Tampa Bay Bandits
Established 1982
Folded 1986
Played in Tampa Stadium
in Tampa, Florida
League/conference affiliations
United States Football League (1983–1985)
  • Eastern Conference (1984–1985)
    • Central Division (1983)
    • Southern Division (1984)
Current uniform
Team colorsRed, Silver, Black, White
       
MascotSmokey
Personnel
Owner(s)John F. Bassett (managing general partner)
Stephen Arky (general partner)
Burt Reynolds (general partner)
Stan Gelt (general partner)
26 other partners
Head coachSteve Spurrier
Team history
  • Tampa Bay Bandits (1983–1985)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (2)
1984, 1985
Home stadium(s)

The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal owner (John F. Bassett), head coach (Steve Spurrier), and home field (Tampa Stadium) during the league's three seasons of play (1983–1985). The Bandits were one of the most successful teams in the short-lived spring football league both on the field and at the ticket booth. Spurrier's "Bandit Ball" offense led them to three winning seasons and two playoff appearances, and their exciting brand of play combined with innovative local marketing helped the Bandits lead the league in attendance. However, the franchise folded along with the rest of the USFL when the league suspended play after the 1985 season.

Prominent alumni from the Bandits include future NFL Pro Bowlers Nate Newton and Gary Anderson and coach Steve Spurrier, who spent 25 years coaching college football after his successful first stint as a head coach with the Bandits and was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

History

Preparing to play

Origins

The Tampa Bay Bandits' primary founder was Canadian businessman John F. Bassett, who was still in litigation against the NFL over his previous Memphis Southmen franchise from the World Football League in the mid-1970s. Bassett was initially skeptical about getting into another football venture. However, he soon warmed up to the USFL after discovering that he was nowhere as well off as the other owners. While he had been by far the richest owner in the WFL, he realized that he would be one of the poorest owners in the USFL. Believing that the USFL was on far stronger financial ground than the WFL ever had been, he agreed to sign on.[1] Bassett had a part-time home in the Tampa Bay Area, and when the USFL announced its twelve charter franchises in May 1982, Bassett was introduced as the majority owner of the as-yet unnamed team in Tampa along with Miami attorney Steve Arky.[2]

Establishment in Tampa

After it was decided that the franchise would play in Tampa, several minority owners bought stakes, among them Hollywood star Burt Reynolds, a former college football player at Florida State who was one of the most popular motion picture actors in the world. The team was soon dubbed the "Bandits", and although it was widely assumed that the name referenced Reynolds' role in the hit Smokey and the Bandit movies, Bassett said that the mascot had been chosen before Reynolds joined the ownership group and instead came from the name of Bassett's daughter's German Shepherd.[3][4][5][6] Reynolds was prominently involved in the Bandits' early marketing campaigns, and the cover of the team's first media guide featured a photo of the actor wearing a Bandits jacket and trucker hat.[5]

Also building interest was the hiring of Steve Spurrier as head coach and offensive coordinator in November 1982. Spurrier was well known in the area as a Heisman Trophy-winning college star for the University of Florida Gators and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first starting quarterback, and had most recently spent three seasons as a record-setting offensive coordinator at Duke University before accepting his first head coaching job with the Bandits.[7] Though Bassett had also considered several established coaches with NFL experience, he chose Spurrier due to his deep connections to the state of Florida and his reputation as an innovative young offensive coach; Spurrier was 37 when hired, making him the youngest head coach in professional football at the time. At Spurrier's introductory press conference, Bassett joked that he knew that he'd found the right coach when he discovered that the Spurrier family also had a dog named Bandit.[4][8]

Bandit Ball

The Bandits began play in 1983 in Tampa Stadium, and were immediately more successful than the area's NFL franchise, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with whom they shared a home field (though the Bucs played in the fall and early winter while the Bandits played in the spring and early summer). The Bandits narrowly missed the playoffs in their first season and made the postseason the next two years. Spurrier's aggressive offense was usually one of the best in the league; Bandits players are among the USFL career leaders in touchdown passes (John Reaves, 4th), touchdown receptions (Eric Truvillion, 2nd), and rushing touchdowns (Gary Anderson, 3rd). However, an average defense and Bassett's insistence on adhering to the USFL's original financial plan while other franchises spent millions on free agent signings kept the team from serious championship contention.

The Bandits were also successful off the field. They drew the highest average attendance over the three-year history of the USFL, coming in second in attendance in 1983 and leading the league in that category in 1984 and 1985 with over 40,000 fans per game.[9] Also, their memorabilia outsold that of the Buccaneers in the Tampa Bay area. A fan-friendly atmosphere (including a theme song, "Bandit Ball", penned and sung by Reynolds' friend Jerry Reed[10]) was one factor, and the Bucs' futility during the period (they went 10–38 from 1983 to 1985—the start of a 12-year stretch of 10-loss seasons) also helped the Bandits' success. Another key factor in the Bandits' success was the fact that there was no Major League Baseball team in Tampa at the time (the Tampa Bay Devil Rays would not debut for another decade), meaning that unlike other USFL teams, they did not have to compete with a baseball team for spectators. Due to broad local support, the Bandits were one of a very few USFL teams with a stable home and steady finances - they were the only franchise to have the same coach, owner, and home city throughout the league's three-year existence.[11] Due to these factors, the Bandits are considered one of the few USFL teams that had the potential to be a viable venture had the league been better run.[12] The Philadelphia Stars played Tampa Bay at Wembley Stadium in an exhibition game on July 21, 1984.

1983 season

1983 schedule and results

Week Day Date Opponent Game site Attendance Television Final score W/L Record
Regular Season
1 Sunday March 6, 1983 Boston Breakers Tampa Stadium 42,437 — 21–17 W 1–0
2 Saturday March 12, 1983 Michigan Panthers Tampa Stadium 38,789 — 19–7 W 2–0
3 Sunday March 20, 1983 at New Jersey Generals Giants Stadium 53,307 — 32–9 W 3–0
4 Sunday March 27, 1983 at Philadelphia Stars Veterans Stadium 18,718 ABC 27–22 W 4–0
5 Saturday April 2, 1983 Chicago Blitz Tampa Stadium 46,585 ESPN 3–42 L 4–1
6 Saturday April 9, 1983 at Denver Gold Mile High Stadium 46,848 ESPN 22–16 OT W 5–1
7 Monday April 18, 1983 Los Angeles Express Tampa Stadium 32,223 ESPN 13–18 L 5–2
8 Sunday April 24, 1983 at Washington Federals RFK Stadium 9,070 — 30–23 W 6–2
9 Saturday April 30, 1983 Philadelphia Stars Tampa Stadium 41,559 ESPN 10–24 L 6–3
10 Sunday May 8, 1983 at Oakland Invaders Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 26,989 ABC 17–10 W 7–3
11 Sunday May 15, 1983 Arizona Wranglers Tampa Stadium 32,327 — 20–14 W 8–3
12 Saturday May 21, 1983 Oakland Invaders Tampa Stadium 43,389 ESPN 29–9 W 9–3
13 Monday May 30, 1983 at Michigan Panthers Pontiac Silverdome 23,976 ESPN 7–43 L 9–4
14 Sunday June 5, 1983 Birmingham Stallions Tampa Stadium 35,623 ABC 45–17 W 10–4
15 Sunday June 12, 1983 at Chicago Blitz Soldier Field 21,249 — 9–31 L 10–5
16 Sunday June 19, 1983 at Boston Breakers Nickerson Field 15,530 — 17–24 L 10–6
17 Monday June 27, 1983 Denver Gold Tampa Stadium 46,128 ESPN 26–23 W 11–6
18 Saturday July 2, 1983 at Birmingham Stallions Legion Field 20,300 ESPN 17–29 L 11–7

Sources[13][14][15]

1983 Opening Day Roster

1983 Tampa Bay Bandits roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

  • 63 Curtis Bunche DE
  • 75 Walter Carter DE
  • 68 Fred Nordgren DT
  • 78 James Ramey DE
  • 74 Ken Times DT
 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists

added during season

rookies in italics

1984 season

In week three of the 1984 season, the Bandits faced their inter-state rivals, the Jacksonville Bulls for the first time. Jacksonville was 1-1, after soundly defeating the Washington Federals and nearly beating the New Jersey Generals. Jacksonville, led by former Jets and Broncos quarterback Matt Robinson, raced out to a 12–0 lead. The Bandits stormed back to take a 25–18 lead. The Bulls came back to tie the game, but the Bandits won when Zenon Andrusyshyn kicked a field goal to give Tampa Bay a 28–25 lead.[16]

When the season was over, quarterback John Reaves was the leading passer on the squad. Running backs Greg Boone and Gary Anderson ran for 1,009 and 1,008 yards respectively. Eric Truvillion lead the receivers with 1,044 yards on 70 catches and nine touchdowns. [17]

1984 schedule and results

Week Day Date Time Opponent Game site Attendance Television Final score W/L Record
Preseason
1 Bye —
2 Saturday February 4, 1984 7:30 pm vs. Washington Federals Fort Lauderdale, Florida 17,225 28–9 W 1–0
3 Saturday February 11, 1984 7:30 pm Oklahoma Outlaws Tampa Stadium 42,247 15–6 W 2–0
4 Saturday February 18, 1984 7:30 pm vs. Philadelphia Stars Orlando, Florida 22–17 W 3–0
Regular Season
1 Sunday February 26, 1984 2:30 pm Houston Gamblers Tampa Stadium 42,915 — 20–17 W 1–0
2 Friday March 2, 1984 9:00 pm at Arizona Wranglers Sun Devil Stadium 31,264 ESPN 20–17 W 2–0
3 Saturday March 10, 1984 9:00 pm Jacksonville Bulls Tampa Stadium 51,274 ESPN 28–25 W 3–0
4 Sunday March 18, 1984 2:30 pm at Denver Gold Mile High Stadium 19,173 — 30–36 L 3–1
5 Monday March 26, 1984 8:00 pm Birmingham Stallions Tampa Stadium 37,899 ESPN 9–27 L 3–2
6 Sunday April 1, 1984 2:30 pm at Philadelphia Stars Veterans Stadium 30,270 ABC 24–38 L 3–3
7 Saturday April 7, 1984 8:00 pm Oakland Invaders Tampa Stadium 58,777 — 24–0 W 4–3
8 Monday April 16, 1984 9:00 pm at New Orleans Breakers Louisiana Superdome 35,634 ESPN 35–13 W 5–3
9 Monday April 23, 1984 9:00 pm at Michigan Panthers Pontiac Silverdome 31,433 ESPN 20–7 W 6–3
10 Saturday April 28, 1984 8:00 pm Washington Federals Tampa Stadium 42,810 ESPN 37–19 W 7–3
11 Saturday May 5, 1984 8:00 pm at Jacksonville Bulls Gator Bowl Stadium 71,174 ESPN 31–13 W 8–3
12 Monday May 14, 1984 8:00 pm Oklahoma Outlaws Tampa Stadium 45,116 ESPN 28–21 W 9–3
13 Sunday May 20, 1984 2:30 pm New Orleans Breakers Tampa Stadium 42,592 ESPN 31–20 W 10–3
14 Friday May 25, 1984 8:30 pm at Memphis Showboats Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 27,422 — 21–31 L 10–4
15 Sunday June 3, 1984 2:30 pm New Jersey Generals Tampa Stadium 45,255 ABC 30–14 W 11–4
16 Saturday June 9, 1984 8:00 pm Memphis Showboats Tampa Stadium 48,785 — 42–24 W 12–4
17 Saturday June 16, 1984 8:00 pm at Pittsburgh Maulers Three Rivers Stadium 16,832 — 21–9 W 13–4
18 Sunday June 24, 1984 1:30 pm at Birmingham Stallions Legion Field 24,500 ABC 17–16 W 14–4
Playoffs
Divisional
Playoff		 Sunday July 1, 1984 2:30 pm at Birmingham Stallions Legion Field 32,000 ABC 17–36 L —
Postseason Exhibition
Exhibition Saturday July 21, 1984 12:30 pm vs. Philadelphia Stars Wembley Stadium
London, England		 21,000 ESPN 21–24 L —

Sources[18][19][20]

1985 season

1985 schedule and results

Week Day Date Opponent Game site Attendance Television Final score W/L Record
Preseason
1 Bye —
2 Saturday February 9, 1985 New Jersey Generals Tampa Stadium 32,370 21–7 W 1–0
3 Saturday February 16, 1985 vs. Baltimore Stars Charlotte, North Carolina 20,000 WTOG 28–26 W 2–0
Regular Season
1 Saturday February 23, 1985 Orlando Renegades Tampa Stadium 45,095 ESPN 35–7 W 1–0
2 Sunday March 3, 1985 Houston Gamblers Tampa Stadium 42,291 ABC 28–50 L 1–1
3 Sunday March 10, 1985 at San Antonio Gunslingers Alamo Stadium 21,822 — 31–18 W 2–1
4 Saturday March 16, 1985 Arizona Outlaws Tampa Stadium 41,381 ESPN 23–13 W 3–1
5 Sunday March 24, 1985 at New Jersey Generals Giants Stadium 41,079 ABC 24–28 L 3–2
6 Friday March 29, 1985 at Memphis Showboats Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 23,952 ESPN 28–20 W 4–2
7 Saturday April 6, 1985 Jacksonville Bulls Tampa Stadium 51,286 ESPN 31–17 W 5–2
8 Monday April 15, 1985 Denver Gold Tampa Stadium 54,267 ESPN 33–17 W 6–2
9 Sunday April 21, 1985 at Birmingham Stallions Legion Field 28,900 ESPN 3–30 L 6–3
10 Sunday April 28, 1985 Baltimore Stars Tampa Stadium 41,226 — 28–14 W 7–3
11 Saturday May 4, 1985 at Los Angeles Express Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 4,912 ESPN 24–14 W 8–3
12 Sunday May 12, 1985 at Jacksonville Bulls Gator Bowl Stadium 58,928 — 21–10 W 9–3
13 Saturday May 18, 1985 Memphis Showboats Tampa Stadium 44,818 ESPN 14–38 L 9–4
14 Sunday May 26, 1985 New Jersey Generals Tampa Stadium 44,539 ABC 24–30 OT L 9–5
15 Saturday June 1, 1985 at Orlando Renegades Florida Citrus Bowl 26,847 — 7–37 L 9–6
16 Saturday June 8, 1985 at Portland Breakers Civic Stadium 15,521 — 24–27 L 9–7
17 Saturday June 15, 1985 Birmingham Stallions Tampa Stadium 42,131 — 17–14 W 10–7
18 Sunday June 23, 1985 at Baltimore Stars Byrd Stadium 12,647 — 10–38 L 10–8
Playoffs
Quarterfinal Sunday June 30, 1985 at Oakland Invaders Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 19,346 ABC 27–30 L —

Sources[21][22][23]

The end of the Bandits and of the USFL

Bandits' majority owner John Bassett was a strong proponent of the "Dixon Plan", which was a plan formulated by the USFL's founding owners that sought to build a sustainable league with budgetary restraint and a commitment to spring football. However, to gain a competitive advantage and draw attention to their teams, some owners attempted to sign more high-profile players to free agent contracts, sometimes engaging in bidding wars against more financially powerful NFL teams. This led to USFL teams losing substantial amounts of money, causing much instability throughout the league. The Bandits did not overspend on player contracts, keeping the franchise stable but making it difficult to compete with the USFL's higher-spending teams, despite making a very good account of themselves on the field.

In April 1985, the USFL (led by New Jersey Generals owner Donald Trump[24][25]) voted 12–2 to switch to a fall schedule for 1986, hoping to compete directly with the NFL and possibly force the more established league to accept a merger. Bassett, who had registered one of the two "nay" votes, immediately declared his intention to pull the Bandits out of the USFL and organize a new spring football league.[26][27]

However, by mid-1985, the Bandits' ownership group was in disarray. Bassett was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, and staffers suspected that his illness was impairing his judgment. At the same time, co-owner Steve Arky's wealth was raided by the Securities and Exchange Commission on fraud charges, triggering the savings and loan crisis; Arky committed suicide not long after.[28] The team began signing mediocre players, most infamously defensive back Bret Clark, to large contracts, and plans for a new spring football league were abandoned. The size of the contracts, particularly Clark's contract, led Spurrier and other team officials to question whether Bassett was acting or thinking rationally.[29] As his condition worsened, Bassett decided to sell the team. He died in May 1986.[30][31] Before his death, he unsuccessfully tried to merge the Bandits organization with the Orlando Renegades (whose owner Donald Dizney had previously held a stake in the Bandits, but rejected the merger out of loyalty to Orlando) and Jacksonville Bulls (whose owner Fred Bullard expressed interest, but only if the Bandits owners stayed on as investors in the merged team).[32]

In August 1985, minority owner Lee Scarfone, a local architect, agreed to purchase Bassett's and Arky's stakes and field a team in the USFL for the fall 1986 season, with Tony Cunningham coming on as an additional partner.[33] In March 1986, Bret Clark took the Bandits to arbitration for $159,980 in back pay owed under his contract. He won the case on May 29, but the Bandits did not have any funds available to pay the judgement, as Scarfone and Cunningham had gone into considerable debt to buy the team and had already depleted most of their assets.[33] On August 4, a federal judge placed a lien on the franchise and ordered that the franchise's remaining assets - including everything from weight-lifting equipment to office furniture to memorabilia from the team store - be confiscated to pay off the debt, all but ending any realistic chance of the Bandits returning to the field. With the USFL failing to win the necessary money from its antitrust lawsuit to continue operating, and suddenly without one of its most financially successful franchises, the league suspended operations the same day, never returning to play.[29][34]

Prominent Tampa Bay Bandits

Single-season leaders

Rushing Yards: 1206 (1985), Gary Anderson

Receiving Yards: 1146 (1983), Danny Buggs

Passing Yards: 4183 (1985), John Reaves

Season-by-season results

Season records
SeasonWLTFinishPlayoff results
198311703rd Central--
198414402nd EC SouthernLost Quarterfinal (Birmingham)
198510805th ECLost Quarterfinal (Oakland)
Totals35210 (including playoffs)

Proposed revivals

  • In February 2014, the A-11 Football League (A11FL) announced its intention to revive the Tampa Bay Bandits name and logos as one of the eight charter franchises for a new spring league. The A11FL also announced plans to feature the revived Bandits in a "showcase game" to be held at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium in May 2014. However, these plans did not come to fruition, as the A11FL never took the field. The showcase game was cancelled in March 2014, and the league went on permanent "hiatus" in July 2014.[35][36]

References

  1. ↑ Reeths, Paul (2017). The United States Football League, 1982-1986. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1476667447.
  2. ↑ Tierney, Mike (May 11, 1982). "Tampa in New Pro Football League". St. Petersburg Times. ProQuest 2039870245. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Pearlman, Jeff (2018). Football for a Buck. p. 52. ISBN 9780544453685.
  4. 1 2 Scheiber, Dave (Nov 23, 1982). "It's Spurrier: Bandits Hand over the Reins". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. ProQuest 2035841253. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  5. 1 2 Fiallo, Josh (7 September 2018). "From Bandits to Seminoles, Burt Reynolds left a rich Tampa sports legacy". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  6. ↑ Gardner, Steve (Sep 6, 2018). "Famed actor Burt Reynolds had many football, sports connections". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  7. ↑ The Miami News - Google News Archive Search
  8. ↑ McEwen, Tom (Nov 23, 1982). "Bandits Tabbed Spurrier for Plenty of Reasons". The Tampa Tribune. ProQuest 2236618613. Retrieved Aug 16, 2020.
  9. ↑ Lakeland Ledger - Google News Archive Search
  10. ↑ http://www.usfl.info/bandits/trivia.html Tampa Bay Bandits trivia
  11. ↑ Rebels with a good cause from Sports Illustrated
  12. ↑ Breakfast Bonus - Tom McEwen- from TBO.com Sports Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ statscrew.com 1983 Tampa Bay Bandits Game-by-Game Results Retrieved December 30, 2018
  14. ↑ usflsite.com 1983 USFL Season Retrieved December 30, 2018
  15. ↑ profootballarchives.com 1983 Tampa Bay Bandits (USFL) Retrieved December 30, 2018
  16. ↑ "Tampa Bay Bandits - USFL (United States Football League)".
  17. ↑ "1984 Tampa Bay Bandits Statistics - USFL (United States Football League)".
  18. ↑ statscrew.com 1984 Tampa Bay Bandits Game-by-Game Results Retrieved December 31, 2018
  19. ↑ usflsite.com 1984 USFL Season Retrieved December 31, 2018
  20. ↑ profootballarchives.com 1984 Tampa Bay Bandits (USFL) Retrieved December 31, 2018
  21. ↑ statscrew.com 1985 Tampa Bay Bandits Game-by-Game Results Retrieved December 31, 2018
  22. ↑ usflsite.com 1985 USFL Season Retrieved December 31, 2018
  23. ↑ profootballarchives.com 1985 Tampa Bay Bandits (USFL) Retrieved December 30, 2018
  24. ↑ "5 things to know about Donald Trump's foray into doomed USFL". ESPN. July 7, 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  25. ↑ "Donald Trump defends USFL past". New York Daily News. May 5, 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  26. ↑ Mizell, Hubert (30 April 1985). "By its own hand, USFL will fall into oblivion". St. Petersburg Times. pp. 1C. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  27. ↑ "Bassett will pull Bandits out of USFL" - St. Pete Times: April 30, 1985
  28. ↑ Cosco, Joseph (July 24, 1985). "Miami lawyer kills himself in wake of ESM". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  29. 1 2 Scheiber, Dave. Bandits lose possessions after bizarre legal action. St. Petersburg Times, 1986-08-05.
  30. ↑ Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search
  31. ↑ Ocala Star-Banner - Google News Archive Search
  32. ↑ Anonymous, "A merger of USFL teams in Jacksonville, Orlando and...," upi.com, July 6, 1985. Retrieved December 15, 2018
  33. 1 2 Lakeland Ledger - Google News Archive Search
  34. ↑ Allen, Diane Lacey. Death of the Bandits not a pretty sight. The Ledger, 1986-08-05.
  35. ↑ Proposed new football league plans game in Tampa | Tampa Bay Times
  36. ↑ Auman, Greg (25 April 2014). "Spring pro league scraps showcase game at Ray-Jay". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  37. ↑ "Based on Trademarks Which USFL Teams Could We See Return In 2022". 4 June 2021.
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