1983 Michigan Panthers season

1983 Michigan Panthers season
Owner	A. Alfred Taubman
General manager	Jim Spavital
Head coach	Jim Stanley
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	12-6
Division place	1st Central Division
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Invaders) 37-21 Won USFL Championship (vs. Stars) 24-22
Uniform

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.

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 Owner – A. Alfred Taubman General manager – Jim Spavital Head coaches Head coach – Jim Stanley Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator - George Dickson Quarterbacks – Bob Leahy Running backs – George Dickson Wide receivers – Bob Leahy Tight ends – Kent Stephenson Offensive line – Kent Stephenson

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator - Dick Roach Defensive line – Pete Rodriguez Linebackers – Larry Coyer Defensive backs – Dick Roach Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Mike Long

Roster

1983 Michigan Panthers final roster

	Quarterbacks 11 Bobby Hebert 10 Whit Taylor Running backs 30 Tony Ellis HB 39 Mike Hagen HB 33 Jimmy Hargrove FB 28 Ken Lacy HB 33 Cleo Miller HB 40 John Williams HB Wide receivers  1 Anthony Carter 29 Derek Holloway 83 Frank McClain 86 Lonell Phea 81 Jerome Staley Tight ends 89 Mike Cobb 88 Donnie Echols 84 McDonald Oden		Offensive linemen 54 Matt Braswell G/C 63 Thom Dornbrook G 73 Greg Fairchild OT/G 70 Chris Godfrey OT 74 Russ Graham OT 69 Marv Mantos G 61 Tyrone McGriff G 74 Ray Pinney OT 55 Wayne Radloff C 60 Tony Vitale G 68 Mike Weston G/C Defensive linemen 67 Ira Albright DT 90 Curtis Anderson DE 76 John Banaszak DE 72 Phil Dokes DE/DT 98 Allen Hughes DT/DE 77 Jeff Jackson DE/DT 99 Ronnie Paggett DE/DT 79 Wes Roberts DE 65 David Tipton DT		Linebackers 50 Ray Bentley 52 Kyle Borland 62 Andy Cannavino 58 Will Cokeley 57 John Corker 53 Mike Edwards 51 Mel Land 59 Robert Pennywell 51 Ricky Young Defensive backs 25 John Arnaud S/CB 22 Clarence Chapman CB 21 Oliver Davis CB/S 26 Elbert Gray CB 31 David Greenwood S/P 24 Freddie Logan CB 45 Tom Moriarty S/CB 23 Ron Osborn CB/S 20 Victor Jackson S 33 Anthony Watson DB Special teams  3 Novo Bojovic K 17 Rick Partridge P		Rookies in italics

USFL Draft

Main article: 1983 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

Rewards

Award	Winner	Position
All-USFL Team	Ray Pinney	OT
All-USFL Team	Thom Dornbrook	G
All-USFL Team	Bobby Hebert	QB
All-USFL Team	John Corker	LB
Defensive Player of the Year	John Corker	LB
USFL Outstanding Quarterback	Bobby Hebert	QB
USFL Passing Touchdowns Leader	Bobby Hebert	QB
USFL QBR Leader	Bobby Hebert	QB
USFL Championship Game MVP	Bobby Hebert	QB

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

Standings

Central Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	Stadium	1983 Capacity	Avg. Att.	Avg. % filled	Coach
y-Michigan Panthers	12	6	0	.667	451	337	Silverdome	80,638	22,250	28%	Jim Stanley
x-Chicago Blitz	12	6	0	.667	456	271	Soldier Field	65,793	18,133	28%	George Allen
Tampa Bay Bandits	11	7	0	.611	363	378	Tampa Stadium	72,812	39,896	55%	Steve Spurrier
Birmingham Stallions	9	9	0	.500	343	326	Legion Field	77,000	22,046	29%	Rollie Dotsch

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

References