Great post. I wrote about the USFL back in January of 2006: http://www.runner-up.org/2006/01/10/the-usfl/ Here's an excerpt: Despite that, the influence of the USFL has been significant. The league was the first to allow two-point conversions in professional football, and also pioneered the use of instant-replay technology to challenge officials’ rulings on the field. Both innovations have since been adopted by the NFL. In addition, the owners of the new franchises (including Donald Trump, who owned the New Jersey Generals) were willing to take chances on young players, and as a result, some of the USFL’s superstars went on to illustrious careers in the NFL. These included Herschel Walker, Doug Flutie, Jim Kelly, Reggie White, Steve Young and Bobby Hebert. Many NFL coaches also got their first chance to coach professionally in the USFL, including Jim Mora, Steve Spurrier, and Lindy Infante. As well, veteran NFL coaches like George Allen and Marv Levy (who also coached in the Canadian Football League) were attracted by the new league.
posted by jmcnally at 10:49 AM on February 26, 2008
Happy 25th, USFL!
Great post. I wrote about the USFL back in January of 2006: http://www.runner-up.org/2006/01/10/the-usfl/ Here's an excerpt: Despite that, the influence of the USFL has been significant. The league was the first to allow two-point conversions in professional football, and also pioneered the use of instant-replay technology to challenge officials’ rulings on the field. Both innovations have since been adopted by the NFL. In addition, the owners of the new franchises (including Donald Trump, who owned the New Jersey Generals) were willing to take chances on young players, and as a result, some of the USFL’s superstars went on to illustrious careers in the NFL. These included Herschel Walker, Doug Flutie, Jim Kelly, Reggie White, Steve Young and Bobby Hebert. Many NFL coaches also got their first chance to coach professionally in the USFL, including Jim Mora, Steve Spurrier, and Lindy Infante. As well, veteran NFL coaches like George Allen and Marv Levy (who also coached in the Canadian Football League) were attracted by the new league.