Jacksonville Bulls

Jacksonville Bulls
Established 1983 Folded 1986 Played in Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida
League/conference affiliations
United States Football League (1984–1985) Eastern Conference (1984–1985) Southern Division (1984)
Current uniform
Team colors	Garnet, Orange, Silver, Black, White
Personnel
Owner(s)	1984–1985 Fred Bullard
Head coach	1984–1985 Lindy Infante (15-21)
Team history
Jacksonville Bulls (1984–1985)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home stadium(s)
Gator Bowl (1984–1985)

The Jacksonville Bulls were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were members of the United States Football League (USFL) during its final two seasons, 1984 and 1985. They played their home games in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.

Former Miami Dolphins stars Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick were involved in an advertising campaign for the team, and they apparently had a minor ownership interest as well. Larry Munson was hired as radio play-by-play announcer. His distinctive voice was already well known in the Jacksonville area due to his long association with both the University of Georgia Bulldogs and the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons.

Team name and colors

The Bulls' name was taken from team owner Fred "Bubba" Bullard, a Jacksonville land developer. Bullard had initially sought to buy a stake in the Boston Breakers and move them to Jacksonville when it became apparent the Breakers could not find a suitable venue in Boston. However, Breakers owner George Matthews broke off talks when Bullard insisted that coach Dick Coury be fired in favor of Florida State Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden.

The team held a 'name the team' promotion with a write-in campaign for publicity purposes. The Bulls moniker was credited as a submission from the winning entry. The team colors of garnet, orange and silver were taken from the three college football teams most popular in the area; garnet from the Seminoles, orange from the Florida Gators, and silver from the pants worn by the Georgia Bulldogs.

The helmet design was unique for a professional football team. Each side had the team's logo of a streaking bull (one side the mirror image of the other); the two logos were bridged by a series of parallel lines, and the team name was incorporated into the bridge as a silhouette against the parallel lines.

1984 season

The Bulls made an immediate splash in their first game, in which they blew out the Washington Federals 53–14. Although they finished 6-12 — last in the tough Southern Division — they were far more competitive than their record indicated. Six of their losses were by a touchdown or less, including two losses by a last-second field goal. They remained in contention for most of the season, but a six-game losing streak toward the end of the season kept them out of the playoffs.

The Bulls were an undisputed success at the gate, running away with the league's attendance title. They notched the only two crowds of 70,000 or greater in league history, including a throng of 73,227 against the powerful New Jersey Generals on March 4. In the last game, against the Pittsburgh Maulers, a huge crowd patiently waited through a late-June downpour which postponed the game for more than an hour. When play finally started the Bulls won 26–2.

1984 schedule and results

Week	Day	Date	Time	Opponent	Game site	Attendance	Television	Result	Record
Preseason
1	Saturday	January 28		Pittsburgh Maulers	Gator Bowl Stadium	10,000	—	T 0–0	0–0–1
2	Bye
3	Saturday	February 11		Houston Gamblers	Gator Bowl Stadium	24,680	—	L 22–34	0–1–1
4	Saturday	February 18	2:00 pm	vs. Pittsburgh Maulers	Melbourne, Florida	4,500	—	L 10–13	0–2–1
Regular Season
1	Sunday	February 26	2:30 pm	Washington Federals	Gator Bowl Stadium	49,392	—	W 53–14	1–0
2	Sunday	March 4	2:30 pm	New Jersey Generals	Gator Bowl Stadium	73,227	ABC	L 26–28	1–1
3	Saturday	March 10	9:00 pm	at Tampa Bay Bandits	Tampa Stadium	51,274	ESPN	L 25–28	1–2
4	Monday	March 19	8:00 pm	New Orleans Breakers	Gator Bowl Stadium	48,303	ESPN	L 9–28	1–3
5	Sunday	March 25	4:00 pm	at Los Angeles Express	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	8,000	—	W 13–7	2–3
6	Saturday	March 31	7:00 pm	at Memphis Showboats	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium	17,180	ESPN	L 24–27	2–4
7	Saturday	April 7	8:00 pm	Birmingham Stallions	Gator Bowl Stadium	43,654	ESPN	L 17–24	2–5
8	Saturday	April 14	8:00 pm	San Antonio Gunslingers	Gator Bowl Stadium	35,084	—	L 0–20	2–6
9	Friday	April 20	8:00 pm	Memphis Showboats	Gator Bowl Stadium	36,256	—	W 12–10	3–6
10	Friday	April 27	9:00 pm	at Oklahoma Outlaws	Skelly Stadium	29,234	—	W 34–6	4–6
11	Saturday	May 5	8:00 pm	Tampa Bay Bandits	Gator Bowl Stadium	71,174	ESPN	L 13–31	4–7
12	Friday	May 11	7:30 pm	at Birmingham Stallions	Legion Field	29,500	—	L 10–42	4–8
13	Saturday	May 19	8:00 pm	at Philadelphia Stars	Veterans Stadium	33,194	ESPN	L 12–45	4–9
14	Friday	May 25	8:00 pm	Houston Gamblers	Gator Bowl Stadium	31,638	—	L 7–54	4–10
15	Saturday	June 2	8:30 pm	at Oakland Invaders	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	29,687	—	L 12–17	4–11
16	Friday	June 8	9:00 pm	at Arizona Wranglers	Sun Devil Stadium	15,513	—	L 14–45	4–12
17	Friday	June 15	7:00 pm	at New Orleans Breakers	Louisiana Superdome	21,333	—	W 20–17	5–12
18	Friday	June 22	8:00 pm	Pittsburgh Maulers	Gator Bowl Stadium	31,843	—	W 26–2	6–12

Sources

1984 roster

1. Danny Miller (K)

2. Rich Hendley (P)

3. Brian Franco (K/P)

5. Jeff Brockhaus (K)

8. Jeff Pierce (P)

9. Ken Hobart (QB)

14. Ben Bennett (QB)

14. Ron Rice (P)

15. Robbie Mahfouz (QB)

16. Buck Belue (QB)

17. Matt Robinson (QB)

20. Billy Cesare (SS)

21. Willie McClendon (RB)

22. Kevin Gray (CB)

23. Kerry Baird (CB)

23. Donald Dykes (CB)

24. Marvin Lewis (FB)

25. Charlie Dean (CB)

26. Chester Gee (CB)

27. Michael Whiting (RB)

28. Matt Courtney (CB)

32. Larry Mason (RB)

33. Vaughan Johnson (LB)

35. John Lott (FS)

44. Larry Key (RB)

44. Bobby Hosea (FS)

45. Mike Goedeker (LB)

46. Don Bessillieu (FS)

47. Sammy Brown (SS)

50. John McLean (LB)

51. Dave Otey (C)

52. Tom Dinkel (LB)

53. Fernando Jackson (LB)

55. Carl Qualls (LB)

55. Dann Lute (LB)

56. Rufus Norman (LB)

56. Doug West (LB)

57. Greg Zappala (LB)

58. Andy Hendel (LB)

59. Russ Washington (LB)

60. Gary Anderson (G/C)

63. Nat Hudson (T)

64. Kenny Howell (G)

65. Wally Pesuit (C)

66. George Collins (G)

67. Warren Gray (G)

69. Rush Brown (DE)

70. Val Brown (DE)

72. Don Latimer (NT)

73. Ed Gantner (DT)

75. Bob Gruber (T)

77. Chris Wampler (NT)

78. Brian Douglas (NT)

80. Gary Clark (WR)

82. Wyatt Henderson (WR)

83. Aubrey Matthews (WR)

84. Paul Bergmann (TE)

85. Perry Kemp (WR)

87. Chuck McCurley (WR)

88. Robert Young (TE)

89. Alton Alexis (WR)

91. Phil Dokes (DE)

92. George Atiyeh (NT)

92. Marvin Dyett (DE)

95. Mike Raines (DE)

97. Charles Philyaw (DE)

98. Bob Clasby (DE)

99. Joe Costello (DE)

--. Amos Lawrence (RB)

--. Dan Gooch (LB)

Charles R. Hunsicker Jr. – Team Chaplain

Offseason

The offseason saw the addition of former NFL MVP QB Brian Sipe to take over as triggerman of Coach Lindy Infante's high octane passing scheme as well as former Heisman Trophy winning HB Mike Rozier.

1985 season

While Sipe only threw 89 passes before suffering a career-ending injury, an improved defense and the addition of Rozier resulted in a 9–9 record. The Bulls finished one win short of a playoff spot and led the league in attendance again.

1985 schedule and results

Week	Day	Date	Opponent	Game site	Attendance	Television	Result	Record
Preseason
1	Bye
2	Saturday	February 9	Orlando Renegades	Gator Bowl Stadium			L 10–20	0–1
3	Saturday	February 16	Memphis Showboats	Gator Bowl Stadium			L 10–13	0–2
Regular Season
1	Sunday	February 24	Baltimore Stars	Gator Bowl Stadium	51,045	—	W 22–14	1–0
2	Monday	March 4	Memphis Showboats	Gator Bowl Stadium	40,112	ESPN	L 14–24	1–1
3	Monday	March 11	at Arizona Outlaws	Sun Devil Stadium	13,025	ESPN	L 21–41	1–2
4	Sunday	March 17	at Oakland Invaders	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	16,678	—	L 36–42	1–3
5	Thursday	March 21	Orlando Renegades	Gator Bowl Stadium	31,883	ESPN	W 34–31 (OT)	2–3
6	Saturday	March 30	at Birmingham Stallions	Legion Field	41,200	—	L 18–25	2–4
7	Saturday	April 6	at Tampa Bay Bandits	Tampa Stadium	51,286	ESPN	L 17–31	2–5
8	Friday	April 12	San Antonio Gunslingers	Gator Bowl Stadium	32,097	ESPN	W 28–17	3–5
9	Saturday	April 20	at Orlando Renegades	Florida Citrus Bowl	34,338	—	W 31–10	4–5
10	Sunday	April 28	Birmingham Stallions	Gator Bowl Stadium	41,298	ABC	W 27–17	5–5
11	Sunday	May 5	New Jersey Generals	Gator Bowl Stadium	60,100	ABC	W 30–20	6–5
12	Sunday	May 12	Tampa Bay Bandits	Gator Bowl Stadium	58,928	—	L 10–21	6–6
13	Monday	May 20	at Houston Gamblers	Houston Astrodome	17,127	ESPN	W 20–17	7–6
14	Saturday	May 25	Los Angeles Express	Gator Bowl Stadium	51,033	ESPN	W 21–7	8–6
15	Sunday	June 2	at Baltimore Stars	Byrd Stadium	9,663	ABC	L 12–17	8–7
16	Monday	June 10	at New Jersey Generals	Giants Stadium	36,465	ESPN	L 24–31	8–8
17	Saturday	June 15	at Memphis Showboats	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium	31,634	—	L 0–31	8–9
18	Sunday	June 23	Denver Gold	Gator Bowl Stadium	32,428	—	W 42–6	9–9

Sources

Demise

The Bulls were one of the seven teams assured of playing the 1986 USFL season, which would have been played in the autumn. The Bulls had bought the football assets of the Denver Gold during the offseason and were to take on much of that team's staff, including head coach Mouse Davis. It also attempted to negotiate a merger with the Tampa Bay Bandits, mainly to bring the Bandits' ownership group into the organization, but the eventual deaths of the two leading investors in the Bandits (and their steadfast refusal to go along with the league's plan to move to the autumn in 1986) and the unwillingness of the Orlando Renegades to join in (which would have created a single franchise representing all of Florida) led to those plans being abandoned.

The USFL itself was pursuing a large antitrust lawsuit against the NFL at the time; when they failed to secure a sizable judgment against the older league, the USFL suspended operations and eventually folded.

Legacy

Despite never posting a winning record, the Bulls were considered to be a serious attempt at a viable professional football organization — indeed, one of the few USFL teams with the potential to be viable had the league been better run. Owner Fred Bullard was determined from the beginning to put together a strong organization on and off the field. Many experts believe that had it not been for the Bulls' success, the NFL would not have considered awarding the Jacksonville Jaguars to the city in 1993. In 1987 the Houston Oilers nearly moved to Jacksonville, in part due to the overwhelming support for the Bulls. The nearby Matthews Bridge was painted in the garnet main color as a backdrop for the games.

Season-by-season results

Season records

Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
1984	6	12	0	5th EC Southern	--
1985	9	9	0	6th EC	--
Totals	15	21	0

External links

• USFL.info - Jacksonville Bulls
• http://www.remembertheusfl.8m.com/teams/jacksonville.html