San Antonio Gunslingers The San Antonio Gunslingers were a professional American football team based in San Antonio , Texas that played in the USFL in 1984 and 1985 . Rick Neuheisel was the team ' s quarterback and only recognizable name . The team played in Alamo Stadium . The team was owned by oil magnate Clinton Manges and team colors were kelly green , royal blue , silver and white . History . The USFL decided it had to expand to 18 teams for the 1984 season to get more capital . However , efforts to award teams to Minneapolis - St . Paul and Seattle fell through . A series of studies of possible new cities concluded that San Antonio could not support a USFL team . Although San Antonio had surged to become the 10th - largest city in the United States , it has always been a medium - sized market because the surrounding area isn ' t much larger than the city proper . However , a heavy sales pitch by oilman Manges , plus the desire to give the Houston Gamblers a rival , persuaded the owners to give a franchise to San Antonio . Despite his oil fortune , Manges didn ' t make an initial capital investment ( as is standard for most major league sports franchises ) . Rather , he appeared to pay team expenses out - of - pocket as they arose . Until the league ordered them to move , team offices were located in a double - wide trailer in the Alamo Stadium parking lot . Manges hired local coaching legend Gil Steinke to run the team . In 23 years at nearby Texas A & I , Steinke had a record of 195 - 63 - 5 , including a 6 - 1 record in NAIA Championship games . In a league with freespending owners , Steinke ' s Gunslingers rarely had the edge in talent but most games were very disciplined on the field , allowing them to remain competitive on a shoestring budget . 1984 Season . The Gunslingers showed moments of offensive competence most games , but lacked the game breakers that other teams had . The team was populated with football players , not athletes . If they were going to score , it would be a long drawn out drive . The Gunslingers were an average rushing team , in spite of having no true feature back . QB Rick Neuheisel played solidly for the team , nickel and dimeing the team up and down the field , and the intense " Bounty Hunter " defense led by players like Jeff McIntyre , John Barfield , Peter Raeford and Putt Choate kept the Gunslingers within striking distance almost every week . Notably , the team was + 13 in turnovers - - - a sign of a well coached team . Coach / general manager Steinke managed to rally the modestly talented team to a 7 - 7 finish after an 0 - 4 start , keeping them in playoff contention until the last few weeks of the season . However , the Gunslingers ' most enduring memory of that first season was when the lights at Alamo Stadium went out during their second game - - and didn ' t come back on for an hour . Offseason . Defensive coordinator Jim Bates was rewarded with a promotion to head coach in 1985 . Steinke remained general manager . They also acquired Larry Canada , the Chicago Blitz ' leading rusher . 1985 Season . Despite their strong finish , the Gunslingers were known to be badly undercapitalized , unlike most of their USFL brethren . It quickly caught up with them in 1985 . Manges ' oil fortune collapsed , though he ' d been in financial trouble since at least 1980 . The 1985 season saw a myriad of bounced checks for the players and coaches . QB Rick Neuheisel and LB Jeff McIntyre where the only two players with a personal services contract . When the " San Antonio Express - News " broke the story , Manges reacted by revoking the paper ' s press credentials . The situation got so dire at one point that several players traded tickets for food and stayed with sympathetic fans because they couldn ' t afford to pay the rent for their apartments . Years later , Neuheisel told ESPN that the players raced each other to the bank to cash their checks , knowing that half ( if not more ) of them would bounce . On one occasion , an arbitrator threatened to release 30 players from their contracts if Manges didn ' t make good on their bounced checks . On another , several players threatened to sit out a June 9 game against the Los Angeles Express unless they were paid . After several missed paydays , Bates threatened to quit unless the players were paid by the team ' s contest against the Oakland Invaders . The money never arrived , and Bates walked out , forcing Steinke to take over for the last six games of the season . In June , Manges simply stopped paying the franchise ' s bills . The players and coaches played the last stretch of the season ( depending on the source , as few as three games and as many as six ) without being paid . Not surprisingly , the Gunslingers barely survived the season , finishing with the second - worst record in the league . Aftermath . A month after the season , Commissioner Harry Usher had seen enough , and gave Manges an ultimatum - - make restitution for the team ' s debts in 15 days or lose the franchise . When this didn ' t occur , the Gunslingers became the only USFL franchise to be revoked . The Gunslingers ' holding company , South Texas Sports , was auctioned off to pay more than $ 650 , 000 of debts to former players . The players also sued Manges to recover back pay , but that suit collapsed when Manges filed for bankruptcy . At least some of the players still hadn ' t been paid at the time of a 1998 reunion , and it is not known if they ever were paid at the time of Manges ' death in 2010 . Season - by - season . ! Totals | | 12 | | 24 | | 0