| Oakland Invaders | |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Folded | 1985 |
| Based in | Oakland, CA, United States |
| Home field | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum |
| League | USFL |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Pacific Division |
| Team History | Oakland Invaders (1983-1985) |
| Team Colors | Air Force Blue, Invader Gold, Navy, White
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| Head coaches | 1983-84 John Ralston (9-12) 1984 Chuck Hutchison (7-8) 1985 Charlie Sumner (15-5-1) |
| Owner(s) | 1983-85 Tad Taube 1985 A. Alfred Taubman and Tad Taube |
| Conference championships | 1985 |
| Division championships | 1983, 1985 |
Oakland Invaders was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 through 1985.
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Oakland, California had been without a football team after the Oakland Raiders relocated to Los Angeles, California before the 1982 NFL season. The Invaders stepped in to fill the void; the similar name was no accident.
The team was originally owned by Bay Area real estate magnates Jim Joseph and Tad Taube. However, after the original owner of the USFL's Los Angeles franchise, Alex Spanos, bought the San Diego Chargers instead, Joseph and Taube flipped a coin to decide who would buy the Los Angeles rights. Joseph won the toss, selling his stake in the Invaders to Taube. As it turned out, Joseph was forced to move his team to Phoenix, Arizona as the Arizona Wranglers.
Led by the league's 2nd ranked passer QB Fred Besana, WR Gordon Banks, and ex-Raiders HB Arthur Whittington and TE Raymond Chester, the Invaders won the Pacific Conference with a 9-9 record. The Invaders gave a valiant effort in the opening round of the playoffs, but were overrun by the eventual league champion Michigan Panthers, 37-21 in front of 60,237 rabid fans in the Pontiac Silverdome (The game was the largest turnout for any USFL game in the 1983 season).
The Invaders were picked by most to again challenge for a playoff spot in 1984, but their powerful offense fell apart in the first half of the season, scoring only 82 points. The team was unable to run the ball and lost 9 straight to open the season. With the emergence of RB Eric Jordan, the Invaders running attack rebounded and the team won 7 of its last 9 games. The defense was strong throughout the season finishing 7th in points allowed. Attendance also tumbled as well, to 23,644 per game--nearly 8,000 fewer than in 1983.
The Michigan Panthers merged with the Invaders before the 1985 season in response to the league's plan to move to the fall. While the Invaders were the surviving team, Taube sold controlling interest Panthers owner A. Alfred Taubman, while remaining chairman of the board. Taube had been looking for new investors to finance the move to the fall, knowing he would be competing directly with the San Francisco 49ers.
The new team, bolstered with key players from the Panthers, went 13-4-1 in the regular season and was able to reach the 1985 USFL championship game. The Championship game was a rematch of sorts with Chuck Fusina's Stars, who now played in Baltimore. The Invaders were in the midst of a potential game-winning drive when a personal-foul penalty derailed their momentum, allowing the Stars to defeat Hebert's Invaders 28-24, and claim indisputable bragging rights as the league's all-time best team.
Despite reaching the championship game, the team's attendance fell again, to a barely sustainable 17,509. Combined with massive financial losses, the Invaders announced they would suspend operations for the 1986 season. As it turned out, the championship game was the last USFL game ever played, as the league was effectively killed by an antitrust suit against the NFL in which it only won $3 in damages.
Some former National Football League players and some who would play for the NFL later on were on this team. Among them were Ray Pinney of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, Cedrick Hardman of the 1970s San Francisco 49ers and early 1980s Oakland Raiders, Anthony Carter (Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions), Arthur Whittington (Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills), Bobby Hebert (New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons), Gary Plummer (San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers), Raymond Chester (Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Colts), Albert Bentley ( Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers), Dave Browning (Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Raiders, New England Patriots), Ray Bentley (Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals), Dale Markham (Oakland Raiders, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers) and Derek Holloway (Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
Invaders executive William Hambrecht later emerged as a founder of the United Football League.
Rushing Yards: 1045 (1983), Arthur Whittington
Receiving Yards: 1323 (1985), Anthony Carter
Passing Yards: 3980 (1983), Fred Besana
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1st Pacific | Lost Divisional (Michigan) |
| 1984 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 4th WC Pacific | |
| 1985 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1st WC | Won Quarterfinal (Tampa Bay) Won Semifinal (Memphis) Lost USFL Championship (Baltimore) |
| Totals | 31 | 26 | 1 | (including playoffs) | |
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