Yearly Standings and Average Attendances

1983: 15-3 (18,650) Philadelphia
1984: 16-2 (28,668) Philadelphia
1985: 10-7-1 (14, 275) Baltimore

The USFL's dominant team, theStarsmissed out on aclean sweep of league championshipsby only a two-point loss to theMichigan Panthers in the 1983 titlegame. By all accounts, theStars had one of the best operations in the league. Myles Tanenbaum stuck with the league longerthan any of the other original owners. General Manager Carl Peterson made sure that little talentescaped the notice of his Stars. Coach Jim Mora guided the Stars to wins in more thanthree-fourths of their games and seven out of eight postseason tilts.

University of North Carolina runningback Kelvin Bryant was the focus of the offense. Hegained an incredible 4,055 yards rushing in three seasons. At quarterback, Chuck Fusina wasn'tspectacular but was always solid and great when he had to be. One of the league's top offensivelines, anchored by Bart Oates, allowed Fusina the time to get the ball downfield to receivers likeWillie Collier and Scott Fitzkee. When the Stars couldn't put the ball in the endzone, David Troutwas a very accurate kicker and Sean Landeta was one of the circuit's best punters.

But the heart and soul of the Stars was their Doghouse Defense. Led by (Slammin') SamMills, who would later earn several Pro Bowl berths in the NFL, the defense made sure the Starswere always in the game. Defensive back Mike Lush and defensive end John Walker also shoneon the defensive side of the ball.

The fans inPhiladelphia were very wary of the Stars in theirinaugural season. The Starsaveragedunder 20,000 fans per game in their inaugural year, but after making it to the championshipgame, attendance increased by more than 10,000 per contest the following season. The Stars wereeven more successful on the field, going 16-2 and dispatching theArizona Wranglers in thechampionship, 23-3. Several thousand Philadelphia fans gathered for a parade in the team's honoronce they got back to the City of Brotherly Love.

The announced move to the fall, however, immediately destroyed what it had taken two yearsto build, and Tanenbaum was forced to relocate his team to Baltimore. With Memorial Stadiumunavailable until 1986, he had to settle for Byrd Stadium on the campus of the University ofMaryland. The team spent the 1985 season practicing in Philadelphia, and playing in (or near)Baltimore. Some of the smallest crowds in the team's three-year history saw the team reboundfrom a slow start to beat the rebuiltOakland Invaders, 28-24, in theUSFL's last game. The Starsdreams of playing in Memorial Stadium were dashed after the league called off the 1986season.

Their Finest Hour: With so many wins this one is tough to choose, but theaward has to go to Philadelphia's come-from-behind playoff win over theChicago Blitz in 1983.The Stars trailed 38-17 with 12 minutes left in the game thanks largely to seven Philadelphiaturnovers. The hard-hitting Chicago defense had scored following six of the seven turnoversand had forced Chuck Fusina into four interceptions. Suddenly, it all turned around for Fusinaand the Stars. Philadelphia's quarterback caught fire, tossing three TD passes (to Fitzkee, JeffRodenberger and Tom Donovan) downthe stretch to knot the score. In overtime, Kelvin Bryant leapt over the goalline from the one tocap the Stars startling 44-38 win and send Philadelphia to the first USFL championshipgame.