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1983 New Jersey Generals season

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Defunct football team in the USFL
1983 New Jersey Generals season
OwnerJ. Walter Duncan
General managerChuck Fairbanks
Head coachChuck Fairbanks
Home fieldGiants Stadium
Results
Record6-12
Division place3rd Atlantic Division
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Uniform

From the beginning, USFL founder David Dixon placed a premium on putting a team in the New York area. Initially, Donald Trump was tapped to own the team. However, he backed out after paying an initial installment on the franchise fee, hoping instead to buy the struggling Baltimore Colts of the NFL. Needing a credible owner with the means to front a team in the nation's biggest market, Dixon persuaded Oklahoma oil magnate J. Walter Duncan to step in. Duncan had originally been slated to own the USFL's Chicago franchise, as he'd grown up in Chicago. However, he readily agreed to shift to New York.

Duncan took on former New England Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks as a minority partner; Duncan knew Fairbanks from his days as head coach at the University of Oklahoma. Fairbanks also served as general manager and head coach. They initially had an uphill battle to get a lease at Giants Stadium, but were able to obtain one on condition that they brand their team as "New Jersey" rather than "New York." They named the team the "Generals" after the large number of generals based in New Jersey during the Revolutionary War.

The team made a big splash by signing Heisman Trophy-winning underclassman Herschel Walker, a running back from the University of Georgia. While the USFL had followed the NFL's lead in banning underclassmen from playing, league officials were certain that this rule would never withstand a court challenge. In an even more ominous development, Walker did not sign a standard player contract. Rather, he agreed to a three-year personal-services contract with Duncan. The contract was valued at $4.2 million—more than double the USFL's salary cap of $1.8 million. Nonetheless, the other owners knew having the incumbent Heisman winner in their fold would lend the USFL instant credibility, and allowed the contract to stand.

Despite the signing of Walker, who rushed for 1,812 yards and 17 touchdowns, the Generals finished their inaugural season with a 6–12 record. This was largely due to a porous defense which gave up the third-most points in the league (437) and a feeble passing attack led by ex-New Orleans Saints career backup Bobby Scott.

Personnel

Staff

1983 New Jersey Generals staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator - Doug Knotts
  • Defensive line – George Wheeler
  • Linebackers – Doug Knotts
  • Defensive backs – Dick Moseley

Special teams coaches



Roster

1983 New Jersey Generals roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

  • 95 Joe Cugliari DE/DT
  • 96 James Lockette DE
  • 90 Mel Lunsford DE
  • 93 Richard Murray DE
  • 95 Ben Watts DT/DE
  • 98 Ricky Williamson DE/DT
  • 71 Tom Woodland DT
 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

  • 24 Terry Daniels CB
  • 26 Don Harris S
  • 22 Warren Harvey CB
  • 23 William Holliday CB
  • 28 Eric Johnson S
  • 21 Keith Moody S/CB
  • 37 Dana Joel CB
  • 27 Sam Sopp S/CB
  • 29 Mike Williams CB

Special teams

Rookies in italics

USFL Draft

Main article: 1983 USFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position School
1 5 Gary Anderson Running Back Arkansas
2 22 Mark Stewart Linebacker Washington
2 24 Darryl Talley Linebacker Washington
3 27 Ramsey Dardar Defensive Tackle LSU
4 46 Wes Hopkins Defensive Back SMU
5 51 Wayne Harris Guard Mississippi State
5 60 Mark Cooper Offensive Tackle Miami
6 70 Randy Grimes Center Bayler
7 75 Kent Hull Center Mississippi State
8 94 Maurice Carthon Running Back Arkansas State
9 99 Marlin Russell Linebacker Toledo
10 118 Charles Benson Defensive End Baylor
11 123 Danny Walters Defensive Back Arkansas
12 142 Bryan Millard Offensive Tackle Texas
13 147 Ricky Williamson Defensive End Mars Hill
14 166 James Britt Defensive Back LSU

Schedule

Week Day Date TV Opponent Results Location Attendance
Score Record
1 Sunday March 6 ABC at Los Angeles Express 15-20 0-1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 34,002
2 Sunday March 13 ABC at Philadelphia Stars 0-25 0-2 Veterans Stadium 38,205
3 Sunday March 20 Tampa Bay Bandits 9-32 0-3 Giants Stadium 53,307
4 Sunday March 27 Boston Breakers 21-31 0-4 Giants Stadium 41,218
5 Sunday April 3 at Arizona Wranglers 35-21 1-4 Sun Devil Stadium 31,382
6 Sunday April 10 ESPN Michigan Panthers 6-21 1-5 Giants Stadium 17,648
7 Sunday April 17 ABC Washington Federals 23-22 2-5 Giants Stadium 35,381
8 Monday April 25 ESPN at Chicago Blitz 14-17 (OT) 2-6 Soldier Field 32,182
9 Sunday May 1 ABC at Denver Gold 34-29 3-6 Mile High Stadium 47,940
10 Monday May 9 ESPN Birmingham Stallions 7-22 3-7 Giants Stadium 38,374
11 Monday May 16 ESPN at Michigan Panthers 24-31 3-8 Pontiac Silverdome 32,862
12 Sunday May 22 ABC Chicago Blitz 13-19 (OT) 3-9 Giants Stadium 33,812
13 Sunday May 29 at Washington Federals 32-29 4-9 RFK Stadium 11,264
14 Saturday June 4 ESPN at Oakland Invaders 21-34 4-10 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 32,908
15 Sunday June 12 Philadelphia Stars 9-23 4-11 Giants Stadium 20,500
16 Saturday June 17 ABC Los Angeles Express 20-12 5-11 Giants Stadium 31,807
17 Sunday June 25 ESPN Arizona Wranglers 21-14 6-11 Giants Stadium 30,612
18 Sunday July 3 at Boston Breakers 10-34 6-12 Nickerson Field 15,798

Rewards

Award Winner Position
All-USFL Team Herschel Walker RB
USFL Outstanding Running Back Herschel Walker RB
USFL Rushing Yards Leader Herschel Walker RB
USFL Rushing Touchdown Leader Herschel Walker RB

Final Statistics

Offense

Generals Passing
C/ATT Yds TD INT
Bobby Scott 167/296 2174 7 16
Jeff Knapple 82/164 1017 3 10
Dave Boisture 16/35 160 1 2
Gene Bradley 7/19 81 1 1
Mike Friede 0/1 0 0 0
Generals Rushing
Car Yds TD LG
Herschel Walker 412 1812 17 83
Maurice Carthon 90 334 3 14
Dwight Sullivan 47 205 4 20
Walter Tullis 17 123 1 33
Thomas lott 18 110 1 16
Bobby Scott 19 71 0 14
Dave Boisture 7 45 0 11
Vickey Ray Anderson 5 29 0 9
Jeff Knapple 4 25 0 10
Larry Coffey 6 20 0 12
Mark Slawson 2 18 0 12
Sam Bowers 2 15 0 8
Lance Olander 3 11 0 6
Tom McConnaughey 1 1 0 1
Dave Jacobs 1 –5 0 –5
Victor Hicks 2 –11 0 –11
Generals Receiving
Rec Yds TD LG
Herschel Walker 53 489 1 65
Sam Bowers 43 719 1 49
Tom McConnaughey 42 691 3 37
Mike Friede 25 379 1 27
Victor Hicks 20 267 3 40
Maurice Carthon 20 170 0 22
Dwight Sullivan 20 99 0 11
Larry Brodsky 19 239 1 31
Mark Slawson 17 259 1 27
Larry Coffey 6 56 0 27
Vickey Ray Anderson 5 22 1 7
Walter Tullis 2 52 0 37

Defense

Generals Sacks
Sacks
Mike Weddington 6.0
James Lockette 4.5
Terry Daniels 4.0
Rod Shoate 4.0
Tom Woodland 3.0
Ricky Williamson 2.5
Mike McKibben 2.0
Joe Cugliari 2.0
Richard Murray 1.0
Mel Lunsford 1.0
Scott Dawson 1.0
Maurice Clemmons 1.0
Donnie Harris 1.0
Sam Sopp 0.5
Rod Skillman 0.5
Steve Hammond 0.5
Generals Interceptions
Int Yds TD LG PD
Mike Williams 8 68 0 26
Terry Daniels 4 26 0 23
Keith Moody 3 27 0 16
Sam Sopp 3 22 0 15
Rod Skillman 1 4 0 4
Dana Noel 1 1 0 1
Rod Shoate 2 50 0 31
Generals Fumbles
FF Fmb FR Yds TD
Herschel Walker 12 4 0 0
Thomas Lott 2 6 0 –1
Bobby Scott 7 3 0 0
Jeff Knapple 4 4 0 0
Maurice Carthon 4 0 0 0
Dwight Sullivan 3 2 0 0
Sam Bowers 3 1 0 0
Larry Coffy 2 2 0 0
Rod Skillman 1 1 0 0
William Holliday 1 1 0 0
Dave Boisture 1 0 0 0
Frank Naylor 1 0 0 0
Larry Brodsky 1 0 0 0
Victor Hicks 1 1 0 0
Walter Tullis 1 3 0 0

Special Teams

Generals Kicking
FGM–FGA XPM–XPA
John Roveto 7-13 15-15
Generals Punting
Pnt Yds Lng Blck
Lance Olander 54 1998 57 0
Dave Jacobs 23 788 51 0
Generals Kick Returns
Ret Yds TD Lng
Thomas Lott 53 1160 0 37
Larry Coffy 6 113 0 39
Lance Olander 6 89 0 22
Dwight Sullivan 5 85 0 23
Herschel Walker 3 69 0 27
Mike Williams 2 49 0 30
Mike Weddington 4 41 0 14
Vickey Ray Anderson 1 19 0 19
Walter Tullis 1 7 0 7
Mike Friede 1 0 0 0
Generals Punt Returns
Ret Yds TD Lng
Thomas Lott 25 155 0 17
Mike Williams 5 58 0 18

Standings

Atlantic Division
Team W L T PCT PF PA Stadium 1983 Capacity Avg. Att. Avg. % filled Coach
y-Philadelphia Stars 15 3 0 .833 379 204 Veterans Stadium 72,204 18,650 26% Jim Mora
Boston Breakers 11 7 0 .611 399 334 Nickerson Field 21,000 12,817 61% Dick Coury
New Jersey Generals 6 12 0 .333 314 437 Giants Stadium 76,891 35,004 46% Chuck Fairbanks
Washington Federals 4 14 0 .222 297 422 RFK Stadium 54,794 13,850 25% Ray Jauch


References

  1. ^ Reeths, Paul (2017). The United States Football League, 1982-1986. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1476667447.
  3. https://www.statscrew.com/football/roster/t-USFLNJG/y-1983
  4. statscrew.com 1983 New Jersey Generals Game-by-Game Results
  5. usflsite.com 1983 USFL Season
  6. profootballarchives.com 1983 New Jersey Generals (USFL)
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