Arizona Wranglers



























































Arizona Wranglers

Arizona Wranglers helmetArizona Wranglers logo
Founded 1982
Relocated 1985 Merger with Oklahoma Outlaws: Arizona Outlaws
Based in
Tempe, Arizona, United States
Home field Sun Devil Stadium
League USFL
Conference Western
Division Pacific Division
Team History Arizona Wranglers (1982–1985)
Arizona Outlaws (1985)
Team colors Flag Blue, Red, Copper, Yellow, White
                        
Head coaches 1983 Doug Shively (4-14)
1984 George Allen (12-9)
Owner(s) 1983 Jim Joseph
1984 Dr. Ted Diethrich
Conference championships 1984
Division championships 1984

The Arizona Wranglers were a professional American Football team in the United States Football League that, name-wise, existed from late 1982 to mid-1985. They played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix.




Contents






  • 1 History


    • 1.1 Founding


    • 1.2 1983 season


      • 1.2.1 1983 Schedule




    • 1.3 1983 USFL Draft


    • 1.4 Transaction with the Chicago Blitz


    • 1.5 1984 season


      • 1.5.1 1984 Schedule




    • 1.6 1984 Arizona Wranglers Roster


    • 1.7 Merger with the Oklahoma Outlaws




  • 2 Single season leaders


  • 3 Season-by-season


  • 4 Head coaches


  • 5 References


  • 6 External links





History



Founding


The team that would eventually become the Arizona Wranglers was originally supposed to be the USFL's Los Angeles franchise. The team's planned original owner, Alex Spanos, pulled out of his USFL commitment and instead bought a minority stake in the NFL's San Diego Chargers.


The owners of the Oakland Invaders, Bay Area real estate executives Jim Joseph and Tad Taube, flipped a coin to decide who would take action to become the new owner of the USFL's Los Angeles franchise. Joseph won the flip and got the USFL rights to Los Angeles, while Taube retained full ownership of the Invaders.


A few months later, fate shuffled the deck. The owners of the USFL's San Diego franchise, cable television pioneers Bill Daniels and Alan Harmon, could not secure access to Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. (The USFL would never be able to successfully negotiate a lease to the Chargers' home stadium, a situation that would force a second USFL team, the Outlaws, to leave San Diego for another city before playing a down.)


USFL officials felt that Daniels and Harmon's ties to the cable industry would be better suited for the country's second-largest market. The league forced Joseph to surrender rights to Los Angeles to Daniels and Harmon, whose franchise became the Los Angeles Express. Joseph finally settled on a move to Phoenix, bringing professional football to that Arizona city for the first time.



1983 season


Joseph appeared to hold fast to the USFL's original blueprint. He aggressively marketed the team in Arizona while keeping a tight rein on spending (including player salaries). The results were a mixed bag. The roster was a young team with some talent at the skill positions, but fewer quality starters in the starting lineup and less depth of talent than their opponents. Due to a weaker product, the ticket sales were only in line with most other teams in the league.


The Wranglers were quite competitive at first, posting a 4-4 record and moving into a four-way tie for first in their division. However, they lost their last 10 games—tied for the longest losing streak in league history—finishing in a tie for the worst record in the league.


The 1983 Wranglers featured some talent on offense including the League's 6th ranked passer in rookie QB Alan Risher, 12th ranked rusher in 3rd year vet Leon Calvin Murray, and the league's #7, #10, #11 receivers (1983 rookies TE Mark Keel, WR Jackie Flowers, and WR Neil Balholm, respectively).


Their defense was not as strong, although it looked fairly strong on paper before the season. The Wranglers signed San Francisco 49er ILB Jeff McIntyre and ILB Glen Perkins from the University of Arizona. But during pre-season McIntyre, who had a personal services contract with Joseph, asked to be traded because of contract issues. Perkins suffered a knee injury that slowed his play and development.


The Wranglers probably benefited early on from the league's decision not to have a preseason. When the rest of their opponents reached mid-season form, the undermanned Wrangler defense appeared to have trouble keeping the games within reach of the offense. The Wranglers gave up 442 points, easily the most in the league. The Wranglers only scored more than 23 points once all season --- in their week 2 upset of George Allen's Chicago Blitz.


In hopes of avoiding Arizona's often-oppressive summer heat, the league scheduled 6 Wranglers home games in the first half of the season. The team only played 3 of their last 9 games at home.



1983 Schedule








































































































































































































































Week
Day
Date
Opponent
Game site
Attendance
Television
Final Score
W/L
Record

Regular Season
1
Sunday
March 6, 1983

Oakland Invaders

Sun Devil Stadium
45,167

0-24
L
0–1
2
Saturday
March 12, 1983

Chicago Blitz

Sun Devil Stadium
28,434

ESPN
30-29
W
1–1
3
Saturday
March 19, 1983

Los Angeles Express

Sun Devil Stadium
29,335

21-14
W
2–1
4
Saturday
March 26, 1983
at Birmingham Stallions

Legion Field
5,000

ESPN
7-16
L
2–2
5
Sunday
April 3, 1983

New Jersey Generals

Sun Devil Stadium
31,382

21-35
L
2–3
6
Monday
April 11, 1983
at Washington Federals

RFK Stadium
13,936

ESPN
22-21
W
3–3
7
Sunday
April 17, 1983

Boston Breakers

Sun Devil Stadium
20,911

23-44
L
3–4
8
Saturday
April 23, 1983

Denver Gold

Sun Devil Stadium
21,557

24-3
W
4–4
9
Monday
May 2, 1983
at Oakland Invaders

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
27,460

ESPN
20-23
L
4–5
10
Saturday
May 7, 1983

Michigan Panthers

Sun Devil Stadium
20,423

ESPN
10-21
L
4–6
11
Sunday
May 15, 1983
at Tampa Bay Bandits

Tampa Stadium
32,327

14-20
L
4–7
12
Sunday
May 22, 1983

Philadelphia Stars

Sun Devil Stadium
18,151

7-24
L
4–8
13
Monday
May 30, 1983
at Chicago Blitz

Soldier Field
13,952

ESPN
11-36
L
4–9
14
Sunday
June 5, 1983
at Los Angeles Express

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
13,826

13-17
L
4–10
15
Saturday
June 11, 1983

Washington Federals

Sun Devil Stadium
16,656

11-18
L
4–11
16
Friday
June 17, 1983
at Denver Gold

Mile High Stadium
42,621

6-32
L
4–12
17
Saturday
June 25, 1983
at New Jersey Generals

Giants Stadium
30,612

ESPN
14-21
L
4–13
18
Sunday
July 3, 1983
at Michigan Panthers

Pontiac Silverdome
31,905

ABC
7-33
L
4–14

Sources[1][2][3]



1983 USFL Draft





































































































Arizona Wranglers 1983 USFL Draft selections
Draft order
Player name
Position
Height
Weight
College
Contract
Notes
Round
Choice
Overall

1

2

2

Traded to the Chicago Blitz

1

6

6

Received from the Chicago Blitz

Eric Dickerson
RB
6'2"
190
Southern Methodist



2

23

23

Gary Williams
WR
6'2"
215
Ohio State



3

26

26

Sid Abramowitz
OT
6'6"
280
Tulsa



4

47

47

Rob Fada
OG
6'2"
265
Pittsburgh



6

27

196

Jamar Wall
CB
5'10"
204
Texas Tech



7

27

234

Sean Lissemore
NT/DE
6'4"
298
William & Mary




Transaction with the Chicago Blitz


Joseph lost millions of dollars in the 1983 season. Like most of the other owners, he'd bought into the league knowing to expect years of losses. However, he was disappointed in the team's attendance and unwilling to stick it out in Arizona.


In a stroke of luck for Joseph, Chicago Blitz owner Dr. Ted Diethrich (a Phoenix resident and founder of the Arizona Heart Institute) wanted a chance to move closer to his business interests in the Phoenix area. Despite fielding a team that had come up one game short of the USFL title game, the Blitz' attendance had been lackluster at best. Diethrich had lost millions of dollars, and didn't believe those losses justified an investment that far from home.


Diethrich thought he had a solution to both his and Joseph's problems—an unprecedented swap of franchises. Diethrich sold the Blitz to fellow surgeon James Hoffman, then bought the Wranglers from Joseph. Allen, who had been chairman and head coach of the Blitz, took the same posts in Arizona. Hoffman and Diethrich then engineered a swap of assets in which the Blitz coaching staff and most of the Blitz players moved to Phoenix while most of the Wranglers roster moved to Chicago. (The most notable exception was that Wrangler quarterback Alan Risher stayed in Arizona to back up former Blitz quarterback Greg Landry). The deal allowed Allen to keep virtually all of the NFL veteran-loaded Blitz roster that he had painstakingly assembled in 1983.


Diethrich wanted to take the Blitz name with him to Arizona, but Hoffman rebuffed him. As a result, Diethrich rebranded his team as the "New" Arizona Wranglers.While the USFL was active, the league considered the 1983 and 1984 Wranglers to be the same franchise, even though almost all the players were different.


The deal transformed the Wranglers from a cellar-dweller to a league powerhouse almost overnight. However, trading a team that had been, at worst, the third-best team in the league for a lesser version of one of the worst teams in the league raised questions about the USFL's credibility—especially in Chicago. The Blitz would never recover, and would be effectively euthanized at the end of the season (Eddie Einhorn was awarded a replacement Chicago franchise, but it never played a down).



1984 season


The 1984 Wranglers finished in a tie for first in the Western Division. In the playoffs, they upset the powerful Houston Gamblers, then defeated the Los Angeles Express for the conference title. Although the Express had a better record, the game was played at Sun Devil Stadium because the Express' home field, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, was being readied for the 1984 Summer Olympics. To accommodate the oppressive summer heat in the state, as well as the ABC Sports television schedule, the game kicked off at 8:30 p.m. local time (11:30 p.m. Eastern time).


The Wranglers' run ended in the championship game with a 23-3 defeat by the Philadelphia Stars in what would be Allen's last game as a professional coach. QB Greg Landry retired after the season. Allen retired as coach in September 1984, but remain involved with the team. Allen named assistant coach Paul Lanham as head coach. [1]


The Wranglers intended to change to red jerseys for the 1984 season, but the league office had put in a rule that stated any team changing jersey colors (in this case, blue to red) had to wait one season before doing so.[citation needed]



1984 Schedule
















































































































































































































































































































Week
Day
Date
Opponent
Game site
Attendance
Television
Final Score
W/L
Record

Preseason
1
Sunday
January 29, 1984

Oakland Invaders

Sun Devil Stadium


6–0
W
1–0
2
Bye

3
Saturday
February 11, 1984
vs. Denver Gold

Casa Grande, Arizona


14–31
L
1–1
4
Bye


Regular Season
1
Sunday
February 26, 1984

Oakland Invaders

Sun Devil Stadium
29,176

ABC
35–7
W
1–0
2
Friday
March 2, 194

Tampa Bay Bandits

Sun Devil Stadium
31,264

ESPN
17–20
L
1–1
3
Monday
March 12, 1983

Washington Federals

Sun Devil Stadium
25,218

ESPN
37–7
W
2–1
4
Sunday
March 18, 1984
at Michigan Panthers

Pontiac Silverdome
43,130

ABC
26–31
L
2–2
5
Saturday
March 24, 1983

Oklahoma Outlaws

Sun Devil Stadium
29,434

ESPN
49–7
W
3–2
6
Sunday
April 1, 1984
at Denver Gold

Mile High Stadium
31,666

7–17
L
3–3
7
Sunday
April 8, 1984

Phiadelphia Stars

Sun Devil Stadium
30,252

ABC
21–22
L
3–4
8
Sunday
April 15, 1984
at New Jersey Generals

Giants Stadium
31,917

ABC
20–3
W
4–4
9
Saturday
April 21, 1984
at Houston Gamblers

Houston Astrodome
23,117

ESPN
24–37
L
4–5
10
Saturday
April 28, 1984

San Antonio Gunslingers

Sun Devil Stadium
12,259

23–24
L
4–6
11
Monday
May 7, 1984
at New Orleans Breakers

Louisiana Superdome
22,937

ESPN
28–13
W
5–6
12
Sunday
May 13, 1984
at Oakland Invaders

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
20,004

3–14
L
5–7
13
Saturday
May 19, 1983

Denver Gold

Sun Devil Stadium
21,741

41–6
W
6–7
14
Saturday
May 26, 1984
at Los Angeles Express

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
11,702

ESPN
17–24
L
6–8
15
Sunday
June 3, 1984
at Birmingham Stallions

Legion Field
32,500

ABC
38–28
W
7–8
16
Friday
June 8, 1984

Jacksonville Bulls

Sun Devil Stadium
15,513

45–14
W
8–8
17
Friday
June 15, 1984
at Chicago Blitz

Soldier Field
5,711

36–0
W
9–8
18
Saturday
June 23, 1984

Los Angeles Express

Sun Devil Stadium
35,258

ESPN
35–10
W
10–8

Playoffs
Divisional
Playoff
Sunday
July 1, 1984
at Houston Gamblers

Houston Astrodome
32,713

ABC
17–16
W

Conference
Championship
Saturday
July 7, 1984

Los Angeles Express

Sun Devil Stadium
33,188

ABC
35–23
W

USFL
Championship
Sunday
July 15, 1984
vs. Philadelphia Stars

Tampa Stadium
52,662

ABC
3–23
L


Sources[4][5][6]



1984 Arizona Wranglers Roster


(Games Played/Games Started in parenthesis), Height, Weight, Age, College


1. MINNIFIELD, Frank CB (18/15), 5.09, 180, 24, Louisville; 38 tkl, 13 ast, 7 PDs, 2 FR, 4 ICs/74 yds


2. JOHNSON, Trumaine WR (18/18), 6.03, 193, 23, Grambling; 90 receptions, 1,269 yds, 14.1 avg, 13 TDs


3. CORRAL, Frank K/P (18/0), 6.02, 210, 28, UCLA; 11/21 FGM, 63/65 PATs, 96 pts, 69 punts, 41.4 avg, 58 long, 6 TB, 17 In-20


7. RISHER, Alan QB (18/0), 6.02, 190, 23, Louisiana State; 64/104, 61.5%, 728 yds, 3 TDs, 7 ICs


8. PORRAS, Tom QB (IA/18G), 6.02, 193, 26, Washington


11. LANDRY, Greg QB (18/18), 6.04, 207, 37, Massachusetts; 283/449, 63.0%, 3,534 yds, 26 TDs, 15ICs


20. McNair, David FS (15/0), 6.00, 190, 22, University of Florida; 13 tkl, 3 ast, 2 FR


21. DENNISON, Doug RB (13/0), 6.01, 200, 32, Kutztown State, 8 car., 48 yds, 1 TD, 30 rec., 244 yds
22. SHIELDS, Lance CB (18/6), 6.00, 175, 23, Drake; 27 tkl, 10 ast, 2 PDs
24. JOHNSON, Randy RB (7/0), 5.11, 205, 21, Texas-Arlington; 13 car., 53 yds
25. Barbieri,Ryan (safety) SS/LB (5/4) 5.11, 224,scottsdale community college


26. BROWN, Eddie SS (16/4), 5.11, 190, 31, Tennessee; 31 tlk, 17 ast, 4 PDs, 1 FR, 2 INT, 20 PR, 11.0 avg.


27. BRADLEY, Luther FS (18/18), 6.03, 197, 28, Notre Dame;


28. SCHWARTZ, Don SS (IA/2G), 6.01, 195, 28, Washington State


29. WALTON, Ted SS (11/1), 5.10, 198, 26, Connecticut


32. ALLEN, Carl CB (11/11), 6.00, 175, 28, Southern Mississippi


33. LONG, Kevin FB (18/18), 6.01, 219, 29, South Carolina


40. LAIRD, Bruce SS (13/13), 6.01, 195, 33, American International


42. CLARK, Allan RB (18/0), 5.10, 190, 26, Northern Arizona


43. BOATNER, Mack FB (18/0), 6.00, 220, 25, Southeastern State (La.)


44. SANCHEZ, Lupe CB (9/4), 5.10, 197, 22, UCLA


46. SPENCER, Tim RB (18/18), 6.01, 216, 23, Ohio State


50. OHTON, Dave LS (5/0), 5.10, 220, 22, Arizona State


51. SULLIVAN, Gerry C (18/18), 6.04, 250, 31, Illinois


52. WHITE, Stan LB (18/18), 6.01, 225, 34, Ohio State


53. MELONTREE, Andy LB (18/0), 6.03, 214, 26, Baylor


54. CASEY, Derrick LB (5/0), 6.01, 230, 23, San Francisco State


55. FAHNHORST, Jim LB (18/18), 6.04, 230, 25, Minnesota


56. SMITH, Ed LB (18/18), 6.02, 218, 26, Vanderbilt


57. FIELD, Doak LB (14/0), 6.02, 224, 25, Baylor


58. GHEESLING, Bruce LB (18/0), 6.01, 212, 23, Furman


59. PIETTE, Tom LS (17/0), 6.04, 243, 23, Michigan State


61. THAYER, Tom G (16/16), 6.04, 261, 22, Notre Dame


62. KEHR, Rick G (IA/2G), 6.03, 270, 24, Carthage


63. BUBEN, Mark DE (18/1), 6.03, 260, 27, Tufts


64. LEE, John DE (18/17), 6.02, 261, 31, Nebraska


65. KIEWEL, Jeff G (IA/18G), 6.04, 254, 23, Arizona


67. STADNIK, John T (13/10), 6.04, 278, 24, Western Illinois


68. HUFFMAN, David G (18/18), 6.07, 255, 26, Notre Dame


70. LATHROP, Kit DT (18/18), 6.04, 254, 27, Arizona State


71. LORCH, Karl DE (18/18), 6.04, 235, 33, Southern California


72. HICKMAN, Dallas DE (14/0), 6.06, 234, 28, California


73. STEVENSON, Mark G (IA/3G), 6.03, 276, 28, Western Illinois


74. EHRMANN, Joe DT (14/9), 6.03, 248, 34, Syracuse


75. TAYLOR, Rob T (18/18), 6.06, 280, 23, Northwestern


76. GIDDENS, Frank T (15/8), 6.07, 320, 24, New Mexico


77. THOMAS, Todd T/LS (5/0), 6.06, 270, 24, North Dakota


79. SMITH, Robert DE (4/0), 6.07, 256, 22, Grambling


80. HILL, Al (IA/8G), 6.03, 205, 24, Arizona


81. WRIGHTMAN, Tim TE (IA/9G), 6.03, 225, 24, UCLA


82. DOUGLAS, Larry WR (16/2), 6.01, 192, 26, Southern


83. LOCKLIN, Kerry TE (2/0), 6.04, 235, 30, New Mexico State


85. BROWN, Clay TE (2/0), 6.03, 220, 25, Brigham Young


85. TOLBERT, Mark WR (10/0), 5.09, 175, 25, Cal-Poly Pomona


86. RICKER, Paul TE (18/18), 6.03, 233, 27, Norwich


87. COZEN, Doug TE (4/0), 6.04, 241, 26, Illinois


88. BUGGS, Wamon WR (4/4), 6.02, 198, 23, Vanderbilt


89. WILLIS, Lenny WR (18/14), 5.11, 188, 30, Ohio State


91. EPPS, Nick DE (4/0), 6.03, 247, 21, Illinois


99. YOUNG, Wilbur DT (15/9), 6.06, 285, 34, William Penn


HEAD COACH: GEORGE ALLEN


Quarterbacks Coach: Roman Gabriel


Offensive Line: John Payne


Secondary: Donald "Deek" Pollard


Defensive Line: John Teerlinck


Offensive Backs: Ray Wietecha


Strength & Conditioning: Warren Anderson



Merger with the Oklahoma Outlaws


Despite making it to the Championship game, Diethrich was bleeding in red ink. He expected his all-star team's attendance to be much greater than the 25,776 fans per game the no-name Wranglers averaged in 1983. However, as had been the case a year earlier, Phoenix-area fans viewed the Wranglers mostly with indifference. Despite fielding a winning team, the Wranglers' 1984 attendance figures (25,568 fans per game) were actually lower than the 1983 numbers, as fans were slow to warm to the new players.


After losing millions for the second year in a row, Diethrich decided to get out. He found a willing buyer in Oklahoma Outlaws owner William Tatham, who was looking for a larger market with an acceptable stadium. The two men reached a deal in which Tatham acquired the Wranglers' assets. Since Tatham acquired all the Wranglers' player contracts, the deal was widely reported as a merger. Tatham relocated the Outlaws to Arizona for the 1985 season, merging the rosters into the Arizona Outlaws.



Single season leaders


Rushing Yards: 1207 (1984), Tim Spencer


Receiving Yards: 1258 (1984), Trumaine Johnson


Passing Yards: 3534 (1984), Greg Landry



Season-by-season


































Season W L T Finish Playoff results
1983 4 14 0 4th Pacific Division
1984 10 8 0 2nd Pacific Division Won Divisional Playoff (Houston)
Won Western Conference Championship (Los Angeles)
Lost USFL championship (Philadelphia)
Totals 16 23 0
(including playoffs)


Head coaches




  • Doug Shively (1983)


  • George Allen (1984)



References





  1. ^ statscrew.com 1983 Arizona Wranglers Game-by-Game Results


  2. ^ usflsite.com 1983 USFL Season


  3. ^ profootballarchives.com 1983 Arizona Wranglers (USFL)


  4. ^ statscrew.com 1984 Arizona Wranglers Game-by-Game Results


  5. ^ usflsite.com 1984 USFL Season


  6. ^ profootballarchives.com 1984 Arizona Wranglers (USFL)




External links



  • USFL.info - Arizona Wranglers

  • >"Remember the USFL - Arizona Wranglers". Web.archive.org. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}









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