Denver Gold
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The Denver Gold was a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second major professional 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.
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[edit] History
[edit] Holding fast to the USFL's original blueprint
The team's original owner, Denver real estate mogul Ron Blanding, held fast to the USFL's original blueprint, keeping tight controls on expenses (including player salaries) while heavily marketing the team in the Rockies. The strategy paid off, as the Gold led the league in attendance during its inaugural season.
[edit] Denver Broncos alliance and 1983 season
The Gold attempted to utilize some of the goodwill established by the rival NFL's Denver Broncos by involving former Broncos players and coaches in the Gold organization. The Gold's original coach was Red Miller, who led the Broncos to their first-ever Super Bowl. He was fired in the middle of the season and replaced by ex-Broncos quarterback Craig Morton. Despite one of the toughest defenses in the league, a weak offense kept the Gold out of the playoffs in 1983. Blanding, however, was more satisfied with the fact that he actually turned a profit. Unwilling to join the other teams in reckless spending, however, Blanding sold the Gold to auto dealer Doug Spedding for $10 million. Blanding was reportedly the only USFL owner who made a return on his investment.
[edit] 1984-1985 seasons
The Gold remained competitive again in 1984 with a slightly better offense, but finished one game out of the playoffs. In hopes of getting over the hump, Spedding fired Morton in favor of Houston Gamblers offensive coordinator Mouse Davis in 1985. Davis was one of the authors of the Run & Shoot offense.
[edit] Diminishing local support
Unfortunately, just after Davis took over, the USFL announced that it would switch to a fall schedule for the 1986 season. Local support for the Gold practically vanished. While the Gold had been one of the USFL's attendance leaders, fans in the Denver area were not about to abandon the Broncos in favor of the Gold. Despite finally getting into the playoffs with an 11-7 record, the Gold's attendance crashed to 14,400 fans per game. As a result, despite finishing second in the Western Conference, they were forced to play on the road against the lower-seeded Memphis Showboats under pressure from ABC. The network, who had considerable influence over the USFL due to the structuring of the league's television contract, did not want the embarrassment of having a game played in a near-empty stadium.
Spedding also knew that the Gold could not hope to compete with the Broncos; shortly after the 1985 season, he cut a deal to merge the Gold with the Jacksonville Bulls. Instead they, and the USFL as a whole, were doomed by the ill-advised attempt to move the playing season to the fall in direct competition with the more established league, and the league's high-stakes anti-trust suit against the NFL, in which it was awarded only $3 and forced to fold afterwards.
[edit] Single season leaders
Rushing Yards: 1261 (1985), Bill Johnson (football player)
Receiving Yards: 1432 (1985), Leonard Harris
Passing Yards: 2695 (1985), Bob Gagliano
[edit] Season-by-season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 3rd Pacific | -- |
| 1984 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 3rd WC Pacific | -- |
| 1985 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 7th WC | Lost Quarterfinal (Memphis) |
| Totals | 27 | 28 | 0 | (including playoffs) | |
[edit] External links
| United States Football League Coaches | Players | Radio coverage | Seasons | Television coverage | Venues |
| Arizona Wranglers (1983-84) | Birmingham Stallions (1983-85) | Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers (1983-85) | Chicago Blitz (1983-84) | Denver Gold (1983-85) | Los Angeles Express (1983-85) | Michigan Panthers (1983-84) | New Jersey Generals (1983-85) | Oakland Invaders (1983-85) | Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars (1983-85) | Tampa Bay Bandits (1983-85) | Washington Federals/Orlando Renegades (1983-85) | Houston Gamblers (1984-85) | Jacksonville Bulls (1984-85) | Memphis Showboats (1984-85) | Oklahoma/Arizona Outlaws (1984-85) | Pittsburgh Maulers (1984) | San Antonio Gunslingers (1984-85) |
