# 1983 Michigan Panthers season

Michigan held its first training camp at City Island Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida, sifting through over 75 players. On Monday, March 7, 1983; the Panthers opened the season with a 9–7 win over the Birmingham Stallions at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. This was the first professional football game ever broadcast on ESPN. Montenegrin kicker (via Central Michigan) Novo Bojovic kicked 3 Field Goals 49,49 and the winning field goal from 48 yards out in the waning moments.
The Panthers then dropped their next four contests, losing on March 12 to the Tampa Bay Bandits (19–7); Mar. 19 at home to the Oakland Invaders (33–27); Mar. 27 at the Washington Federals (22–16 in OT) and April 4 at home to the Denver Gold (29–21). Their slow start was attributed mostly due to a very porous offensive line that struggled to create holes or time for their offensive stars. Management addressed the issue by signing a bevy of experienced offensive linemen in OT Ray Pinney (Pittsburgh Steelers), OG Tyrone McGriff (Pittsburgh Steelers) and OG Thom Dornbrook (NY Giants). Dornbrook and McGriff would both make USFL all-league teams in 1983.
The Panthers had a six-game winning streak. Then, on May 23, they and the Birmingham Stallions were tied 20–20 in the fourth quarter. Michigan would have had the lead, but the extra point attempt was blocked. The game went into overtime and was won by Birmingham thanks to a 46-yard field goal by Stallions placekicker Scott Norwood.
The Panthers would bounce back with a 42–7 thrashing of the stellar Tampa Bay Bandits, coached by future Florida Gators head coach Steve Spurrier. The additions on the offensive line, combined with installing rookie Bobby Hebert as quarterback, helped the Panthers win 11 of their next 13 contests to finish with a 12–6 record. They actually tied the Chicago Blitz for the best record in the Central Division, but were awarded the division title after sweeping the Blitz in the regular season.
In the playoffs, the Panthers hosted the Western Division champion Oakland Invaders before a USFL-record crowd of 60,237. The Panthers' decisive 37–21 victory vaulted them to the inaugural USFL Championship Game in Denver, Colorado.
On July 17, 1983, the Panthers captured the USFL's first championship with a 24–22 win over the Atlantic Division champion Philadelphia Stars. QB Bobby Hebert hit WR Anthony Carter on a 48-yard touchdown strike with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter for what proved to be the deciding score. Hebert was named MVP of the game, throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns.
The Panthers' late season surge (counting the playoffs, they went 13–2 to finish the season) was fueled by the addition of NFL-comparable talent at several positions. Indeed, they were one of three USFL teams, along with the Stars and Blitz, that observers believed could have made a good account of themselves in the NFL. It came at a high price, however; they spent $6 million during the season—three times what USFL founder David Dixon recommended that a team spend in a single season.

## USFL Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | 10 | David Greenwood | Safety | Wisconsin |
| 2 | 15 | Wayne Radloff | Center | Georgia |
| 3 | 34 | Bobby Hebert | Quarterback | Northwestern State |
| 4 | 39 | Paul Skansi | Wide Receiver | Washington |
| 5 | 58 | Whit Taylor | Quarterback | Vanderbilt |
| 6 | 69 | Ken Lacy | Running Back | Tulsa |
| 7 | 82 | Craig Wederquist | Offensive Tackle | Drake |
| 8 | 87 | Ron Hopkins | Defensive Back | Murray State |
| 9 | 106 | Stanley Washington | Wide Receiver | TCU |
| 10 | 111 | Russ Graham | Offensive Tackle | Oklahoma State |
| 12 | 135 | Larry McCrimmon | Quarterback | Cameron |
| 13 | 154 | Kevin Sloan | Offensive Tackle | Washington State |
| 14 | 159 | John Williams | Running Back | Wisconsin |

## Schedule

| Week | Day | Date | TV | Opponent | Results | Results | Location | Attendance |
| Week | Day | Date | TV | Opponent | Score | Record | Location | Attendance |
| 1 | Monday | March 7 | ESPN | at Birmingham Stallions | 9-7 | 1-0 | Legion Field | 30,305 |
| 2 | Saturday | March 12 | ABC | at Tampa Bay Bandits | 7-19 | 1-1 | Tampa Stadium | 38,789 |
| 3 | Saturday | March 19 | ESPN | Oakland Invaders | 27-33 | 1-2 | Pontiac Silverdome | 28,952 |
| 4 | Sunday | March 27 | | at Washington Federals | 16-22 (OT) | 1-3 | RFK Stadium | 11,404 |
| 5 | Monday | April 4 | ESPN | Denver Gold | 21-29 | 1-4 | Pontiac Silverdome | 11,279 |
| 6 | Sunday | April 10 | ABC | at New Jersey Generals | 21-6 | 2-4 | Giants Stadium | 17,648 |
| 7 | Sunday | April 17 | ABC | Chicago Blitz | 17-12 | 3-4 | Pontiac Silverdome | 11,634 |
| 8 | Saturday | April 23 | ESPN | Los Angeles Express | 34-24 | 4-4 | Pontiac Silverdome | 13,184 |
| 9 | Sunday | May 1 | ABC | at Boston Breakers | 28-24 | 5-4 | Nickerson Field | 10,971 |
| 10 | Saturday | May 7 | | at Arizona Wranglers | 21-10 | 6-4 | Sun Devil Stadium | 20,423 |
| 11 | Monday | May 16 | ESPN | New Jersey Generals | 31-24 | 7-4 | Pontiac Silverdome | 32,862 |
| 12 | Monday | May 23 | ESPN | Birmingham Stallions | 20-23 (OT) | 7-5 | Pontiac Silverdome | 20,042 |
| 13 | Monday | May 30 | ESPN | Tampa Bay Bandits | 43-7 | 8-5 | Pontiac Silverdome | 23,976 |
| 14 | Sunday | June 5 | ABC | at Philadelphia Stars | 20-29 | 8-6 | Veterans Stadium | 19,727 |
| 15 | Sunday | June 12 | | at Los Angeles Express | 42-17 | 9-6 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 16,023 |
| 16 | Monday | June 20 | ABC | Washington Federals | 27-25 | 10-6 | Pontiac Silverdome | 26,418 |
| 17 | Sunday | June 26 | ABC | at Chicago Blitz | 34-19 | 11-6 | Soldier Field | 25,041 |
| 18 | Sunday | July 3 | ABC | Arizona Wranglers | 33-7 | 12-6 | Pontiac Silverdome | 31,905 |

### Playoff Schedule

| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Location |
| Divisional Playoffs | July 10 | Oakland Invaders | W 37-21 | 1–0 | Pontiac Silverdome |
| USFL Championship | July 17 | Philadelphia Stars | W 24-22 | 2-0 | Mile High Stadium |

## Rewards

| Award | Winner | Position |
| All-USFL Team | Ray Pinney | OT |
| All-USFL Team | Thom Dornbrook | G |
| All-USFL Team | Bobby Hebert | QB |
| All-USFL Team | John Corker | LB |
| Defensive Player of the Year | John Corker | LB |
| USFL Outstanding Quarterback | Bobby Hebert | QB |
| USFL Passing Touchdowns Leader | Bobby Hebert | QB |
| USFL QBR Leader | Bobby Hebert | QB |
| USFL Championship Game MVP | Bobby Hebert | QB |

## Final Statistics
### Offense

Panthers Passing :
| | C/ATT | Yds | TD | INT |
| Bobby Hebert | 257/451 | 3568 | 27 | 17 |
| Whit Taylor | 17/34 | 353 | 1 | 0 |
| Ken Lacy | 1/1 | 38 | 1 | 0 |
| Rick Partridge | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Panthers Rushing |||||
| | Car | Yds | TD | LG |
| Ken Lacy | 232 | 1180 | 6 | 59 |
| John Williams | 153 | 624 | 12 | 31 |
| Cleo Miller | 94 | 374 | 0 | 19 |
| Tony Ellis | 46 | 158 | 0 | 25 |
| Terry Miller | 33 | 123 | 3 | 22 |
| Mike Hagen | 13 | 68 | 0 | 16 |
| Bobby Hebert | 28 | 35 | 3 | 9 |
| Whit Taylor | 3 | 10 | 0 | 16 |
| Jimmy Hargrove | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Anthony Carter | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Panthers Receiving |||||
| | Rec | Yds | TD | LG |
| Mike Cobb | 61 | 674 | 5 | 31 |
| Anthony Carter | 60 | 1181 | 9 | 81 |
| Ken Lacy | 40 | 433 | 2 | 39 |
| Derek Holloway | 39 | 811 | 11 | 67 |
| Donnie Echols | 20 | 196 | 0 | 27 |
| Frank McClain | 19 | 264 | 0 | 39 |
| Cleo Miller | 12 | 92 | 0 | 28 |
| John Williams | 8 | 80 | 1 | 53 |
| Tony Ellis | 5 | 55 | 0 | 27 |
| Jerome Staley | 3 | 27 | 0 | 11 |
| Mike Hagen | 3 | 25 | 0 | 14 |
| Jimmy Hargrove | 2 | 24 | 0 | 17 |
| Lonell Phea | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Terry Miller | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Ray Pinney | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |

### Defense

Panthers Sacks :
| | Sacks |
| John Corker | 28.0 |
| David Tipton | 12.0 |
| Ronnie Paggett | 9.5 |
| Allen Hughes | 4.0 |
| Phil Dokes | 2.5 |
| Mike Edwards | 2.0 |
| Kyle Borland | 2.0 |
| Ira Albright | 2.0 |
| Robert Pennywell | 1.0 |
| David Greenwood | 1.0 |
| Ray Bentley | 1.0 |
| John Banaszak | 1.0 |
| Andy Cannavino | 1.0 |
Panthers Interceptions :
| | Int | Yds | TD | LG |
| Robert Pennywell | 4 | 23 | 0 | 16 |
| Ron Osborn | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| David Greenwood | 2 | 31 | 0 | 31 |
| Oliver Davis | 2 | 24 | 0 | 16 |
| John Corker | 2 | 22 | 0 | 11 |
| Ray Bentley | 2 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| John Arnaud | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Andy Cannavino | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Kyle Borland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clarence Chapman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Freddie Logan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Panthers Fumbles :
| | Fmb | FR | Yds | TD |
| Ken Lacy | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Hebert | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Anthony Carter | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| John Williams | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Robinson | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Whit Taylor | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Ellis | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Corker | 2 | 6 | 0 | 100 |
| David Greenwood | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Lonell Phea | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Cobb | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Hagen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cleo Miller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Miller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Special Teams

Panthers Kicking :
| | FGM–FGA | XPM–XPA |
| Novo Bojovic | 18-19 | 49-54 |
Panthers Punting :
| | Pnt | Yds | Lng | Blck |
| David Greenwood | 37 | 1532 | 56 | 0 |
| Rick Partridge | 23 | 905 | 53 | 0 |
| Herman Weaver | 16 | 601 | 51 | 0 |
| Bob Grupp | 1 | 28 | 28 | 0 |
Panthers Kick Returns :
| | Ret | Yds | TD | Lng |
| Lonell Phea | 14 | 307 | 0 | 39 |
| John Williams | 12 | 290 | 0 | 43 |
| Derek Holloway | 13 | 254 | 0 | 31 |
| Ron Ingram | 10 | 206 | 0 | 26 |
| Jerome Staley | 5 | 88 | 0 | 21 |
| Tony Ellis | 2 | 30 | 0 | 24 |
| Mike Hagen | 2 | 30 | 0 | 18 |
| David Greenwood | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Robert Pennywell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Arnaud | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Panthers Punt Returns :
| | Ret | Yds | TD | Lng |
| Anthony Carter | 40 | 387 | 1 | 57 |
| Lonell Phea | 8 | 87 | 0 | 23 |
| Derek Holloway | 1 | –2 | 0 | –2 |
| Ron Ingram | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Standings

Central Division :
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Stadium | 1983 Capacity | Avg. Att. | Avg. % filled | Coach |
| y-Michigan Panthers | 12 | 6 | 0 | .667 | 451 | 337 | Silverdome | 80,638 | 22,250 | 28% | Jim Stanley |
| x-Chicago Blitz | 12 | 6 | 0 | .667 | 456 | 271 | Soldier Field | 65,793 | 18,133 | 28% | George Allen |
| Tampa Bay Bandits | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 363 | 378 | Tampa Stadium | 72,812 | 39,896 | 55% | Steve Spurrier |
| Birmingham Stallions | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 343 | 326 | Legion Field | 77,000 | 22,046 | 29% | Rollie Dotsch |
Michigan won the tiebreaker with Chicago based on season series 2-0-0