Chicago Blitz

For the former American Indoor Football team, see Chicago Blitz (indoor football).
Chicago Blitz
Founded 1982
Folded 1984
Based in Chicago, Illinois, United States
Home field Soldier Field
League USFL
Conference Western
Division Central Division
Team History Chicago Blitz (1983–1984)
Team colors

Red, Blue, Silver, White

                   
Head coaches 1983 George Allen (12-7)
1984 Marv Levy (5-13)
General managers Bruce Allen
Owner(s) 1983 Dr. Ted Diethrich
1984 Dr. James Hoffman
1984 The USFL

The Chicago Blitz was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.

Team history

The original Chicago Blitz helmet from 1983 with the blue facemask.

The Blitz were one of the twelve charter franchises of the USFL. The ownership group was headed by renowned heart surgeon Dr. Ted Diethrich, with legendary coach George Allen and Southern California developer Bill Harris as minority partners. Harris and Allen had originally sought the franchise, but a search for capital led them to Diethrich. Diethrich served as president, with Harris as executive vice president and Allen as chairman of the board and head coach.

George Allen

Allen had been out of coaching since 1977; he had been a candidate for the vacant head coaching position with the Chicago Bears a year earlier, but Bears owner George Halas had never forgiven Allen for defecting to the Rams in 1965. Allen immediately became the "face" of the new team, and set about putting together the best 40-man roster he could find. The result was a team loaded with NFL veterans that was the early favorite to be the new league's first champion.

1983 season

The Blitz finished in a tie for the Central Division title, but were awarded a wild card berth due to a regular season sweep by the eventual champion Michigan Panthers.

In the playoffs, the Blitz blew a 21-point lead over the Philadelphia Stars, losing 44-38 in overtime.

Struggling at the gate

The Blitz was one of the strongest teams in the league. Indeed, some suggested that the Blitz and the two finalists, the Philadelphia Stars and Michigan Panthers, could have been competitive in the NFL. However, they struggled at the gate, averaging only 18,100 fans—a total that looked even smaller in the relatively spacious configuration of Soldier Field. It should be noted that these numbers were very similar to the gates for the Stars and Panthers in their first year. Both of those franchises would see dramatically higher attendance numbers in their second season based on their on-field success in their first year.

Diethrich lost millions of dollars in 1983. Although he, like most of the other owners, knew that he could expect years of losses until the USFL established itself, he soon lost confident in the team's ability to draw fans in Chicago. He also did not feel the losses justified making an investment for a team far from his home in Phoenix (he was the founder of the Arizona Heart Institute). As it turned out, Arizona Wranglers owner Jim Joseph had lost almost as much money as Diethrich, and was looking to sell the Wranglers.

Franchise swap with Arizona Wranglers

This resulted in one of the most unusual transactions in sports history. Diethrich sold the Blitz to fellow surgeon James Hoffman, then bought the Wranglers from Joseph. Hoffman and Diethrich then engineered a swap of assets in which George Allen, 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 triggerman Alan Risher stayed in Arizona to back up Greg Landry.) The deal allowed Deithrich's coach, Allen, to keep the NFL veteran-loaded Blitz roster that Allen and the Chicago front office painstakingly assembled in 1983.

(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 powerhouse almost overnight, while turning the Blitz into a lesser version of the 4-14 Wranglers. The transaction raised serious questions about the USFL's credibility—especially in Chicago.

The Hoffman Era

Hoffman spent heavily in promoting the new Blitz. He hired NFL veteran, future Pro Football Hall of Famer and Chicago native Marv Levy as coach. (Levy reportedly thought he would be taking over George Allen's team when he took the job.) Future Hall of Famer Bill Polian was the player personal director for the Blitz in 1984.

Bears backup QB Vince Evans was brought in to be the new Blitz starting quarterback. Evans signed in November 1983 to a 4-year, $5 million deal. He was signed in spite of owning a very unimpressive 57.31 QB rating in seven previous NFL seasons. Evans' accuracy was always an issue in the NFL. His most accurate season up to that point was 1980 when he completed 53.2% of his passes. He entered the USFL with a career NFL competition percentage of 48.7% and a 31-53 TD to INT ratio.

In January 1984, the Blitz tendered an offer that would have been the largest contract in football ($2 million a year for 3 years) to Bears star running back Walter Payton. Payton promised to consider the offer, but would not be rushed. The Blitz 1984 season was scheduled to start on February 27 and the new ownership had little success selling season tickets. The Blitz needed Payton quickly to help sales, so they put a deadline on the offer of 2/9/84. Before he made up his mind, the Blitz withdrew the offer realizing they simply did not have the finances.

With a less talented team and no big names to excite the fans, ticket sales predictably flat-lined, in spite of Hoffman sinking a lot of money into advertising. Fans were not happy that Hoffman had, for all intents and purposes, jettisoned the third-best team in the league in favor of an also-ran. Just prior to the season, a frustrated Hoffman walked away from the Blitz, leaving the team to the minority owners. The Hoffman era ended before his new team had even played a down.

An even weaker Blitz team

Although the 1984 Blitz had many of the same players as the 1983 Wranglers, they were a weaker team due to two reasons.

First, there was the expansion draft and its requirements. All of the initial 12 teams were required to make players available for the expansion teams.

Secondly, Evans was not a capable replacement for Risher, the league's 6th-ranked passer in 1983.

The 1984 Season

The "new" Blitz made a wretched showing on the field, finishing with the third-worst record in the league. The 1983 Wrangler defense gave up a league worst 442 points and the 1984 Blitz were equally as challenged defensively, finishing second to last in the league with 466 points allowed.

Evans was the quarterback many fans expected—a flashy talent with little accuracy or consistency and a penchant for turnovers. For the season, he completed 48.7% of his passes with 14 TDs and 22 INTs for a rating of 58.29. Featured HB Larry Canada was solid, running for 915 yards and 7 TDs and adding 48 catches. WR Marcus Anderson led the team with 50 catches for 940 yards with 5 TDs. All-Pro punter Jeff Gossett led the USFL with a 42.5-yard avg.

The Blitz attracted only 7,500 people per game, the second-lowest average gate in the league. The inability to draw even 10,000 per game would dramatically affect the team's bottom line. Early in the season, the Blitz' minority owners, drowning in red ink, returned the team to the league. The USFL could not simply fold the Blitz, however—its contract with ABC required the league to have teams in the New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago markets (home to ABC's strongest-performing stations).

Shutting down

With 4 games to go, a press conference was held announcing that the Blitz would be shut down. It was also announced that Chicago White Sox minority owner Eddie Einhorn would be granted a new USFL franchise for Chicago. While it was stressed that Einhorn's franchise was not the Blitz, Einhorn retained the rights to all Blitz players and coaching staff—strongly implying the team would play in the 1985 season. ABC had no objections to this move, probably due to the USFL's anemic ratings in Chicago.

A strong proponent of the USFL's planned move to the fall in 1986 (so as not to compete with his own White Sox or their crosstown rivals the Chicago Cubs for fans), Einhorn opted not to field a team in the USFL's final spring lame duck season, 1985. For reasons unknown, the Blitz were also left off the league's proposed fall 1986 schedule, and the Blitz never played football again.

Players who went on to the National Football League

The Blitz had a number of players who had played in the National Football League or would go on to play there. Some of them were Vince Evans, Tim Spencer, Trumaine Johnson, Greg Landry, Jeff Gossett, Vagas Ferguson, Richard Holland, Joe Ehrmann, Tim Wrightman, Larry Canada, Tom Thayer, Frank Minniefield, Jim Fahnhorst, Marc May, Brian Glasgow, Walter Easley, Luther Bradley, Troy Thomas, Robert Cobb, Ed Smith, Stan White, Eddie Brown, Kevin Long, and Mark Keel.

There are currently two coaches in the Pro Football Hall of Fame that coached in the USFL, both coached the Blitz: George Allen (1983) and Marv Levy (1984).

1983 Blitz game results

Week Day Date Opponent Game Site Attendance Final Score W/L Record
1 Sunday March 6 at Washington Federals RFK Stadium 38,007 28-7 W 1-0
2 Saturday March 12 at Arizona Wranglers Sun Devil Stadium 28,434 29–30 L 1–1
3 Sunday March 20 Denver Gold Soldier Field 22,600 13–16 L 1-2
4 Sunday March 27 Los Angeles Express Soldier Field 10,936 20–14 W 2–2
5 Saturday April 2 at Tampa Bay Bandits Tampa Stadium 46,585 42–7 W 3-2
6 Sunday April 10 Birmingham Stallions Soldier Field 13,859 22–11 W 4-2
7 Sunday April 17 at Michigan Panthers Pontiac Silverdome 11,634 12-17 L 4-3
8 Monday April 25 New Jersey Generals Soldier Field 32,184 17-14 OT W 5-3
9 Sunday May 1 at Los Angeles Express Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 21,123 38–17 W 6-3
10 Sunday May 8 Washington Federals Soldier Field 11,303 31–3 W 7-3
11 Sunday May 15 at Philadelphia Stars Veterans Stadium 20,931 24–31 L 7-4
12 Sunday May 22 at New Jersey Generals Giants Stadium 33,812 19–13 OT W 8-4
13 Monday May 30 Arizona Wranglers Soldier Field 13,952 36-11 W 9-4
14 Monday June 6 at Boston Breakers Nickerson Field 15,087 15-21 L 9-5
15 Sunday June 12 Tampa Bay Bandits Soldier Field 21,249 31-8 W 10-5
16 Friday June 17 at Birmingham Stallions Legion Field 22,500 29-14 W 11-5
17 Sunday June 26 Michigan Panthers Soldier Field 25,041 19-34 L 11-6
18 Sunday July 3 Oakland Invaders Soldier Field 12,346 31-7 W 12-6
SF Saturday July 9 Philadelphia Stars Veterans Stadium 15,684 38-44 OT L 0-1

1983 Chicago Blitz roster

1983 Chicago Blitz roster
Quarterbacks
  • 14 Tim Koegel
  • 15 Tom Rozantz

Running backs

  • 43 Mack Boatner FB
  • 34 Frank Collins
  • 34 Walter Poole
  • 42 Jim Stone

Wide receivers

  • 88 Wamon Buggs

Tight ends

  • 84 Doug Cozen
  • 86 Paul Ricker
Offensive Linemen
  • 54 Robert Barnes G
  • 59 Bruce Branch G
  • 66 Tim James C/LS
  • 50 Jack Lafferty C/LS
  • 62 Jim Lohmann T
  • 59 James Looney
  • 66 Bill McClung G
  • 68 Tim Norman G
  • 59 Tom Piette C
  • 73 Mark Stevenston G
  • 50 Steve Tobin C/LS
  • 69 Kari Yli-Renko T

Defensive Linemen

  • 63 Mark Buben DE
  • 72 Bob Cobb DE
  • 76 Ken Gillen DE
  • 64 John Lee DE
  • 79 Troy Thomas DT
Linebackers
  • 59 Tim Darling
  • 57 Doak Field
  • 58 Bruce Gheesling
  • 53 Andrew Melontree

Defensive backs

  • 25 Eddie Brown SS
  • 28 Don Schwartz SS
  • 37 Pat Schmidt SS
  • 22 Lance Shields CB

Special Teams

  •  7 John Roveto K

1984 Blitz game results

Week Day Date Opponent Game Site Attendance Final Score W/L Record
1 Monday February 27 at Michigan Panthers Pontiac Silverdome 22,428 18-20 L 0-1
2 Sunday March 4 at Memphis Showboats Liberty Bowl 10,152 13-23 L 0-2
3 Sunday March 11 Houston Gamblers Soldier Field 7,808 36-45 L 0-3
4 Saturday March 17 Oklahoma Outlaws Soldier Field 6,206 14-17 L 0-4
5 Sunday March 25 at New Orleans Breakers Louisiana Superdome 43,692 35-41 OT L 0-5
6 Saturday March 31 at Washington Federals RFK Stadium 7,373 21–20 W 1-5
7 Saturday April 7 San Antonio Gunslingers Soldier Field 9,412 16-10 W 2-5
8 Sunday April 15 at Philadelphia Stars Veterans Stadium 17,417 7-41 L 2-6
9 Friday April 20 Los Angeles Express Soldier Field 11,713 49-29 W 3-6
10 Sunday April 29 Oakland Invaders Soldier Field 7,802 13-17 L 3-7
11 Sunday May 6 at San Antonio Gunslingers Alamo Stadium 15,233 21-30 L 3-8
12 Friday May 11 at Denver Gold Mile High Stadium 45,299 29–17 W 4-8
13 Friday May 18 Birmingham Stallions Soldier Field 8,578 7-41 L 4-9
14 Monday May 28 New Jersey Generals Soldier Field 4,307 17-21 L 4-10
15 Saturday June 2 at Oklahoma Outlaws Skelly Stadium 17,195 14-0 W 5-10
16 Sunday June 10 at Houston Gamblers Houston Astrodome 24,243 13-38 L 5-11
17 Friday June 15 Arizona Wranglers Soldier Field 5,711 0-36 L 5-12
18 Sunday June 24 Michigan Panthers Soldier Field 5,557 17-20 L 5-13

1984 Chicago Blitz roster

1984 Chicago Blitz roster
Quarterbacks
  •  8 EVANS, Vince
  • 11 SHAW, Dennis
  • 14 KOEGEL, Tim
  • 15 REEVES, Ron

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

  • 81 GLASGOW, Brian
  • 83 KEEL, Mark
 Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

  • 61 CATTAGE, Ray DE
  • 68 BUNCHE, Curtis DE
  • 70 TAYLOR, Malcolm DT
  • 72 TIMES, Ken DE
  • 76 MORGAN, Mike DT
  • 79 THORNTON, Bruce DE
  • 91 CLASBY, Bob DE
  • 91 LINDSTROM, Chris DE
  • 93 PUHA, Dennis DT
 Linebackers
  • 51 FISHER, Robin LB
  • 51 WASHINGTON, Russ LB
  • 52 RIVERA, Jimmy LB
  • 52 GABRIELSON, Jeff OLB
  • 53 GILLEN, John MLB
  • 54 KILKENNY, Tom LB
  • 55 NORRIS, Sam LB
  • 55 LUTE, Dann LB
  • 56 HAYNES, Clinton LB
  • 56 WILLIAMS, Greg LB
  • 56 RUFF, Guy LB
  • 58 KIMMEL, Jon LB
  • 58 KNAPTON, Bob LB
  • 59 LOONEY, James LB
  • 59 KELLEY, Ken OLB
  • 51 CANNAVINO, Andy LB

Defensive backs

  • 19 PEOPLES, Carlton CB
  • 20 HARRIS, Ronnie CB
  • 21 BRYANT, Trent CB
  • 22 DANIEL, Donnell SS
  • 24 LIVERS, Virgil CB
  • 25 WILCOX, Tommy SS
  • 27 FOX, Mike FS
  • 28 ARNAUD, John FS
  • 44 EPPES, Roy FS
  • 46 PLANK, Doug SS
  • 47 ARMSTEAD, Charles CB
  • 44 WILSON, Kirk CB
  • 37 BAIRD, Kerry FS

Special Teams

Single season leaders

Rushing Yards: 1157 (1983), Tim Spencer

Receiving Yards: 1327 (1983), Trumaine Johnson

Passing Yards: 2624 (1984), Vince Evans

Season-by-season

Season W L T Finish Playoff results
1983 12 6 0 2nd Central Lost Divisional (Philadelphia)
1984 5 13 0 5th WC Central -
Totals 17 20 0 (including playoffs)

External links

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