Houston Gamblers (2022) Players
The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducing former Middletown (Ohio) High School football coach Glenn "Tiger" Ellison's Run & Shoot offense to the world of pro football. The Run & Shoot puts the USFL on the map Run & Shoot advocate and chief refiner Darell "Mouse" Davis was hired by the progressive Pardee to install the offense as the team's Offensive Coordinator. (Davis was a former head coach at Portland State University where he developed the St. Louis Cardinals' two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Neil Lomax.) Led by former Miami Hurricanes QB Jim Kelly (who snubbed the NFL's Buffalo Bills to play in the USFL) the Gamblers wrecked secondaries across the USFL, getting national media attention in demolishing the league's single season scoring record (The Gamblers scored 618 points ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Astrodome
The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston and known for pioneering modern stadiums. Construction on the stadium began in 1962, and it officially opened in 1965. It served as home to the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB) from its opening until 1999, and the home to the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1968 until 1996, and also the part-time home of the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1971 until 1975. Additionally, the Astrodome was the primary venue of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo from 1966 until 2002. When opened, it was named the Harris County Domed Stadium and was nicknamed the "Eighth Wonder of the World". After the original natural grass playing surface died, the Astrodome became the first major sp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Herschel Walker
Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia. Walker played college football at the University of Georgia, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a junior. He spent the first three seasons of his professional career with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL) and was the league's MVP during its final season in 1985. After the USFL folded, Walker joined the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, earning consecutive Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors from 1987 to 1988. In 1989, Walker was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, which is regarded as one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history and credited with establishing the Cowboys' dynasty of the 1990s. He was later a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants before retiring with the Cowboys. Walker was i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jim Smith (wide Receiver)
James Arthur Smith (born July 20, 1955) is a former American football player. He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1974 to 1976. He also played wide receiver for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1977 to 1982 before starring on the Birmingham Stallions of the rival United States Football League (USFL). After the USFL's demise, Smith played a final season for the Los Angeles Raiders in 1985. Early years Smith grew up in Robbins, Illinois, and attended Dwight D. Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, Illinois, where he earned All-Conference and All-State honors. In his senior year, he led the Eisenhower Cardinals to the South Suburban Conference title. University of Michigan Smith was a flanker and wingback for the University of Michigan from 1974 to 1976. In three years at Michigan, he caught 73 passes for 1,687 yards (23.1 yards per reception) and 14 touchdowns. He also returned 51 punts for 525 yards, an average of 10.3 yards per return ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joe Cribbs
Joe Stanier Cribbs (born January 5, 1958) is a retired National Football League and United States Football League football running back. He played collegiately at Auburn University along with future NFL backs William Andrews and James Brooks. He began his professional career in 1980 with the Buffalo Bills. After being drafted in the second round of the 1980 NFL Draft, Cribbs went on to start all 16 games of his rookie year with Buffalo, finishing with 1185 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. His performance earned him consensus UPI AFC Rookie of the Year honors and a spot in the Pro Bowl, the only rookie chosen as a starter that year. In five seasons with the team, split around a detour with the USFL, Cribbs had 13 100-yard games and ran for 1,000 yards in a season three times. In the spring of 1984, Cribbs left the Bills in a contract dispute and signed on as a member of the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (USFL). Cribbs was to serve as the presiden ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cliff Stoudt
Clifford Lewis Stoudt (born March 27, 1955) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League. He was drafted in the fifth round (121st overall) by the Steelers. He played college football at Youngstown State University. Early years Stoudt attended Oberlin High School, where he played quarterback. He also was one of the state's top prep golfers. Stoudt accepted a football scholarship from Youngstown State University, where he became a four-year starter. As a sophomore, he led the team to an 8-1 regular season record and the school's first appearance at the NCAA Division II playoffs, where they lost against the University of Delaware. As a junior, he posted 1,022 passing yards and 406 rushing yards. As a senior, he started all 10 games, passing for 1,259 yards and 5 touchdowns, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hurry-up Offense
The hurry-up offense is an American football offensive style, which has two different but related forms in which the offensive team avoids delays between plays. The hurry-up, no-huddle offense (HUNH) refers to avoiding or shortening the huddle to limit or disrupt defensive strategies and flexibility. The two-minute drill is a clock-management strategy that may limit huddles but also emphasizes plays that stop the game clock. While the two-minute drill refers to parts of the game with little time remaining on the game clock, the no-huddle may be used in some form at any time. The no-huddle offense was pioneered by the Cincinnati Bengals and reached its most famous and complete usage by the Buffalo Bills, nicknamed the "K-Gun", during the 1990s under head coach Marv Levy and offensive coordinator Ted Marchibroda. No-huddle The no-huddle offense is usually employed as part of a hurry-up offense, but it is not necessarily an attempt to snap the ball (begin the play) more quickly. Rat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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No-huddle Offense
The hurry-up offense is an American football offensive style, which has two different but related forms in which the offensive team avoids delays between plays. The hurry-up, no-huddle offense (HUNH) refers to avoiding or shortening the huddle to limit or disrupt defensive strategies and flexibility. The two-minute drill is a clock-management strategy that may limit huddles but also emphasizes plays that stop the game clock. While the two-minute drill refers to parts of the game with little time remaining on the game clock, the no-huddle may be used in some form at any time. The no-huddle offense was pioneered by the Cincinnati Bengals and reached its most famous and complete usage by the Buffalo Bills, nicknamed the "K-Gun", during the 1990s under head coach Marv Levy and offensive coordinator Ted Marchibroda. No-huddle The no-huddle offense is usually employed as part of a hurry-up offense, but it is not necessarily an attempt to snap the ball (begin the play) more quickly. Rath ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Jenkins (American Football Coach)
John Jenkins (born June 20, 1952) is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach the University of Houston from 1990 to 1992, compiling a record of 18–15. A proponent of the run and shoot offense, Jenkins also coached professional football in the United States Football League (USFL), the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL). He served as the head coach of the CFL's Ottawa Renegades in 2006, the FXFL's Blacktips in 2014 and the Hudson Valley Fort for part of 2015. During his career as a coach, Jenkins has mentored a number of notable quarterbacks such as Andre Ware, David Klingler, Jim Kelly, Eric Crouch, Kliff Kingsbury, Anthony Calvillo and Doug Flutie. Early life and playing career Jenkins was raised in Pampa, Texas. He played college football at the University of Arkansas. Coaching career Houston Gamblers After serving as the special teams coach for the Houston Gamblers of the USFL in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Denver Gold
The Denver Gold was a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second major professional American football, football league in the United States, playing a springtime season, from 1983 to 1985. The Gold played their home games at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado; co-tenants in the spring with the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A Denver Zephyrs baseball team (Denver Bears prior to 1984). History Holding fast to the USFL's original blueprint When the USFL first organized, league officials identified Denver as a critical market. However, they had a difficult time finding an owner. Ultimately, the league's first operations chief, John Ralston (American football), John Ralston, got in touch with local real estate magnate Ron Blanding, an old friend from his days as head coach of the National Football League's Denver Broncos. After some pleading, Blanding agreed to sign on. Blanding was easily the poorest owner in the league. He held fast to USFL foun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arizona Wranglers
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. 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, selling his stake in the Invaders to Taube. A few months later, fate shuffled the deck. The owners of the USFL's San Diego franchise, cable television pioneers Bill Danie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Allen (coach)
George Herbert Allen (April 29, 1918 – December 31, 1990) was an American football coach. He served as the head coach for two teams in the National Football League (NFL), the Los Angeles Rams from 1966 to 1970 and the Washington Redskins from 1971 to 1977. Allen led his teams to winning records in all 12 of his seasons as an NFL head coach, compiling an overall regular-season record of 116–47–5. Seven of his teams qualified for the NFL playoffs, including the 1972 Washington Redskins, who reached Super Bowl VII, losing to Don Shula's Miami Dolphins. Allen made a brief return as head coach of the Rams in 1978, but was fired before the regular season commenced. Allen began his coaching career at the college football level, serving as head football coach at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa from 1948 to 1950 and Whittier College in Whittier, California from 1951 to 1956. He moved to the NFL in 1957 as an assistant coach for the Rams under head coach Sid Gillman. Allen t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament. In team sports in the U.S. and Canada, the vast distances and consequent burdens on cross-country travel have led to regional divisions of teams. Generally, during the regular season, teams play more games in their division than outside it, but the league's best teams might not play against each other in the regular season. Therefore, in the postseason a playoff series is organized. Any group-winning team is eligible to participate, and as playoffs became more popular they were ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |