document_title: United States Football League

question_text: nfl hall of famers that played in the usfl

question_tokens: nfl hall of famers that played in the usfl

text: United States Football League

text: Significance[edit]

text: The USFL is historically significant in part for the level of talent that played in the league. The league was noteworthy for signing three consecutive Heisman Trophy winners: Georgia running back Herschel Walker and Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie signed with the New Jersey Generals, and Nebraska running back Mike Rozier signed with the Pittsburgh Maulers out of college as did numerous other collegiate stars. Future Pro Football Hall of Fame members defensive end Reggie White of the University of Tennessee, offensive tackle Gary Zimmerman and quarterbacks Jim Kelly of the University of Miami and Steve Young of Brigham Young University, began their professional careers with the USFL's Memphis Showboats, Los Angeles Express, Houston Gamblers, and Los Angeles Express, respectively. A number of NFL veterans of all talent levels played in the USFL.  It is true that some NFL backups such as quarterbacks Chuck Fusina and Cliff Stoudt, G Buddy Aydelette, and WR Jim Smith who had limited success in the NFL became major stars in the USFL.  However, many NFL backups struggled or did not make it in the USFL.  Additionally, the USFL also lured in NFL starters, including a handful of stars in the primes of their careers, including the 1980 NFL MVP, Cleveland Browns' quarterback Brian Sipe, the Buffalo Bills' three-time pro bowl running back Joe Cribbs, and the Kansas City Chiefs' three-time pro bowl safety Gary Barbaro.

text: History[edit]

text: Organization[edit]

text: The USFL was the brainchild of David Dixon, a New Orleans antiques dealer, who had been instrumental in bringing the New Orleans Saints (and building their current home stadium, the Superdome) to town.[3] In 1965, he envisioned football as a possible spring and summer sport.

text: Over the next 15 years, he studied the last two challengers to the NFL's dominance of pro football—the American Football League and the World Football League. In 1980, he commissioned a study by Frank Magid Associates that found promising results for a spring and summer football league.[4] He had also formed a blueprint for the prospective league's operations, which included early television exposure, heavy promotion in home markets, and owners willing to absorb years of losses—which he felt would be inevitable until the league found its feet. He also assembled a list of prospective franchises located in markets attractive to a potential television partner.

text: With respected college and NFL coach John Ralston as the first employee, Dixon signed up 12 cities—nine where there already were NFL teams and three where there were not. The Dixon Plan called for teams in top TV markets to entice the networks into offering the league a TV deal.  All but two of the 12 initial teams were located in the top 13 media markets in the US.

text: After almost two years of preparation, Dixon formally announced the USFL's formation at the 21 Club in New York City on May 11, 1982, to begin play in 1983. ESPN president Chet Simmons was named the league's first commissioner in June 1982.

text: According to the Dixon Plan, if the league was going to be a success, it needed television revenue and exposure. In 1983, the league signed contracts with both over-the-air broadcaster ABC and a cable TV broadcaster, the then-fledgling ESPN, to televise games. The deals yielded roughly $13 million in 1983 and $16 million in 1984, including $9 million per year from ABC. ABC had options for the 1985 season at $14 million and 1986 at $18 million. Each week, there would be a nationally televised game, as well as the USFL's own version of Monday Night football.[5]

text: Stumbles before play begins[edit]

text:
Like almost all startup pro football leagues, the USFL had some off-the-field factors that prevented the league from starting out with their preferred membership.  The problems started when the original owner of the Los Angeles franchise, Alex Spanos, pulled out and instead became a minority owner (and eventually majority owner) of the NFL's San Diego Chargers.
Jim Joseph, a real estate developer who had lost out to friend Tad Taube for the USFL's San Francisco Bay Area franchise, had thought he would be content to be a part-owner of the Oakland Invaders. When the potentially more lucrative Los Angeles franchise became available, Joseph snapped up the rights to the area.  The owners of the USFL's San Diego franchise, cable television moguls Bill Daniels and Alan Harmon, were denied a lease for Jack Murphy Stadium—in part due to pressure from the Chargers (Major League Baseball's Padres held the lease to the stadium at the time). Los Angeles was seen as critical to the league's success, and Dixon and Simmons felt that two cable moguls would be better suited to head the league's efforts there. Joseph was forced to move his operation.  The team opened play in Phoenix, Arizona, where it became the Arizona Wranglers. Daniels and Harmon's team became the Los Angeles Express.

text: The League's Boston franchise, the Breakers, also had stadium problems. The Boston ownership group wanted to play in Harvard Stadium, but were unable to close a deal with the university; Sullivan Stadium was owned by the New England Patriots, who were unwilling to share their venue with a rival, while Fenway Park was being used in the spring by the Boston Red Sox and was unavailable, and Alumni Stadium on the campus of Boston College, for reasons never made public, also declined.  Finally they were able to negotiate a lease to play at Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University, a facility that seated only 21,000 people.

text: There were plans to establish four franchises in Canada prior to the inaugural season, located in Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal and Southern Ontario (specifically at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario). The proposal was pushed by John F. Bassett, the Canadian who would go on to own the Tampa Bay Bandits USFL team.  However, Senator Keith Davey warned that the Canadian government would act to protect the Canadian Football League from competition. The Canadian Football Act had been proposed, but not approved, when Basset had tried to establish the Toronto Northmen in the World Football League in 1974. Such legislation would have banned US football leagues from playing in Canada. In particular, Montreal's CFL team, the Concordes, was on precarious financial ground, having just been established to replace the recently folded Alouettes.  This led Bassett to drop the idea.[6][7]

text: Once play actually started, the league experienced the same kind of franchise instability, relocation, and closures that almost all pro football leagues, including the NFL, experienced in their early years.

text: The 1983 season[edit]

text:
The Washington Federals finished tied with the Arizona Wranglers as the league's worst team with 4–14 records.  The Federals were coached by the Canadian Football League's fourth most successful coach at the time, Ray Jauch. The team was injury prone and mistake prone, on and off the field.  Prior to the 1983 season, the team traded away the rights to the league's leading sacker, linebacker John Corker to Michigan for a 5th round pick. In spite of a rotating door at QB, the Federals lost 8 games by a TD or less, a fact that gave team owner Berl Bernhard hope for the 1984 season. The 1983 team finished second to last in attendance drawing 13,850 per game.
New Jersey Generals' running back Herschel Walker emerged as the league's first superstar running for 1,812 yards and 17 TDs.  However, the team only won 6 games.
The Denver Gold won only 7 of 18 games in their first year, but finished first in the league in attendance drawing an average of 41,736 fans to see a team that featured a number of former Broncos. Team owner Ron Blanding stuck to his budget, and took great pride in seeing his team defeat the big budget Chicago Blitz in Chicago 16–13 in week three on a TD run with 22 seconds to go. Blanding fired very popular former Broncos Coach Red Miller after a 4–7 start, but was still able to finish the season with strong attendance.  Due to low attendance numbers and over budget spending on players on all the other teams in the league, Blanding's Gold was the only USFL team to turn a profit in 1983.
The Oakland Invaders finished 9–9 and won the Pacific Division behind the play of 29-year-old quarterback Fred Besana and former Oakland Raiders tight end Raymond Chester and halfback Arthur Whittington.  Besana had played for the Twin City Cougars of the California Football League from 1980 to 1982, but played like a proven veteran, finishing the season as the league's second rated passer.
In spite of a strong team led by 36-year-old former WFL quarterback Johnnie Walton and CFL veteran halfback Richard Crump, the Boston Breakers were unable to draw the regular sellouts they needed to survive at Nickerson. (Even when they sold out Nickerson, they still lost money due to its small capacity.)  Boston finished the season 11–7, narrowly missing the playoffs. Walton, who had retired from pro football years earlier, and had spent the previous 3 years coaching college football, was the league's 7th ranked passer.  Boston and Washington were the only USFL teams to draw less than 14,000 per game in 1983.  The other 10 teams drew over 18,000 per game.
The George Allen-led, Chicago Blitz had been described as an "NFL caliber" team and were heavily favored to win the title and dominate the rest of the league. The team was stacked with quality players, led by NFL veteran quarterback Greg Landry, rookie HB Tim Spencer of Ohio State, and rookie wide receiver Trumaine Johnson of Grambling. In week two, Jim Joseph's Arizona Wranglers led by rookie quarterback Alan Risher of LSU came from a fourth quarter 29–12 deficit to defeat the Blitz 30–29 in a game considered by many to be the biggest upset in USFL history.   The Blitz would go on to lose five more games in the regular season and be edged out by Michigan for the Central Division title.  In the first round of the playoffs, the Blitz would carry a 38–17 lead into the fourth quarter vs. the host Philadelphia Stars before losing to the Stars 44–38 in OT.
The Philadelphia Stars finished a league best 15–3.  Led by Coach Jim Mora, NFL veteran quarterback Chuck Fusina, rookie halfback Kelvin Bryant of North Carolina and a very good defense led by linebacker Sam Mills, the Stars made it to the title game where they almost came back from a 17–3 third quarter deficit before falling 24–22 to the Michigan Panthers.
Michigan Panthers owner A. Alfred Taubman quickly decided he was willing to pay to fill the holes on his team with NFL caliber talent.  Early in the season, the Panthers signed NFL vets guard Thom Dornbrook, tackle Ray Pinney, fullback Cleo Miller[8] and defensive end John Banaszak.  Consequently, after a 1–4 start, the team jelled and finished the regular season 11–2, edging out Chicago for the Central Division title. They dispatched Oakland in the playoffs 37–21 and weathered a frantic comeback by the Stars to become the first league champions.

tag: ul

text: On the whole, the inaugural season was a success for the league. Attendance was in line with league expectations at about 25,000 fans per game, and television ratings slightly exceeded projections (an average Nielsen rating of 6.1, when the league had aimed for 5.0). The brand of play was exciting and entertaining, and the 1983 championship was generally recognized as being a more entertaining game than most of the Super Bowls of the era. Even in cities where the fans were not numerous, the fan base was passionate; the documentary Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? made note of a regular-season game in which Boston Breakers fans stormed the field following a come-from-behind victory at Nickerson Field.

text: The 1983–1984 off-season[edit]

text:
In September 1983, the New Jersey Generals were sold to real-estate magnate Donald Trump.
The Boston Breakers were unable to find a more suitable venue within Boston and its surrounding areas, so the Breakers relocated to New Orleans on October 18, 1983[9] and later sold to New Orleans businessman Joseph Canizaro.
Seeing the out of control spending worsening, Blanding sold his Denver Gold to Doug Spedding for $10 million.  Blanding is widely thought to be the only owner to make a profit on the USFL.
Needing fresh capital, the league chose to expand league membership from 12 to 18 teams, adding the Pittsburgh Maulers, Houston Gamblers, San Antonio Gunslingers, Memphis Showboats, Oklahoma Outlaws and Jacksonville Bulls. The Dixon plan called for expansion to 16 in the league's second year.  The Outlaws were originally slated to play in San Diego, but as was the case with what became the Express, could not get a lease for Jack Murphy Stadium.  The Outlaws opened play in Tulsa at Skelly Stadium.  The Gamblers were technically not an expansion team.  Founder David Dixon had reserved a franchise for himself in founding the league. He had chosen not to field a team in 1983 to help guide the league.  By 1984, Dixon was disgusted with the path the league was on and the league owners were sick of Dixon's constant complaints about them overspending.[10][11] With their blessing, he sold his franchise for slightly less than the $6 million expansion fee.  Dixon's franchise became the Houston Gamblers.
After seeing the Wranglers lose ten games in a row to finish 4–14 (tied with Washington for the league's worst record) and perhaps more importantly seeing attendance wilt in the summer heat at Sun Devil Stadium, Joseph decided to sell the Wranglers.  Meanwhile, in spite of having the league's highest profile coach, George Allen, and being at worst the third best team in the league, the Chicago Blitz had drawn an anemic 18,133 per game, unable to contend with Major League Baseball's Cubs and White Sox, the latter on their way to the postseason for the first time in 24 years.  Blitz owner Dr. Ted Diethrich, a Phoenix resident, felt the losses did not justify an investment so far from his home in Phoenix.  Diethrich sold the Blitz to Milwaukee heart surgeon James Hoffman, and then bought the Wranglers from Joseph. Almost immediately after Diethrich closed on his purchase of the Wranglers, he and Hoffman swapped their team assets—coaching staff, most of the players, and all.  To Blitz fans, it seemed that Hoffman had jettisoned one of the league's elite teams in favor of a team that tied for the league's worst record.  In truth it was worse than that.  In a league starved for competent QB play, Wrangler triggerman Alan Risher stayed in Arizona.  The new Blitz would feature longtime Bear backup QB  Vince Evans (signed in November 1983 to a four-year, $5 million deal). In January, The Blitz tendered an offer that would have been the largest contract in football – $2 million a year for three years—to Bears running back Walter Payton.  Payton advised he would consider the offer, but would not be rushed by the Blitz.  The Blitz's 1984 season was scheduled to start on February 27, 1984, and they had little success selling season tickets.  The Blitz needed Payton to sign quickly to help season ticket sales, so they had put a deadline on the offer of February 9, 1984.[12]  Before he made up his mind, the Blitz withdrew the offer realizing they simply did not have the finances.[13] With a less talented team and no big names to excite the fans, Chicago's season ticket sales predictably flatlined, in spite of Hoffman sinking a lot of money into advertising. Just prior to the start of the season, a frustrated Hoffman walked away from the Blitz, leaving the team to the minority owners.
The Los Angeles Express were sold to J. William Oldenburg and the New Jersey Generals were sold to Donald Trump.  The league believed that the teams based in the nation's two largest markets were owned by the owners with the deepest pockets.  Trump and Oldenburg both went on signing sprees.  Trump poached several NFL starters, including Cleveland's QB Brian Sipe. Oldenburg's Express went after a number of highly regarded collegiate players.  This combined with a general lack of quality QBs (only 9 QBs in the 12-team league finished the 1983 season with QB ratings above 70) and HBs (even in an 18-game season only 6 rushers broke the 1000 yard mark) tipped off another explosion in league spending as USFL teams raided the NFL and college ranks to keep up.

text: The 1984 season[edit]

text:
The USFL went to a seven-man officiating crew in 1984 adding the side judge.
After a game 1 blowout 53–14 road loss to the expansion Jacksonville Bulls, Washington Federals head coach Ray Jauch was fired. In week 2, star RB Craig James was injured. The team collapsed. Despite solid play from 2nd year QB Mike Hohensee, WR Joey Walters, and HB Curtis Bledsoe, the team would finish 3–15, losing twice to the 3–15 expansion Pittsburgh Maulers and going 0–7 vs. the expansion teams. With seven games to go in the season, a press conference was held to announce the Federals had been sold to Sherwood "Woody" Weiser who intended to move the team to Miami. The team would be coached by Miami Hurricanes' coach Howard Schnellenberger.
After two games, William Tatham Jr., son of Oklahoma Outlaws owner William Tatham, announced Skelly Stadium was insufficient to support a pro team and that the Outlaws would be moving the following year. In spite of this lame duck status, awful spring weather, and a season-ending ten-game losing streak, the team drew an average of 21,038 fans per game.
A few games into the season, with the Chicago Blitz struggling and the fans staying away in droves, the team was near financial collapse. The league was forced to take over the Blitz for the remainder of the 1984 season in order to protect the league's TV deals which called for teams in the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago markets.  With 4 games to go, a press conference was held announcing that Eddie Einhorn would become the new owner of the USFL's Chicago franchise.[14] At the press conference, it was stated that although the new team would not be the Blitz, Einhorn's franchise would retain the rights to all Blitz players and coaching staff—strongly implying the team would play in the 1985 season.
The expansion Houston Gamblers rookie QB Jim Kelly of the University of Miami emerged as the league's second superstar carrying his team to win the central conference with a 13–5 record. Kelly threw 44 TDs and piled up over 5,000 yards. The Gamblers would fall to the eventual league runner up Arizona Wranglers in the playoffs, 17–16.
The Los Angeles Express' signings of high-profile collegiate players culminated with the signing of BYU QB Steve Young to a $40 million guaranteed contract—at the time, far and away the largest contract in pro football history.The young talent was slow to adapt to the pro game and the Express continued to hover around .500. With one of the leagues' highest payrolls and poor attendance, financial losses mounted. It is estimated that the Express lost as much as $15 million in 1984. The Express did manage to make the playoffs and defeated the defending league champion Panthers 27–21 in triple overtime, before falling to the eventual league runners-up, Allen's Arizona Wranglers, 35–23.
In spite of seeing his Wranglers team make it to the title game, [1] Ted Diethrich had seen enough.  He had lost millions for the second year in a row.  Despite fielding a dramatically improved team, he had only had seen a negligible increase in attendance in Arizona over the previous year's numbers.
The Philadelphia Stars again finished with the league's best record and made it to the title game, this time defeating Dietrich's Wranglers, 23–3.

text: The 1984–1985 off-season[edit]

text:
The owner of the Los Angeles Express, J. William Oldenburg, went bankrupt, turning his franchise over to the league. News of his financial troubles sent a collective shiver through the league in the middle of the 1984 season. With Chicago already gone, the potential loss of the Express might have put the league's contract with ABC in jeopardy. With that in mind, the league took control of the team and decided to run it on a shoestring until a new owner could be found.
Seeking a larger market, a larger stadium, and to share expenses, the Outlaws sought to merge with the Oakland Invaders, but Oakland Invaders owner Tad Taube walked away from the deal rather than give control of the team to Outlaws part-owner and general manager William Tatham Jr.[15]
After the league officially announced plans to move to the fall in 1986 (see below), a number of teams moved elsewhere after their owners decided they could not directly compete with the NFL. The Breakers moved a second time, this time to Portland, Oregon. The defending champion Philadelphia Stars moved to Baltimore, capitalizing on the departure of the NFL's Colts to Indiana. The Michigan Panthers merged with the Oakland Invaders, while the Pittsburgh Maulers folded after losing a reported $10 million in their only season.[16]
Around the same time, Weiser pulled the plug on his deal to buy the Federals and move them to Miami. Bandits minority owner Donald Disney stepped in 5 days later and bought the Federals. Under his ownership, the team was moved to Orlando, where they became the Orlando Renegades.
Einhorn, one of the principal advocates of fall play, decided to sit out the 1985 season. ABC cleared this move due to the league's anemic ratings in Chicago, allowing the league to shut down the Blitz, who had lost nearly $6 million in 1984.[16]
The assets of Dietrich's Arizona Wranglers (see Chicago Blitz of 1983) would be acquired by the Tathams in a deal often referred to as a "merger", as the rosters were merged. The resulting Arizona Outlaws featured players from both teams but was run by the Tathams.

text: The 1985 season[edit]

text:
The league financed and ran the Express all season, but could not find an owner.  With a huge salary burden and dreadful attendance, the Express barely survived the season.
Owners agree to a 4-year CBA with the United States Football League Players Association. [2]
San Antonio Gunslingers owner Clinton Manges stopped paying the team's bills with about a month to go in the season.
The Denver Gold's attendance flatlined due to the planned move to the fall, as fans were not willing to choose between the Gold and the NFL's Broncos.  The Gold would have hosted a playoff game against the Memphis Showboats, but ABC forced the league to move the game to Memphis rather than endure the embarrassment of playing in a near-empty Mile High Stadium.

text: The 1985–1986 off-season[edit]

text:
The San Antonio Gunslingers had their franchise revoked when Manges ignored a league-imposed deadline to make restitution for the team's debts.
The Breakers were disbanded after owner Joe Canizaro suffered two-year losses in the realm of $17 million.
Los Angeles and Oakland announced that they would suspend operations.
Denver merged with Jacksonville, to play the 1986 season in Jacksonville, while Houston merged with New Jersey, to play in New Jersey.
Although Eddie Einhorn remained involved with the league's antitrust lawsuit, he opted not to field a Chicago team in the USFL's fall 1986 season as planned, and the team was left off the proposed 1986 schedule.
Tampa Bay initially pulled out of the league, prepared to continue playing in the spring even if it meant forming a new league;[17] owner John Bassett was, in either case, too ill to continue and would die on May 14, 1986. Lee Scarfone agreed to take over the Bandits' USFL franchise in July 1985 and have the team play a fall schedule.[18]

text: Some franchises folded before or after a season's play, and others moved and/or merged.  However, unlike the WFL and other leagues that have competed against the NFL, no USFL team actually folded during a season's play.  This was because, with the notable exception of San Antonio, all of the league's teams were fairly well capitalized from the start, as Dixon had anticipated the league would have to absorb years of red ink before coming into its own.  By comparison, most of the WFL's teams appeared to be severely undercapitalized.  Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Antonio did come close to folding in midseason, but league intervention helped these teams make it through.

text: Arizona, Baltimore, Birmingham, Jacksonville, Memphis, New Jersey, Orlando and a newly reorganized Tampa Bay were scheduled to play an 18-game fall schedule season in 1986.  At the time, only New Jersey and Tampa Bay shared markets with an NFL team (in New Jersey's case, they shared two NFL teams).

text: Competition vs. NFL[edit]

text: The Dixon Plan vs. building a league of stars[edit]

text: At first the USFL competed with the older, more established National Football League by following the Dixon plan.  The plan allowed the league to compete not just by playing its games on a March–June schedule during the NFL off-season, but also by having

text:
Teams play in large NFL caliber stadiums
Teams plan for large year 1 pre-season promotional budgets to introduce the team to the local market.
A tight players' salary cap of US$1.8 million per team.  The NFL introduced a salary cap in 1994.
A territorial draft,  to better stock teams with familiar local collegiate stars to help the gate. (Similar to the proposed All-American Football League)

text: The Dixon plan laid out a budget to allow all teams to manage losses in the initial lean years.  The league's TV revenue met the requirements of the Dixon plan.  The Plan called for first year attendance over 18,000 per game.  In 1983, 10 of the 12 teams exceeded that threshold.  Player spending was where the league deviated from the plan.

text: Although the Dixon plan called for a $1.8 million players' salary cap in anticipation of slow growth, several teams exceeded it in the pursuit of stars.

text: The league's biggest splash—the signing of Herschel Walker, a three time All-American and the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner—has been considered in hindsight to have foreshadowed the league's demise.[citation needed] Like the NFL, the USFL barred underclassmen from signing. However, league officials were certain that this rule would never stand up in court, so they allowed Walker to sign with the New Jersey Generals. More importantly, Walker signed a three-year contract valued at $4.2 million with a $1 million signing bonus. Due to the USFL's salary cap rules, this was a personal-services contract with Generals owner J. Walter Duncan, and not a standard player contract. Nonetheless, the other owners did not raise any objections, knowing that having the reigning Heisman winner in the fold would lend the league instant credibility. The personal services contract work-around effectively ruined cost containment in the USFL.[citation needed]

text: It was a double-edged sword.  The USFL's willingness to sign marquee talents such as high-profile college stars Walker, Craig James, Anthony Carter and Kelvin Bryant as well as some familiar NFL vets like Chuck Fusina and members of the NFL vet laden Chicago Blitz, like Greg Landry, gave the league much-needed credibility.[citation needed].  However, it also caused roster costs to spiral out of control, causing many teams to drown in red ink. The league also made a serious run at some other stars, such as Eric Dickerson and Dan Marino.

text: Many teams wildly exceeded the league's player salary cap in order to put more competitive teams on the field. For instance, the Michigan Panthers reportedly lost $6 million—three times what Dixon suggested a team could afford to lose in the first season—even as they became the league's first champions. The desire to compete with other loaded USFL teams and for the league to be seen as approaching NFL caliber led to almost all of the teams exceeding the Dixon Plan's team salary cap amount within the league's first 6–18 months.

text: Dixon urged the members of the league to reduce spending.  Rather than backing off spending, recommitting to a firmer salary cap, and dispersing some of the larger contracts to expansion teams to alleviate the problem, the league sought other options to take on revenue to cover increased costs overruns.  These actions magnified the problem.

text: The league added six more teams in 1984 rather than the four initially envisioned by Dixon, to pocket two more expansion fees. This put more pressure on the TV deal, which was not designed to support an 18 team league.  The league was so desperate for capital that it accepted an application from San Antonio, despite a study that advised that San Antonio could not support a USFL team.[citation needed] A frustrated Dixon sold his stake and got out.

text: With the new wave of teams, more college stars like Marcus Dupree, Mike Rozier, Reggie White, Jim Kelly, Steve Young and other young stars of the day signed high dollar contracts to play for USFL teams in 1984, as did high-profile NFL stars like Doug Williams, Brian Sipe, Joe Cribbs, and Gary Barbaro.

text: Spring schedule vs. fall schedule[edit]

text: In 1984, the league began discussing the possibility of competing head-to-head with the NFL by playing its games in the fall beginning in 1986.  The strongest proponents of playing in the fall were Chicago owner Eddie Einhorn and Generals owner Donald Trump.  Einhorn and Trump argued that if the USFL moved to the fall, it would eventually force a merger with the NFL in which the older league would have to admit at least some USFL teams.  They also argued that if a merger did occur, the surviving teams' original investment would more than double.

text: A consulting firm recommended sticking with a spring season.  Despite the protests of many of the league's "old guard", who wanted to stay with the original plan of playing football in the spring months, on October 18, 1984, the league's owners voted 12-2 to begin playing a fall season in 1986. Tampa Bay Bandits owner John F. Bassett, who had registered one of the two "nay" votes, declared his intention to pull his team out of the USFL and organize a new spring football league.[19][20]  However, failing health (he died from cancer in May 1986) forced Bassett to abandon his plans and sell the Bandits to minor partner Lee Scarfone, who agreed to keep the franchise in the USFL.[21] The spring advocates had lost, and the fall advocates now set their sights on forcing a merger with the NFL, or at the very least winning a sizable settlement and securing a TV network for fall broadcasts.  The USFL had jettisoned its original model of spring football in favor of the risky gamble (but potentially lucrative return) of going head-to-head with the NFL.

text: As a direct result of this decision, the Pittsburgh Maulers folded rather than compete with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the sale of the struggling Washington Federals to Weiser's Miami-based ownership group collapsed, the New Orleans Breakers and 1984 champion Philadelphia Stars had to relocate, and the 1983 champion Michigan Panthers surprised the commissioner with an announcement that they would not be playing in the Detroit area for the 1985 season.  Panthers owner A. Alfred Taubman informed the league at the meeting that he had negotiated a conditional merger with Tad Taube's Oakland Invaders depending on the outcome of the vote, with Taubman as majority owner. With an expectation of fall play in 1986, Einhorn decided not to field a team for the final lame duck spring 1985 season. Within a few weeks of the decision, the USFL had been forced to abandon four lucrative markets, abort a move to a fifth and suspend operations in a sixth. In hindsight, this destroyed the USFL's viability, although the Maulers folding likely would've happened anyway due to the team being owned by shopping mall magnate Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. (who also owned the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins at the time), whose son Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. owned the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers (a team now owned by his sister Denise DeBartolo York), causing a potential conflict of interest for the family between the USFL and the NFL.[22]

text: ABC offered the USFL a 4-year, $175 million TV deal to play in the spring in 1986.  ESPN offered $70M over 3 years.  Following all the mergers and shutdowns, there just were not enough spring football advocates left in the league to accept those contracts.  The owners in the league walked away from what averaged out to $67 million per year starting in 1986 to pursue victory over the NFL.

text: After the 1985 season, more plans were announced to accommodate the fall schedule, pool financial resources and avoid costly head-to-head competition with NFL teams.  Two mergers were announced.  The Denver Gold merged with the Jacksonville Bulls, with the Bulls as the surviving team.  Trump bought the assets of the Houston Gamblers for an undisclosed amount and merged them with the New Jersey Generals.  While the Generals were the surviving team, Gamblers coach Jack Pardee was named as the merged team's new coach.  Both the Gold and Gamblers had seen their attendance plummet to unsustainable levels, as their fanbases were not willing to abandon the Denver Broncos and Houston Oilers, respectively.  In spite of all of these changes, the USFL would never play a fall game.

text: USFL v. NFL lawsuit[edit]

text: In another effort to keep themselves afloat while at the same time attacking the more established National Football League, the USFL filed an antitrust lawsuit against the older league, claiming it had established a monopoly with respect to television broadcasting rights, and in some cases, on access to stadium venues.

text: The case was first heard by Judge Peter K. Leisure. The USFL claimed that the NFL had bullied ABC, CBS and NBC into not televising USFL games in the fall. It also claimed that the NFL had a specific plan to eliminate the USFL, the "Porter Presentation." In particular, the USFL claimed the NFL conspired to ruin the Invaders and Generals. The USFL sought damages of $567 million, which would have been tripled to $1.7 billion under antitrust law. It hoped to void the NFL's contracts with the three major networks. The USFL proposed two remedies: either force the NFL to negotiate new television contracts with only two networks, or force the NFL to split into two competing 14-team leagues, each limited to a contract with one major network.

text: The lawyer for the USFL, Harvey Myerson, had what he felt were three "smoking guns".

text:
A memo from March 1973 to NFL broadcasting director Robert Cochran, from attorney Jay Moyer stating that an "open network" might be open to the "invitation to formation of a new league."
A memo from August 1983 from NFL management council executive director Jack Donlan to his staff. The memo laid out plans for NFL teams to "increase salary offers to USFL to existing players or run the risk of losing them."
A 1984 presentation to NFL executives by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, which included a plan on "how to conquer" the United States Football League.[23]

tag: ol

text: All but one of the league's 28 teams was named as a co-defendant.  Al Davis, owner of the then-Los Angeles Raiders, was a major witness for the USFL and had been excluded from the lawsuit in exchange for his testimony.[5] ABC Sports' Howard Cosell was also a key witness for the USFL.

text: The case went to trial in the spring of 1986 and lasted 42 days. On July 29, a six-person jury handed down a verdict that devastated the USFL, even though it technically won its case. The jury declared the NFL a "duly adjudicated illegal monopoly", and found that the NFL had willfully acquired and maintained monopoly status in professional football through predatory tactics.

text: However, it rejected the USFL's other claims. The jury found that the USFL had changed its strategy to a more risky goal of forcing a merger with the NFL. Furthermore, the switch to a fall schedule caused the loss of several major markets (Philadelphia, Denver, Houston, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Miami, the Bay Area). The jury also made note of a memo Tad Taube wrote about the dispute, which quoted the comic strip Pogo: "we have met the enemy and he is us."

text: Most importantly, the jury found that the NFL did not attempt to force the USFL off television. (Indeed, ESPN remained willing to carry USFL games in the fall,[24] several of the league's teams also had local broadcast contracts, and 1986 also happened to be the inaugural season of the Fox Broadcasting Company, a network that would eventually become the fourth major broadcast network.) In essence, the jury felt that while the USFL was harmed by the NFL's de facto monopolization of pro football in the United States, most of its problems were due to its own mismanagement. It awarded the USFL nominal damages of one dollar, which was tripled under antitrust law to three dollars. It later emerged that the jury incorrectly assumed that the judge could increase the award.[25]

text: The verdict was a classic Pyrrhic victory. The USFL had essentially staked its future on the outcome of the suit, banking on a substantial settlement to finance the move to the fall.  It considered the television-related claims to be the heart of its case. On August 4—four days after the announcement of the verdict—the USFL owners voted to suspend operations for the 1986 season, with the intent of returning in 1987; the league accurately foresaw the 1987 players' strike and had hoped the strike would give the league access to star players.[26] Players signed to contracts were free to sign with NFL (or other professional teams) immediately. Indeed, the NFL had held a draft in 1984 for teams to acquire the rights to USFL players, in the event of the league (or teams in the league) folding; even NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, upon hearing the initial guilty verdict, walked out of the courtroom knowing that the USFL had effectively shut down by trying to take on the NFL.[27] However, it is unlikely the USFL would have been able to put together a viable product in any case. Many of its players had signed contracts with NFL teams after the 1985 season, and the league was some $160 million in debt.

text: Five days after the verdict the Tampa Bay Bandits were effectively shut down when a judge slapped a lien on the franchise to satisfy back pay owed to former player Bret Clark.  All of the team's remaining assets were seized to satisfy the debt.[26][28] In a desperation move, the Arizona Outlaws arranged a meeting in January 1987 with officials with the Canadian Football League hoping to negotiate a merger with that league; the CFL's owners were "lukewarm" and ultimately rejected the Outlaws' request.[29] With nearly all of its players under contract to the NFL and CFL, Usher announced the league would stay shuttered in 1987 as well. (Many of the USFL players who were not under NFL contract would end up playing in fall 1987 as replacement players during the strike.)

text: The USFL appealed the award, but it was rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1988. This decision ended any chance of the USFL returning to the field, and the league's seven remaining teams voted to formally disband shortly afterward. However, because the USFL was at least nominally the winner of the lawsuit, the NFL was required to cover the USFL's attorney fees and costs of litigation, and the USFL was awarded over $5.5 million in attorney fees and over $62,000 in court costs. That award was appealed by the NFL; it was affirmed on appeal and ultimately allowed to stand by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1990, four years after the USFL had ceased operations.

text: The USFL finally received a check for $3.76 in damages in 1990, the additional 76¢ representing interest earned while litigation had continued. Notably, that check has not yet been cashed.[30]

text: Aftermath[edit]

text: The USFL had a significant impact on the NFL both on the field and off. Almost all of the USFL's on-field innovations were eventually adopted by the older league, and a multitude of star players in the USFL would go on to enjoy very successful careers in the NFL.

text: The NFL would also eventually have franchises in some of the markets which the USFL had proved fertile for pro football or had renewed interest in the game. Jacksonville, in particular, was being courted by the Houston Oilers as a potential relocation destination as early as 1987; that city eventually got the expansion Jaguars in 1995. The Oilers would instead relocate to Tennessee in 1997, initially playing one season in Memphis (to minuscule crowds) before moving to Nashville to become the Tennessee Titans. Although the USFL's stay in Baltimore was brief, the city's acceptance of the Stars, coupled with the success of the Canadian Football League's Baltimore Stallions a decade later, were factors in Art Modell's decision to relocate his NFL franchise to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Ravens in 1996. Arizona was never one of the USFL's strongest markets but still managed to lure the former St. Louis Football Cardinals to take up residence in the state in 1988. Three decades after the USFL's failure, the NFL awarded the 2017 Pro Bowl to Orlando. Outside the NFL, Tampa Bay's embrace of Bandit Ball and the rapid growth of the Sun Belt prompted the establishment of other major league teams in the metro area: the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning and Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays. Other cities that did not get NFL franchises, such as Birmingham, Memphis and Orlando, would receive teams from the numerous short-lived pro football leagues that have attempted to launch in the years that have followed, such as the XFL (which, with the lone exception of the Las Vegas Outlaws, resided entirely in USFL markets), CFL, UFL and AAF.

text: The collapse of the USFL had a particularly positive effect on the NFL's Buffalo Bills. The Bills, as a small-market NFL franchise, were particularly hard-hit by the USFL; as its players from the moderately successful early 1980s era aged, the team was unable to find quality replacements for them on the free agent market, as the USFL was drawing away much of pro football's top talent (including Bills running back Joe Cribbs and the team's planned franchise quarterback of the future, Jim Kelly). With subpar talent, the Bills went 4–28 over the course of 1984 and 1985, and average attendance at Rich Stadium plummeted to under 30,000 fans per game, putting the team's long-term viability in jeopardy. When the USFL collapsed, the Bills signed a large number of former USFL players: Kelly, Kent Hull, Ray Bentley, special teams coach Bruce DeHaven, general manager Bill Polian and coach Marv Levy, which, combined with the high draft picks compiled during the USFL years, would allow the Bills to rise to perennial Super Bowl contenders by the early 1990s. In 2014, after founding owner Ralph Wilson died, Trump tried to purchase the Bills, but was largely rebuffed in favor of Terry Pegula due in part to his past ties to the USFL (as well as Trump's low bid compared to Pegula's); Trump's failure to purchase the Bills was cited as a major factor in his ultimately successful decision to run for President of the United States the next year.[31]

text: It was no coincidence that most of the USFL's most successful markets were in the Sun Belt. Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Birmingham and Memphis were consistently among the league's leaders in attendance, mainly because none of those cities had to compete against Major League Baseball teams for the spring sports dollar. Of those cities, only Tampa Bay now has a baseball team; the Rays, formerly known as the Devil Rays, didn't arrive until 1998.  Along with Philadelphia/Baltimore (the league's most successful team, and one that was about to step into a recently abandoned NFL market) and New Jersey (with Trump's deep pockets, the league's greatest player in Walker, strong attendance, and distance from New York's MLB teams), this collection of teams were widely reckoned as at least having the potential to be viable ventures had the USFL stuck to its original springtime concept and been more financially sound.

text: The league also had an indirect impact on the scheduling of televised football games. The USFL had planned to go against the NFL in the fall of 1986 without directly playing its games opposite the larger league by playing its games on Sunday nights, when the NFL did not play yet. One year later, ESPN and the NFL launched Sunday Night Football in the time slot.

text: The last player of the USFL on an NFL roster was Philadelphia Stars punter Sean Landeta, who was signed in late 1986 by the New York Giants. He officially announced his retirement on March 6, 2008, the 25th anniversary of the first USFL game. (He last played in 2006 but he did not officially retire during the 2007 season.)  The last non-kicker to retire was quarterback Doug Flutie, who played in both the CFL and NFL until 2005.

text: USFL distinguishing features[edit]

text: Like the XFL that would follow them, the USFL sought to differentiate themselves from the NFL with slightly different rules, most notably:

text:
The two-point conversion (since adopted by the NFL, in 1994).
The college rule of stopping the clock after first downs was used only for the final two minutes of each half and overtime.
For the 1985 season, a method of challenging officials' rulings on the field via instant replay (using a system that is almost identical to that used by the NFL today).

text: Notable people and achievements[edit]

text: USFL alumni in the Pro Football Hall of Fame[edit]

text: As of August 2015, there are eight USFL alumni who are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

text:
George Allen (coach) – Chicago Blitz 1983 & Arizona Wranglers 1984 – HOF Class 2002
Sid Gillman (front office consultant) – Oklahoma Outlaws and Los Angeles Express 1984 – HOF Class 1983
Jim Kelly – Houston Gamblers 1984–1985 – HOF Class 2002
Marv Levy (coach) – Chicago Blitz 1984 – HOF Class 2001
Bill Polian (player personal director) – Chicago Blitz 1984 – HOF Class 2015
Steve Young – LA Express 1984–1985 – HOF Class 2005
Reggie White – Memphis Showboats 1984–85 – HOF Class 2006
Gary Zimmerman – LA Express 1984–1985 – HOF Class 2008

text: League MVP awards[edit]

text:
1983: Kelvin Bryant, RB, Philadelphia Stars
1984: Jim Kelly, QB, Houston Gamblers
1985: Herschel Walker, RB, New Jersey Generals

text: Championship game MVP awards[edit]

text:
1983: Bobby Hebert, QB, Michigan Panthers
1984: Chuck Fusina QB, Philadelphia Stars
1985: Kelvin Bryant  RB, Baltimore Stars

text: Commissioners[edit]

text:
Chet Simmons (June 13, 1982 [3]–January 14, 1985); resigned under pressure from owners.
Harry Usher (January 15, 1985 – 1987); league ceased operations.

text: All-time leaders[edit]

text:
Rushing attempts: 1,143 Herschel Walker
Rushing yards: 5,562 Herschel Walker
Rushing touchdowns: 54 Herschel Walker
Receiving catches: 234 Jim Smith
Receiving yards: 3,685 Jim Smith
Receiving touchdowns: 31 Jim Smith
Passing attempts: 1,352 John Reaves
Passing completions: 766 John Reaves
Passing yards: 10,039 Bobby Hebert
Passing touchdowns: 83 Jim Kelly
Passing interceptions: 57 Bobby Hebert

text: Teams[edit]

text: Timeline[edit]

text: Projected 1986 teams in gray

text: List[edit]

text:
Arizona Wranglers (1983, 1984; Arizona and Chicago traded players)
Arizona Outlaws (1985; result of Arizona/Oklahoma merger)
Birmingham Stallions (1983–1985)
Boston Breakers (1983)
New Orleans Breakers (1984; moved from Boston)
Portland Breakers (1985; moved from New Orleans)
Chicago Blitz (1983, 1984; Arizona and Chicago traded players)
Denver Gold (1983–1985)
Houston Gamblers (1984–1985)
Jacksonville Bulls (1984–1985)
Los Angeles Express (1983–1985)
Memphis Showboats (1984–1985)
Michigan Panthers (1983–1984; merged with Oakland for 1985 season)
New Jersey Generals (1983–1985)
Oakland Invaders (1983–1985; merged with Michigan for 1985 season)
Oklahoma Outlaws (1984)
Philadelphia Stars (1983–1984)
Baltimore Stars (1985; moved from Philadelphia)
Pittsburgh Maulers (1984)
San Antonio Gunslingers (1984–1985)
Tampa Bay Bandits (1983–1985)
Washington Federals (1983–1984)
Orlando Renegades (1985; moved from Washington)

text: Playoff appearances[edit]

text: 1986 proposal[edit]

text: Prior to the jury award in USFL v. NFL, the league had planned to go forward with a 1986 season with eight teams, divided into an "Independence Division" and a "Liberty Division":

text:
Independence Division
Arizona Outlaws
Jacksonville Bulls1
Orlando Renegades
Tampa Bay Bandits

Liberty Division
Baltimore Stars
Birmingham Stallions
Memphis Showboats
New Jersey Generals2

text:
1 merged with Denver Gold
2 merged with Houston Gamblers

text: Due to the legal aftermath of the failed lawsuit against the NFL, the USFL folded and this divisional format never came to fruition.

text: Out of the 23 USFL teams, only five have played for the league's entire three-season duration without relocating or changing team names: Denver Gold, Los Angeles Express, Birmingham Stallions, New Jersey Generals, and Tampa Bay Bandits. Only the latter three teams would have remained on this list if the league had continued in 1986.

text: Season-by-season[edit]

text: 1986 (canceled)[edit]

text: Championship games[edit]

text:
Date
Winning Team
Losing Team
Location
Attendance
MVP
Television

July 17, 1983
Michigan Panthers
24
Philadelphia Stars
22
Mile High Stadium
Denver, Colorado
50,906
Bobby Hebert
ABC

July 15, 1984
Philadelphia Stars
23
Arizona Wranglers
3
Tampa Stadium
Tampa, Florida
52,662
Chuck Fusina
ABC

July 14, 1985
Baltimore Stars
28
Oakland Invaders
24
Giants Stadium
East Rutherford, New Jersey
49,263
Kelvin Bryant
ABC

text: The 1985 game was originally to be played at the Pontiac Silverdome, but after the Panthers merged with Oakland, the game was awarded to Giants Stadium.[32][33]

text: Had there been a 1986 season, the championship game was scheduled to be played at Jacksonville's Gator Bowl Stadium on February 1, 1987.[34][35]

text: Drafts[edit]

text: The USFL held its 1983, 1985 and 1986 college drafts at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. The 1984 draft was held at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York. The 1983–85 drafts were in January while the 1986 draft was held in May.

text: The USFL held an expansion draft in September 1983 for the 6 expansion teams that started play in 1984. In December 1984, they had a dispersal draft for Chicago, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma and Michigan.

text: In addition to the four college drafts, the league also held three USFL Territorial Drafts that allowed teams to select collegiate players from within their geographic area before they entered the general collegiate draft.

text: First overall pick in college drafts[edit]

text: Of the four first overall draft picks in its history, only 1984 top pick Mike Rozier actually played in the USFL. Dan Marino and Jerry Rice chose to play in the NFL, where they were also picked in the first round by the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers, respectively, and each went on to have Hall of Fame careers. The USFL ceased operations soon after the 1986 draft, so Mike Haight never signed with nor played in the league.

text:
Draft
Date
Location
Player
Position
College
USFL Team

1983
January 4, 1983
Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York
Dan Marino
QB
University of Pittsburgh
Los Angeles Express

1984
January 4, 1984
Roosevelt Hotel, New York
Mike Rozier
RB
University of Nebraska
Pittsburgh Maulers

1985
January 3, 1985
Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York
Jerry Rice
WR
Mississippi Valley State University
Birmingham Stallions

1986
May 6, 1986
Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York
Mike Haight
OT
University of Iowa
Orlando Renegades


document_title: This Is Us (season 2)

question_text: when does this is us season 2 episode 14 air

root

text: This Is Us (season 2)

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson[1]
Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson[1]
Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson[1]

Niles Fitch as teenage Randall Pearson[2]
Lonnie Chavis as young Randall Pearson[2]

Chrissy Metz as Kate Pearson[1]

Hannah Zeile as teenage Kate Pearson[2]
Mackenzie Hancsicsak as young Kate Pearson[2]

Justin Hartley as Kevin Pearson[1]

Logan Shroyer as teenage Kevin Pearson[2]
Parker Bates as young Kevin Pearson[2]

Susan Kelechi Watson as Beth Pearson[1]
Chris Sullivan as Toby Damon[1]
Ron Cephas Jones as William H. "Shakespeare" Hill[1][3]
Jon Huertas as Miguel Rivas[1]
Alexandra Breckenridge as Sophie[1]
Eris Baker as Tess Pearson[2]
Faithe Herman as Annie Pearson[2]

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Lyric Ross as Deja, Randall and Beth's foster child.[4]
Jermel Nakia as young adult William H. "Shakespeare" Hill[5][3]

text: Guest[edit]

text:
Sylvester Stallone as himself, an actor in Kevin's movie.[6]
Debra Jo Rupp as Linda, a social worker who works with Randall and Beth when they foster Deja.[7]
Sam Anderson as Walter Crowder, the judge in young adult William Hill's case.[5]
Delroy Lindo as Ernest Bradley, the judge in Randall's adoption case.[5]
Joy Brunson as Shauna, Deja's mother.[8]
Kate Burton as Barbara, a psychologist at Kevin's rehab who facilitates his meeting with the family.[9]
Garrett Morris as Lloyd, a resident of William's old apartment building.[10]
Iantha Richardson as adult Tess Pearson, a social worker.[11]
Gerald McRaney as Dr. Nathan Katowski (aka Dr. K), Rebecca's former childbirth obstetrician.[12]
Susan Blakely as Anne, Dr. K's wife.[12]

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)

19
1
"A Father's Advice"
Ken Olin
Dan Fogelman
September 26, 2017 (2017-09-26)
2AZC01
12.94[13]

On the Big Three's 37th birthday, Randall wants to adopt a baby, but Beth convinces him they can honor William's legacy by adopting an older child. Kate leaves an audition because all the other women there are thin, but she returns to go through with it. She is rejected because of her inexperience, not her weight; Kate is confident she can work her way up. Toby tells Kevin that he, not Kevin, needs to be Kate's "person." Kevin explains that Kate informed him of their father's death, and being Kate's brother is the only thing he is really good at. In the past, Rebecca takes the Big Three to a movie after her argument with Jack. Rebecca urges Jack to come home; Jack admits his drinking is out of control. Later, the family house has burned and Rebecca, in the car with Jack's possessions in a bag, screams and cries.

20
2
"A Manny-Splendored Thing"
John Fortenberry
Dan Fogelman & Bekah Brunstetter
October 3, 2017 (2017-10-03)
2AZC02
11.06[14]

Kevin is invited back for the 100th "The Manny" episode. The producers try to embarrass him for how he left the show, but Sophie helps him do it anyway. Randall, Beth, their girls, Rebecca, and Miguel travel across the country to see the live episode. Randall and Beth take a walk during the taping to discuss Randall's worries about fostering an older child who could have major issues. Also during the taping, Kate gets a call for her first gig; however, she does not want her mother to criticize her performance, so Kate asks both Rebecca and Toby not to follow her, but they do anyway. Later, Kate confronts Rebecca about how she has always treated her. Rebecca seeks support from Toby, but he clearly sides with Kate, which wins Rebecca's approval. After the episode taping, Beth learns from Kevin that Randall only risked failure once: in asking her out. Beth reassures Randall they can go through with their plan. In flashbacks, Jack confesses to teenage Kate that he has an alcoholism problem. Jack (when on the wagon before) vented his anger on a punching bag; this time, he lets Rebecca take him to an AA meeting.

21
3
"Déjà Vu"
John Requa & Glenn Ficarra
Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger
October 10, 2017 (2017-10-10)
2AZC03
11.02[15]

On Kevin's movie set, Kate—excited that Sylvester Stallone is his co-star—bonds with "Sly" and tells him what his films meant to her father, and about his death. After talking with Stallone, Kevin's memories of his dad surface, affecting his performance in a scene. Randall learns that a young girl, Deja, is being brought to his home. Later, when Deja yells at Beth for "stealing" her mom's cigarettes, Randall defends his wife, and Deja shrinks to defend herself from apparent aggression. Randall talks to Deja about the joy he found in having Jack and Rebecca, as well as William. Kevin takes pain medication after injuring his knee—his old football injury—from a scene explosion during filming. In flashbacks, when the kids are teenagers, Jack talks about his efforts to rehabilitate from alcoholism; Randall tries to find his birth parents through an ad, and is comforted by Kate and Kevin after a woman claims to be his birth mother for his family's money.

22
4
"Still There"
Ken Olin
Vera Herbert
October 17, 2017 (2017-10-17)
2AZC04
10.65[16]

Randall takes his daughters and Deja bowling, which does not go as expected. Beth offers to help Deja take care of her hair, and the two bond. Randall admits to Deja that he has had problems with nervous breakdowns and has taken up running to deal with his anxiety; he invites her to come with him. Kevin undergoes surgery on his injured knee, and continues to overuse his pain medication. Kate visits a gynaecologist for an ultrasound, revealing that she is pregnant. In flashbacks, Kate and Kevin contract the chicken pox, and their doctor urges Randall to do his best to catch them as well so it would not occur later for him. Rebecca's mother pops in intent on staying for a while, and her overbearing attitude and the fact that she treats Randall differently than Kate and Kevin leads to Rebecca confronting her about it all and calling her a racist, which Randall overhears. Rebecca's mother takes her words to heart and reaches out to Randall, recognizing for the first time how special he is.

23
5
"Brothers"
John Requa & Glenn Ficarra
Tyler Bensinger
October 24, 2017 (2017-10-24)
2AZC05
10.60[17]

Kate and Toby share news of her pregnancy. Kevin, set to be auctioned off by Sophie for a large-scale charity event she is hosting, gets drunk while trying to get a pain medication prescription; he misses the auction, embarrassing Sophie. Randall earns Deja's trust. In the past, when Jack takes 10-year-old Kevin and Randall camping, Rebecca learns that Jack's father is dying. She calls Jack, but he had issues with his father, and he is trying to have Kevin get along with Randall, so Jack says that he will not return. Rebecca reassures Jack's father (who sees his granddaughter, Kate) that Jack is a great father and husband. Kevin finds a notebook where Randall wrote notes of how to keep peace between them, motivating him to be nice to Randall. Later, Jack looks at a picture of him and his brother in the army. During Jack's childhood, he and his never-before-seen brother await their father's return to the car as he gets drunk at a bar.

24
6
"The 20's"
Regina King
Don Roos
October 31, 2017 (2017-10-31)
2AZC06
8.43[18]

In flashbacks, with the 10-year-old Big Three, Rebecca takes Randall trick-or-treating, while Jack takes Kate and Kevin to a haunted house. Randall learns about Kyle's death from the neighbors; Rebecca then tells him the facts of his adoption. In other flashbacks, with the Big Three being in their twenties, Kate finds out she is involved with a married man. Kevin, desperate for work as an actor, attempts to steal a role from his roommate and best friend. Meanwhile, Randall and Beth prepare for the arrival of their first daughter. Beth unexpectedly goes into labor after agreeing to help Rebecca get a Facebook account. With no time to get to the hospital, Randall helps Beth through a home delivery. Kate and Kevin commiserate about their deadbeat lives and decide to live together. When Rebecca posts a photo of her granddaughter on Facebook, she gets a message from Miguel, asking how she has been the last 8 years. (Jack's death was sometime before Miguel last saw Rebecca.)

25
7
"The Most Disappointed Man"
Chris Koch
Kay Oyegun
November 7, 2017 (2017-11-07)
2AZC07
9.89[19]

Jack and Rebecca prepare to finalize Randall's adoption when Randall is a year old. Their case worker gives a glowing recommendation, but their judge is against interracial adoption. After Rebecca's letter about being Randall's mother, the judge recuses himself; the new judge grants the adoption. Concurrently, William pleads guilty to a drug charge. Although the judge is disappointed because William had a clean record, William claims to be more disappointed, due to the loss of his loved ones and son. The judge visits William in jail, offering to reduce the sentence and get him help, if he stays sober. William keeps this promise for at least 30 years, until hearing his cancer is terminal. As he is about to use, Randall introduces himself as William's biological son. In the present, Randall takes Deja to visit her mother Shauna in prison, but Shauna declines the visit. Randall later talks to Shauna, who intends to take Deja back after her release. He lets Shauna call Deja collect. Kevin's relationship with Sophie deteriorates as he continues abusing pain medication and alcohol. Kate and Toby announce their pregnancy to Kevin, plan to get married at city hall, but then consider a big wedding.

26
8
"Number One"
Ken Olin
K.J. Steinberg
November 14, 2017 (2017-11-14)
2AZC08
10.05[20]

In flashbacks, baby Kevin walks first. Teenage Kevin disrespects a Pitt football recruiter, thinking Pitt inferior, so Jack scolds Kevin. As Jack speaks with his sponsor, and recites the serenity prayer, Kevin remains flippant, but Jack apologizes to Kevin. A game injury ends Kevin's football prospects while Jack and Randall are away at a college tour. Jack comes to the hospital and assures Kevin he has other talents, and will find his purpose. Kevin apologizes for his attitude. Jack gives him a pendant, symbolizing "purpose", given to him in Vietnam at a personal low point. Jack says Kevin is his purpose. Present-day Kevin, exhausted by substance abuse, is an honored alumnus at his high school. His football coach introduces him; Kevin imagines Jack giving the speech. Kevin declares himself unworthy of his award. He pantomimes football on the field, giving play-by-play commentary on his failures. He has sex with fellow honoree Charlotte, a doctor, and uses her prescription pad to create a forgery; he quickly leaves a pharmacy after police enter, having left the pendant in Charlotte's house, but she keeps him out. He collapses, begging for help. He visits Randall, who assumes Kevin's desire to talk concerns Kate's miscarriage.

27
9
"Number Two"
Ken Olin
K.J. Steinberg & Shukree Hassan Tilghman
November 21, 2017 (2017-11-21)
2AZC09
9.34[21]

In flashbacks, baby Kate walks second. Teenage Kate bonds with the dog, Louie. Kate seems unconcerned with college applications; Rebecca is pleased to discover Kate's application for Berklee. At Kevin's game, Kate accepts Rebecca's praise just as Kevin is injured. At the hospital, Kate admits she feared disappointing Rebecca; Rebecca acknowledges their emotional distance, but is ready to support Kate when needed. Kate watches her parents embrace. Present-day Kate talks to her unborn baby; she and Toby focus on her prenatal care, but she miscarries. Kate leaves a singing gig, overcome at seeing a family; she loads a buffet plate but leaves it untouched. Toby works frantically to avert the delivery of a baby bath. At home, Kate blames Toby for getting her excited about the baby; she tells Toby that the miscarriage didn't happen to him, but he asserts that he shares their loss. Rebecca arrives and Kate accepts her support. Kate admits feeling she hurt Toby by miscarrying; Rebecca shares that concealing from Jack her grief over triplet Kyle's death led her to a breakdown in a supermarket after six weeks. Kate tells Toby how she feels, and they agree to try again soon; they reaffirm their love.

28
10
"Number Three"
Ken Olin
Shukree Hassan Tilghman
November 28, 2017 (2017-11-28)
2AZC10
10.94[22]

In flashbacks, baby Randall walks third. Jack expects teenage Randall to attend Harvard, but lets Randall tour Howard. Jack takes the official tour; a friend shows Randall around. Randall tells Jack that others' reactions make him feel "off-balance" as the only black family member. Jack shows Randall the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; Jack felt off-balance when he returned from the war. Jack believes Randall will find balance and be "spectacular". They return to Pittsburgh for hospitalized Kevin; Jack admits monitoring all three children is difficult. In the present, the charges against Deja's mother Shauna are dropped; Randall and Beth consider fighting for custody. Randall recalls William's account of following Rebecca home after her second visit; he realized Randall had a full life without him, and left. Randall observes Shauna preparing for Deja's homecoming, and realizes Deja's home is with Shauna; Beth agrees. They attend Deja's school presentation. Shauna takes Deja home; Randall offers help. Randall and Beth agree to foster again; a young boy meets with his social worker. Kevin arrives, but leaves quickly after drinking vodka. Kevin is speeding—Tess, hidden in his backseat because she "hates" home, admonishes him; Kevin is arrested for DUI; Tess is safe.

29
11
"The Fifth Wheel"
Chris Koch
Vera Herbert
January 9, 2018 (2018-01-09)
2AZC11
9.65[23]

When the kids are 10, Jack takes the family to a cabin vacation, getting Kevin after football camp. Randall's new glasses are missing. Rebecca notices Kate's food obsession; Jack has her exercise, but takes her for ice cream. During a thunderstorm, Kevin brings Randall's glasses to their parents' room—where Kate and Randall are sleeping. He sleeps on the floor. Present-day Toby finds junk-food trash. Tess tells her parents she was sad when Deja had to leave. The family visits Kevin at rehab; Barbara, the facilitator, wants only immediate family at Kevin's first session. Kevin apologizes to the family, but Barbara has him discuss family issues. Kevin says they are a family of addicts. Kevin felt like an outcast ("fifth wheel"): Kate had Jack's support; Rebecca loved Randall more than Kevin. Randall scolds Kevin; Rebecca, crying, says why Randall was easier to love. Toby, Beth, and Miguel, at a bar, discuss being outsiders, Miguel the only one who knew Jack. After the session, the Big Three reconcile. Kate admits to Toby about hiding junk food since miscarrying. Rebecca tells Kevin why she never worried about him, but they had their moments. (In the flashback, Rebecca joins Kevin on the floor.)

30
12
"Clooney"
Zetna Fuentes
Bekah Brunstetter
January 16, 2018 (2018-01-16)
2AZC12
9.82[24]

Jack and Rebecca take the teenage Big Three shopping for suits and dresses for the winter formal and Jack's job. Randall asks a redhead girl out. Though the teenagers are almost starting college, Jack again wants to start "Big Three Homes" (which he put aside to support his family). Presently, William's stray cat "Clooney" wanders. After rehab, Kevin stays with Rebecca—whom Miguel is protecting, since Kevin upset her by getting arrested and criticizing her at rehab. Miguel later tells Kevin that Jack and Rebecca were a unified couple, not individuals; he did not love Rebecca while Jack was alive, but does now and is staying. Kate befriends Madison from support group; they go wedding dress shopping; Kate discovers Madison's bulimia. Madison later faints and calls Kate for help. Kate says losing weight as a teenager did not make her happy. Randall visits Beth at work; she says working again would help him. Randall gets William's box from storage, searches for a lady about whom William wrote and drew, and discovers from a picture it was Billie Holiday. Randall tells Beth he wants to buy and manage the run-down building with her. In the flashback, they forget smoke detector batteries.

31
13
"That'll Be the Day"
Uta Briesewitz
Kay Oyegun & Don Roos
January 23, 2018 (2018-01-23)
2AZC13
9.37[25]

Around 1980, an elderly couple look through their junk, including a jukebox which would play "That'll Be the Day". When their house gets a buyer, the man gives his neighbor, Jack, a slow cooker with a tricky switch. In 1998, Jack and Rebecca watch the Super Bowl alone as the teenagers are otherwise occupied—Kevin is with Sophie, Randall is on a date, and Kate is making a music college audition tape (which Jack videotapes, to Kate's initial disapproval). Presently, Randall and Beth buy William's old building. Kevin helps Randall do repairs; they soon find themselves overwhelmed—and bugs, so the building is vacated when an exterminator is called. When Toby looks for a dog on the internet, Kate—with mixed feelings—adopts a dog. Kevin tries to make amends to Sophie, receives his missing pendant in the mail—and knows that he cannot make amends to his dad. In 1998, the old slow cooker's faulty switch causes a house fire.

32
14
"Super Bowl Sunday"
John Requa & Glenn Ficarra
Dan Fogelman
February 4, 2018 (2018-02-04)
2AZC14
26.97[26]

In 1998, Jack evacuates the family (Kevin is away) from the burning house, then retrieves Kate's dog and family mementos. Jack, hospitalized for smoke inhalation, dies suddenly of cardiac arrest, to Rebecca’s shock. She tells Miguel, Randall, and Kate; Kate tells Kevin. On the 20th anniversary of Jack's death, Kate's VCR damages her audition tape Jack recorded—and saved from the fire—which she watches cathartically, blaming herself. Toby gets the tape repaired and digitized. Kate tells Toby he strengthens her, and Jack would have loved him. Kevin visits Jack's memorial tree, admitting not living up to Jack's legacy, but wanting to make him proud. Rebecca makes Jack's favorite lasagna, and bonds with Kevin. Randall holds a Super Bowl party to commemorate Jack, but is emotional when the family's new pet lizard dies. Tess admits trying to prevent social workers from calling, fearing recent changes mean Randall wants a "new life". He reassures her he will always be devoted to her; she is happy the family participates in fostering. Deja unexpectedly arrives; Randall and Beth comfort her. The boy seen earlier is placed with a couple; the social worker is adult Tess, whom older Randall meets for dinner.

33
15
"The Car"
Ken Olin
Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger
February 6, 2018 (2018-02-06)
2AZC15
10.13[27]

Jack buys a costly Wagoneer because his young children love it. The Pearsons, going to see "Weird Al" Yankovic, slowly cross a bridge Rebecca fears. Jack drives Rebecca, awaiting MRI results, to his "favorite tree” (nearest a pay phone); Rebecca is fine, as Jack anticipated. Jack predicts he will die first; he asks to be outside, not buried. The brothers fight during Randall's driving lesson; Jack exhorts them to be close like him and his brother, who died in Vietnam. Jack drives truant Kate to Alanis Morissette's autograph session; they compare Morrissette with Bruce Springsteen. Rebecca drives the teenagers to Jack's funeral, stalking the urn because she was not in Jack's room when he died. Dr. K—married to Anne—attends; he tells Rebecca Jack often sought his advice and she has always been strong. Kate decides to give away her dog; Rebecca affirms that Jack's death is not Kate's fault—Jack made his own decisions. The brothers bicker over manly duties; Rebecca tells them to remain teenagers; they make peace. The Pearsons scatter Jack's ashes at the tree; Kate keeps some. Jack had purchased Springsteen tickets for that night; Rebecca drives the family to the concert—crossing the bridge.

34
16
"Vegas, Baby"
Joanna Kerns
Laura Kenar
February 27, 2018 (2018-02-27)
2AZC16
9.74[28]

Jack and Rebecca celebrate their early wedding anniversaries—she, with small thoughtful gifts; he, with grand romantic gestures. The children, age 10, plan a romantic anniversary celebration (despite Rebecca's desire not to celebrate), including an attempted dinner, and culminating in observing a meteor shower. Rebecca decides they should always celebrate their anniversary. Presently, Toby and Kate hold their bachelor and bachelorette parties in Las Vegas. Kevin, Randall, Beth, and others attend; Toby has no close male friends, and Kate and Beth are not close. Kevin maintains his sobriety, despite struggling when learning his film scenes may have been cut. Weeks after providing Deja money for Shauna's utility bill, Randall worries about Deja; Beth wants to move on; they argue. Kate tries to mediate, revealing she feels Beth replaced her in Randall's life; Kate explains she was closest to Randall during part of their youth; Beth admits her love for absent Deja hurts. Toby supports Kevin and Randall, saying his own brother never desired a close relationship. Ron Howard tells Kevin his great work is still in the movie. When returning home, Beth decides she and Randall should visit Deja; they find her and Shauna living in a car.

35
17
"This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life"[29]
TBA
TBA
March 6, 2018 (2018-03-06)
2AZC17
TBD

tag: table

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: On January 18, 2017, NBC renewed the series for a second and third season of 18 episodes each, for a total of 36 additional episodes.[30] Dan Fogelman, Isaac Aptaker, and Elizabeth Berger serve as the season's showrunners.[31]

tag: p

text: Casting[edit]

text: Main cast members Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, and Ron Cephas Jones return from the first season as Jack Pearson, Rebecca Pearson, Randall Pearson, Kate Pearson, Kevin Pearson, Beth Pearson, Toby Damon, and William H. Hill, respectively.[1] Jon Huertas and Alexandra Breckenridge, who recurred as Miguel and Sophie, respectively, throughout the first season, were subsequently promoted to the principal cast in the second season.[1] Also promoted to series regulars are young actors Hannah Zeile as teenage Kate, Niles Fitch as teenage Randall, Logan Shroyer as teenage Kevin, Mackenzie Hancsicsak as young Kate, Parker Bates as young Kevin, Faithe Herman as Annie Pearson, and Eris Baker as Tess Pearson. Lonnie Chavis will continue to recur as young Randall.[2]

text: In August 2017, Sylvester Stallone and Debra Jo Rupp were cast in guest starring roles.[6][7]

text: Filming[edit]

text: The show was awarded over $9.9 million in tax incentives by the California Film Commission for its second season.[32] Production on the season began on July 11, 2017, in Los Angeles.[33]

text: Release[edit]

text: Broadcast[edit]

text: The second season was originally set to move to a Thursday timeslot, to anchor a new Must See TV lineup, alongside Will & Grace, Great News and Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, with NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt explaining, "While this is a bit risky, there is a bigger case to be made about redoing Thursday night. If there is one show we could move, it would be this one."[34] However, on May 30, 2017, NBC decided to keep the series on Tuesdays at 9 pm EST,[35] allowing it a run of 10 uninterrupted original episodes in the fall.[36]

text: The season began airing on September 26, 2017, on NBC in the United States,[37] and on CTV in Canada.[38] This Is Us served as the lead-out program for Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018.[39]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 91% approval rating with an average rating of 8.12/10 based on 22 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "This is Us continues to tug at heartstrings with an emotional exploration of family that ensures viewers will want to keep the tissues close -- and their loved ones closer."[40]

text: Ratings[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Air date
Rating/share
(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
DVR
(18–49)
DVR viewers
(millions)
Total
(18–49)
Total viewers
(millions)

1
"A Father's Advice"
September 26, 2017
3.9/13
12.94[13]
2.6
6.93
6.5
19.87[41]

2
"A Manny-Splendored Thing"
October 3, 2017
3.1/11
11.06[14]
2.4
6.15
5.5
17.21[42]

3
"Déjà Vu"
October 10, 2017
2.8/10
11.02[15]
2.2
6.11
5.0
17.13[43]

4
"Still There"
October 17, 2017
2.9/10
10.65[16]
2.3
6.32
5.2
16.97[44]

5
"Brothers"
October 24, 2017
2.8/10
10.60[17]
2.2
6.09
5.0
16.69[45]

6
"The 20's"
October 31, 2017
2.0/7
8.43[18]
2.4
6.50
4.4
14.94[46]

7
"The Most Disappointed Man"
November 7, 2017
2.5/9
9.89[19]
2.3
6.28
4.8
16.17[47]

8
"Number One"
November 14, 2017
2.6/9
10.05[20]
2.2
6.10
4.8
16.15[48]

9
"Number Two"
November 21, 2017
2.5/9
9.34[21]
2.0
5.71
4.5
15.05[49]

10
"Number Three"
November 28, 2017
2.8/10
10.94[22]
2.0
5.65
4.8
16.60[50]

11
"The Fifth Wheel"
January 9, 2018
2.7/9
9.65[23]
2.3
6.34
5.0
15.99[51]

12
"Clooney"
January 16, 2018
2.5/9
9.82[24]
2.5
6.35
5.0
16.18[52]

13
"That'll Be the Day"
January 23, 2018
2.5/9
9.37[25]
2.6
7.10
5.2
16.58[53]

14
"Super Bowl Sunday"
February 4, 2018
9.3/32
26.97[26]
2.3
6.44
11.6
33.40[54]

15
"The Car"
February 6, 2018
2.7/10
10.13[27]
2.2
6.03
4.9
16.16[55]

16
"Vegas, Baby"
February 27, 2018
2.5/9
9.74[28]
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Recipient(s) and nominee(s)
Result
Ref.

2018
NAACP Image Awards
Outstanding Drama Series
This Is Us
Nominated
[56]

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown
Nominated

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Susan Kelechi Watson
Nominated

Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
Vera Herbert for "Still There"
Nominated

Outstanding Performance by a Youth
Lonnie Chavis
Nominated