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Memphis Showboats

American football franchise in the USFL

Summary

American football franchise in the USFL

FieldValue
nameMemphis Showboats (1984)
founded1983
folded1986
cityLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
in Memphis, Tennessee
colorsScarlet, Silver, White
coach1984–1985 Pepper Rodgers (19-19)
ownerWilliam Dunavant & Logan Young
no_league_champs0
no_conf_champs0
no_div_champs0
playoff_appearances1985
no_playoff_appearances1

the first edition of the USFL team

in Memphis, Tennessee

United States Football League (1984–1985)

  • Eastern Conference (1984–1985)
    • Southern Division (1984)
  • Memphis Showboats (1984–1985)
  • Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (1984–1985)

The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the most prominent players on the Showboats' roster during their two seasons of existence were future Pro Football Hall of Fame member Reggie White and future professional wrestler "The Total Package" Lex Luger.

History

Memphis food manufacturer Logan Young was awarded an expansion franchise for Memphis on July 17, 1983. However, soon after hiring Memphis native and former college coach Pepper Rodgers as head coach and signing a lease to play in the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, he discovered that most of his assets were tied up in a trust fund that he couldn't access. Ultimately, he was forced to take on limited partners, then sell controlling interest to cotton magnate William Dunavant, remaining as team president.

Despite White's play, the Showboats finished fourth in the Southern Division and missed the playoffs. Like the rest of the division, they were left far behind by the Birmingham Stallions and Tampa Bay Bandits. However, like most of the USFL's other Southern teams, they were a runaway hit at the box office. Indeed, they were one of the few teams whose crowds actually grew as the season progressed.

The Showboats broke through in 1985, finishing fourth in the East and earning a playoff berth. They should have traveled to Denver's Mile High Stadium to face the Denver Gold. However, the Gold were forced to travel to Memphis under pressure from ABC Sports. The Gold's local support had all but vanished due to the USFL's planned move to the fall, and ABC did not want the embarrassment of showing a half-empty stadium. It forced Commissioner Harry Usher to give Memphis home-field advantage in the first round, since the Showboats had been among the league's attendance leaders once again. ABC had an outsize influence on the USFL due to the structure of the league's television contract. The Showboats thrashed the Gold 48–7 before losing to the Oakland Invaders 28–19 in the semifinals.

The Showboats represented a serious attempt to form a viable professional football organization, and seemed to have a realistic chance to have been a viable business if the overall management of the USFL had been more realistic and financially sound. Indeed, like the World Football League's Memphis Southmen before them, the Showboats appeared to be on more solid footing than the league as a whole. The Showboats' attendance figures made Dunavant a supporter of the USFL's move to the fall. Although Memphis was only a medium-sized market (while Memphis proper had 650,000 people, the surrounding suburbs and rural areas are not much larger than the city itself), Dunavant believed his team's popularity would have made it very attractive to the NFL in the event of a merger. After the USFL's antitrust lawsuit failed, the Showboats threw their support behind Charlie Finley's proposal to convince the Canadian Football League to expand into the U.S. market; the CFL rejected the plan, bringing the Showboats' operations to an end.

Legacy

Despite the eventual failure of the original USFL, the success of the Showboats franchise was noticed by the NFL, indicating a viable market in Tennessee. Dunavant placed a bid for a Memphis team in the NFL's 1993 expansion derby; he chose not to use the Showboats name and instead partnered with Lisa Marie Presley and the estate of her father to propose the Memphis Hound Dogs. The Hound Dogs, one of five proposed franchises, were not chosen, as the NFL went forward with the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars. In 1997, the Houston Oilers franchise would move to Nashville, though they played their first season in Memphis, before moving to Nashville and being renamed the Tennessee Titans in 1999.

Rodgers and general manager Steve Erhart would later emerge with the Memphis Mad Dogs, a Canadian Football League franchise that played one season in 1995; Erhart would also manage the Memphis Maniax of the original XFL in 2001.

The Memphis Showboats name was revived for the 2023 season of the USFL's second iteration.

Schedule and results

1984

Memphis Showboatsyear=1984border=2}}"WeekMemphis Showboatsyear=1984border=2}}"DateMemphis Showboatsyear=1984border=2}}"OpponentMemphis Showboatsyear=1984border=2}}"ResultMemphis Showboatsyear=1984border=2}}"RecordMemphis Showboatsyear=1984border=2}}"VenueMemphis Showboatsyear=1984border=2}}"AttendanceMemphis Showboatsyear=1984border=2}}"Preseason1234Memphis Showboatsyear=1984border=2}}"Regular season123456789101112131415161718
Bye
Bye
vs. San Antonio GunslingersL 3–130–1Shreveport, Louisiana
vs. New Orleans BreakersL 0–200–2Lafayette, Louisiana
February 26Philadelphia StarsL 9–170–1Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium28,098
March 4Chicago BlitzW 23–131–1Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium10,152
March 11at New Orleans BreakersL 14–371–2Louisiana Superdome45,269
at Birmingham StallionsL 6–541–3Legion Field41,500
March 25Denver GoldL 24–281–4Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium21,213
Jacksonville BullsW 27–242–4Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium17,180
April 8at New Jersey GeneralsL 10–352–5Giants Stadium43,671
at Los Angeles ExpressL 17–23 (OT)2–6Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum10,049
at Jacksonville BullsL 10–122–7Gator Bowl Stadium36,256
Pittsburgh MaulersW 17–73–7Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium30,640
May 6at Washington FederalsW 13–10 (OT)4–7RFK Stadium4,432
San Antonio GunslingersW 38–145–7Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium32,406
at Oakland InvadersL 14–295–8Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum22,030
Tampa Bay BanditsW 31–216–8Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium27,422
New Orleans BreakersW 20–177–8Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium31,198
at Tampa Bay BanditsL 24–427–9Tampa Stadium48,785
Birmingham StallionsL 20–357–10Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium50,079
at Houston GamblersL 3–377–11Houston Astrodome22,963

Sources

1985

Memphis Showboatsyear=1985border=2}}"WeekMemphis Showboatsyear=1985border=2}}"DateMemphis Showboatsyear=1985border=2}}"OpponentMemphis Showboatsyear=1985border=2}}"ResultMemphis Showboatsyear=1985border=2}}"RecordMemphis Showboatsyear=1985border=2}}"VenueMemphis Showboatsyear=1985border=2}}"AttendanceMemphis Showboatsyear=1985border=2}}"Preaseason123Memphis Showboatsyear=1985border=2}}"Regular season123456789101112131415161718Memphis Showboatsyear=1985border=2}}"PlayoffsQuarterfinalsSemifinals
vs. New Jersey GeneralsL 3–160–1Charlotte, North Carolina11,667
vs. Baltimore StarsL 9–140–2Winter Haven, Florida
at Jacksonville BullsW 13–101–2Gator Bowl Stadium
at San Antonio GunslingersW 20–31–0Alamo Stadium10,983
at Jacksonville BullsW 24–142–0Gator Bowl Stadium40,112
Baltimore StarsW 21–193–0Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium37,466
at Birmingham StallionsL 19–343–1Legion Field34,500
March 24Oakland InvadersL 19–313–2Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium28,773
Tampa Bay BanditsL 20–283–3Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium23,952
at Orlando RenegadesL 17–283–4Florida Citrus Bowl21,223
April 14at Baltimore StarsW 13–104–4Byrd Stadium15,728
New Jersey GeneralsL 18–214–5Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium44,339
at Denver GoldW 33–175–5Mile High Stadium8,207
Birmingham StallionsW 38–246–5Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium29,025
May 12Houston GamblersW 17–157–5Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium27,325
at Tampa Bay BanditsW 38–148–5Tampa Stadium44,818
at Portland BreakersL 14–178–6Civic Stadium16,682
at New Jersey GeneralsL 7–178–7Giants Stadium45,682
Orlando RenegadesW 41–179–7Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium23,216
Jacksonville BullsW 31–010–7Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium31,634
Arizona OutlawsW 38–2811–7Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium32,743
June 30Denver GoldW 48–71–0Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium34,528
Oakland InvadersL 19–281–1Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium37,796

Sources

Single season leaders

  • Rushing Yards: 789 (1985), Tim Spencer
  • Receiving Yards: 1143 (1985), Greg Moser
  • Passing Yards: 2128 (1985), Mike Kelley

Season-by-season

|- |1984 || 7 || 11 || 0 || 4th Southern Division || -- |- |1985 || 11 || 7 || 0 || 3rd Eastern Conference || Won Quarterfinal (Denver) Lost Semifinal (Oakland) |- !Totals || 19 || 19 || 0

References

References

  1. [https://www.birminghamprosports.com/otherteamsnafl.html Will Birmingham play in the North American Football League?] via BirminghamProSports.com
  2. "Memphis' NFL pick ain't nothing but a Hound Dog Presley investment helps cement name PRO FOOTBALL".
  3. Calkins, Geoff. "Twenty years ago, Memphis told the NFL and the Oilers (now the Titans) to stick it".
  4. "Remember Memphis? Titans Would Rather Not - Memphis Daily News".
  5. Heilman, Michael. (2022-11-16). "Memphis Showboats returns to the USFL in 2023".
  6. Barnes, Evan. (November 15, 2022). "Memphis Showboats return to USFL, will play at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in 2023". [[The Commercial Appeal]].
  7. [https://www.statscrew.com/football/results/t-USFLMEM/y-1984 statscrew.com 1984 Memphis Showboats Game-by-Game Results Retrieved December 19, 2018]
  8. [http://www.usflsite.com/1984season.php usflsite.com 1984 USFL Season Retrieved December 19, 2018]
  9. [https://www.profootballarchives.com/1984usflmem.html profootballarchives.com 1984 Memphis Showboats (USFL) Retrieved December 19, 2018]
  10. "1985 Memphis Showboats football Game-by-Game Results on StatsCrew.com".
  11. "1985 USFL Season - USFL (United States Football League)".
  12. [https://www.profootballarchives.com/1985usflmem.html profootballarchives.com 1985 Memphis Showboats (USFL) Retrieved December 19, 2018]
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

memphis-showboats 1983-establishments-in-tennessee 1986-disestablishments-in-tennessee american-football-teams-established-in-1983 american-football-teams-disestablished-in-1986
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