panthers Interceptions
Int Yds TD LG PD
Robert Pennywell 4 23 0 16
Ron Osborn 3 7 0 7
David Greenwood 2 31 0 31
Oliver Davis 2 24 0 16
John Corker 2 22 0 11
Ray Bentley 2 11 0 11
John Arnaud 2 7 0 4
Andy Cannavino 1 9 0 9
Kyle Borland 1 0 0 0
Clarence Chapman 1 0 0 0
Freddie Logan 1 0 0 0
Panthers Fumbles
FF Fmb FR Yds TD
Ken Lacy 10 1 0 0
Bobby Hebert 8 2 0 0
Anthony Carter 6 3 0 0
John Williams 5 1 0 0
Eric Robinson 4 1 0 0
Whit Taylor 3 2 0 0
Tony Ellis 3 1 0 0
John Corker 2 6 0 100
David Greenwood 2 2 0 4
Lonell Phea 2 1 0 0
Mike Cobb 1 0 0 0
Mike Hagen 1 0 0 0
Cleo Miller 1 0 0 0
Terry Miller 1 0 0 0

Special Teams

Panthers Kicking
FGM–FGA XPM–XPA
Novo Bojovic 18-19 49-54
Panthers Punting
Pnt Yds Lng Blck
David Greenwood 37 1532 56 0
Rick Partridge 23 905 53 0
Herman Weaver 16 601 51 0
Bob Grupp 1 28 28 0
Panthers Kick Returns
Ret Yds TD Lng
Lonell Phea 14 307 0 39
John Williams 12 290 0 43
Derek Holloway 13 254 0 31
Ron Ingram 10 206 0 26
Jerome Staley 5 88 0 21
Tony Ellis 2 30 0 24
Mike Hagen 2 30 0 18
David Greenwood 1 3 0 3
Robert Pennywell 1 0 0 0
John Arnaud 1 0 0 0
Panthers Punt Returns
Ret Yds TD Lng
Anthony Carter 40 387 1 57
Lonell Phea 8 87 0 23
Derek Holloway 1 –2 0 –2
Ron Ingram 1 0 0 0

[7]

Standings

Central Division
TeamWLTPCTPFPAStadium1983 CapacityAvg. Att.Avg. % filledCoach
y-Michigan Panthers 1260.667451337Silverdome80,63822,25028%Jim Stanley
x-Chicago Blitz 1260.667456271Soldier Field65,79318,13328%George Allen
Tampa Bay Bandits 1170.611363378Tampa Stadium72,81239,89655%Steve Spurrier
Birmingham Stallions 990.500343326Legion Field77,00022,04629%Rollie Dotsch

Michigan won the tiebreaker with Chicago based on season series 2-0-0

References

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