Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid - 1980s . Team history . The Michigan Panthers were named as a charter member of the United States Football League ( USFL ) on May 11 , 1982 . A . Alfred Taubman , one of the nation ' s leading real estate developers , headed the ownership group that included Judge Peter B . Spivak and Max M . Fisher . The Panthers named former CFL executive , Jim Spavital as their General Manager on August 26 , 1982 . Michigan then hired Jim Stanley as their Head Coach on November 18 , 1982 after George Perles decided to coach at Michigan State . Stanley was head coach at Oklahoma State University . Stanleybrought a wealth of choaching expeirence , with stops at SMU , UTEP , Oklahoma State , Navy , and on the professional level with the CFL ' s Winnipeg Blue Bombers , and NFL ' s New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons , mainly as an assistant coach . Stanley would be the club ' s only head coach . The coaching staffed was rounded out by Larry Coyer , Pete Rodriguez , and Dick Roach ( Defensive coaches ) . George Dickson , Bob Leahy , and Kent Stephenson were the offensive coaches . The Pontiac Silverdome ( Cap . 80 , 638 ) was the home of the Panthers . The USFL ' s first collegiate draft was held on January 4 , 1983 . The Panthers selected Wisconsin SS David Greenwood with their first round ( 10th overall ) selection . They also tabbed Michigan WR Anthony Carter in the USFL Territorial Draft – a process whereby USFL teams could protect up to 25 graduating seniors from a series of local universities . The Panthers had territorial rights to the University of Michigan , Michigan State , Eastern Michigan , Central Michigan and Northern Michigan . The Panthers used this draft to select two placekickers . One was Novo Bojovic , and the other was Michigan ' s Ali Haji - Shiekh . Shiekh spurred the Panthers to sign with the New York Giants of the NFL . Michigan made a splash in signing some of the top young NCAA prospects in 1983 in Michigan WR Anthony Carter , Tulsa RB Ken Lacy , Wisconsin SS David Greenwood , QB Bobby Hebert of Northwestern State ( La . ) and LB John Corker of Oklahoma State . The Panthers also had a few key players with NFL experience . Tackle Ray Pinney and Tyrone McGriff had played for the Super Bowl Pittsburgh Steelers teams . The Panthers also landed three former Cleveland Browns starters in Running Back Cleo Miller , Defensive Back Oliver Davis , and Quarterback Mark Miller . The team also had former all pro punter Bob Grupp , who had played for the NFL ' s Kansas City Chiefs . However , Grupp had been a one season wonder in Kansas City , and after a few inconsistent weeks , he was released , and safety David Greenwood did double duty taking over as the team ' s punter . Future Buffalo Bills linebacker and children ' s book aurthor Ray Bentley was also a Michigan Panther . 1983 season highlights . Michigan held their first training camp at City Island Stadium in Daytona Beach , FL sifting through over 75 players . On Monday , March 7 , 1983 ; they opened the season with a 9 - 7 win over the Birmingham Stallions at Legion Field in Birmingham , AL . This was the first professional football game ever broadcast on ESPN . Serbian kicker ( via Central Michigan ) Novo Bojovic kicked the winning field goal from 48 yards out in the waning moments to preserve the win . The Panthers then dropped their next four contests , losing on Sat . Mar . 12 to the Tampa Bay Bandits ( 7 - 19 ) ; Sat . Mar . 19 at home to the Oakland Invaders ( 27 - 33 ) ; Sun . Mar . 27 at the Washington Federals ( 16 - 22 OT ) and Mon . Apr . 4 at home to the Denver Gold ( 21 - 29 ) . 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 saw their winning streak end at six games . On May 23 , the Panthers faced the Birmingham Stallions , and the two teams were tied 20 - 20 in the fourth quarter . Michigan had defeated Birmingham earlier in the year , 9 - 7 thanks to three Novo Bojovic field goals . However , this game would be different . 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 . After making those additions , and installing rookie Bobby Herbet as quarterback , the Panthers then won 11 of their next 13 contests and captured the Central Division Championship with a 12 - 6 record . In the playoffs , the Panthers hosted the Western Division Champion Oakland Invaders before a then USFL - record crowd of 60 , 237 . The Panthers ' decisive 37 - 21 victory vaulted them to the inaugural USFL Championship Game in Denver , CO . 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 11 : 59 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 wound up spending $ 6 million during the season — three times what USFL founder David Dixon recommended that a team spend in a single season . Nonetheless , some observers suggested that they could have been a fairly competitive NFL team . 1984 season highlights . The Panthers were expected to romp to another Central Division title in 1984 . They were in a division with three expansion teams and a Chicago Blitz team that had swapped nearly all of its players with the last - place Arizona Wranglers . They initially didn ' t disappoint , sweeping their first six games . However , in the sixth game , a win over the expansion San Antonio Gunslingers , star receiver Anthony Carter broke his arm and was lost for the season . Without their chief offensive weapon the Panthers promptly went into a tailspin , losing eight of their next ten games ( the Panthers ' only wins in this stretch both came in overtime ) to sink to a 8 - 8 record . Needing to win their last two games against Oklahoma and Chicago just to make the playoffs , Michigan did just that , finishing 10 - 8 . The first - round playoff game against the Los Angeles Express ( in a less - than - tenth - filled Los Angeles Coliseum ) turned out to be longest professional football game in history . The Panthers took a 21 - 13 lead in the fourth quarter , only to have future Hall of Famer Steve Young throw a touchdown pass , then personally score the two - point conversion to knot the game at 21 with 52 seconds remaining . The Panthers had chances to win the game in both of the first two overtimes , but normally reliable kicker Nojo Bojovic missed field goals each time . Finally , in the third overtime , rookie Mel Gray ( who ironically would later play for the Detroit Lions ) ran 24 yards to give LA a 27 - 21 victory , ending pro football ' s longest day after 93 minutes and 33 seconds of play time . ( Gray ' s touchdown would prove to be painful for the young star — the force of the tackle at the end of the play broke his arm . ) It turned out to be the Panthers ' last game . After the 1984 season was over USFL owners , largely under the influence of New Jersey Generals owner Donald Trump and Chicago franchise owner Eddie Einhorn began talking seriously about moving to a fall schedule in 1986 . Although the Panthers had developed a loyal following , Taubman was a strong believer in the original spring football concept . He also had no desire to compete with the Detroit Lions , who were owned by his longtime friend William Clay Ford . Taubman felt like the move was a foregone conclusion . As a result , after the merger between the Oakland Invaders and the Oklahoma Outlaws collapsed , Taubman quietly approached Invaders owner Tad Taube about a possible merger with his Panthers . When the league owners met to vote on moving to the fall , Taubman sent his son with a message for the commissioner - - - if the teams voted to move to the fall , the Panthers would merge with the Invaders , with the Invaders as the surviving team . When the vote to play in the fall passed , the Panthers and Invaders announced their merger , with Taubman as part - owner of the Invaders . Aftermath . After the USFL received only $ 3 in its antitrust lawsuit against the NFL , on which it had staked its survival , the league folded . The league ' s abandonment of the Detroit market was a major factor behind the adverse jury award . Single season leaders . Rushing Yards : 1182 ( 1983 ) , Ken Lacy Receiving Yards : 1220 ( 1984 ) , Derek Holloway Passing Yards : 3368 ( 1984 ) , Bobby Hebert Season - by - season . ! Totals | | 24 | | 15 | | 0 Game - by - game results . 1983 1984