The Chicago Blitz was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago , Illinois .
59-751: The Blitz were one of the twelve charter franchises of the USFL. The owner was originally slated to be J. Walter Duncan , an Oklahoma oil magnate who had grown up in Chicago. However, league founder David Dixon persuaded Duncan to take on ownership of the New York City franchise–which became the New Jersey Generals –after its original owner, Donald Trump , pulled out. With Duncan's withdrawal, legendary NFL coach George Allen and Southern California developer Willard Vernon Harris, Jr. applied for
118-508: A Blitz logo or even the team name was thrown into the dumpster. Allen also sent some $ 100,000 worth of equipment that should have stayed in Chicago as part of the purchase, but Diethrich promised it would be returned. The deal transformed the Wranglers from a cellar-dweller to a powerhouse almost overnight, while turning the Blitz from the third-best team in the league into a lesser version of
177-482: A buyer for the Blitz in Milwaukee-based heart surgeon James Hoffman. This resulted in one of the most unusual transactions in sports history. On September 20, 1983, Diethrich sold the Blitz to Hoffman for $ 7.2 million, then bought the Wranglers from Joseph. Hoffman and Diethrich then engineered a swap of assets in which Allen, the Blitz coaching staff and most of the Blitz players moved to Phoenix while most of
236-418: A close look at Hoffman's finances. He only paid $ 500,000 at signing, with the remainder of the purchase price due in installments. When Hoffman realized that he had grossly underestimated the cost of running a professional football team, he scrambled to find minority investors, but not before falling behind in paying several bills. After the second preseason game, Hoffman abruptly walked away and nominally left
295-465: A female householder with no husband present, and 32.33% were non-families. 27.42% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.14% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.24 and the average family size was 2.62. The city's age distribution consisted of 20.4% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
354-873: A new television deal. It wound up being academic when the USFL suspended operations after only winning three dollars in damages in an antitrust suit against the NFL. The Blitz had a number of players who had played in the National Football League or would go on to play there. Some of them were Vince Evans , Tim Spencer , Trumaine Johnson , Greg Landry , Jeff Gossett , Vagas Ferguson , Richard Holland, Joe Ehrmann , Tim Wrightman , Larry Canada , Tom Thayer , Frank Minnifield , Jim Fahnhorst, Marc May , Brian Glasgow, Walter Easley, Luther Bradley, Troy Thomas, Robert Cobb, Ed Smith, Stan White, Eddie Brown, Kevin Long , and Mark Keel. There are currently two coaches in
413-420: A rather unimpressive 57.31 QB rating in seven previous NFL seasons. Evans' accuracy was always an issue in the NFL. His most accurate season up to that point was 1980 when he completed 53.2% of his passes. He entered the USFL with a career NFL competition percentage of 48.7% and a 31-53 TD to INT ratio. In January 1984, the Blitz tendered an offer that would have been the largest contract in football, $ 2 million
472-436: A rating of 58.29. Featured HB Larry Canada was solid, running for 915 yards and 7 TDs and adding 48 catches. WR Marcus Anderson led the team with 50 catches for 940 yards with 5 TDs. All-Pro punter Jeff Gossett led the USFL with a 42.5-yard avg. Matters were little better off the field. The league only pumped the bare minimum into the team to keep it on the field through the season. With their promotional efforts derailed by
531-413: A team that finished 4–14, tied for the worst record in the league. However, Hoffman claimed that he would not have even considered buying the team had he been required to keep the expensive player contracts. Nonetheless, the transaction raised serious questions about the USFL's credibility—especially in Chicago. The USFL considered the 1983 and 1984 Wranglers to be the same franchise, even though almost all
590-574: A village board the following year. Local brick manufacturer Franklin Whitcomb served as the first Village President. In 1925, village residents voted to convert to a city form of government and annexed the village of Riverview to the south. Subsequent annexations included the Orchard Place area in 1956. The city experienced rapid growth after World War II and with the opening of nearby O'Hare International Airport . In 1955, Des Plaines became
649-541: A week in Chicago or wherever the Blitz were playing made it difficult to continue his heart research, and led him to conclude he could not be an absentee owner in the long run. As it turned out, Arizona Wranglers owner Jim Joseph had lost almost as much money as Diethrich, and was looking to sell the Wranglers. Diethrich was willing to take over in Arizona if he could bring Allen and his NFL veteran-loaded roster with him. Joseph readily agreed. Soon afterward, Diethrich found
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#1732772507839708-404: A year for 3 years, to Bears star running back Walter Payton . Payton promised to consider the offer, but would not be rushed. The Blitz 1984 season was scheduled to start on February 27 and the new ownership had little success selling season tickets. As the Blitz needed Payton quickly to help sales, so they put a deadline on the offer of February 9 . In the event, before Payton made his decision,
767-461: Is 3200 South, while it is 6400 North in Chicago. Golf Road runs through a large unincorporated area as 9600 North with a Des Plaines mailing address but is 0 North/South when entering the Des Plaines city limits. As sections become incorporated, they take on the city numbering system. For instance in 2003, land at 9661 West Golf Road, Des Plaines, became 2323 East Golf Road, Des Plaines, when it
826-472: Is how the New Orleans Saints came into being on November 1, 1966. On November 1, 1966, the efforts of Dixon and political figures such as Congressmen Hale Boggs and Governor John McKeithen paid off when the NFL awarded its 16th franchise to New Orleans. On November 8, after Dixon had persuaded McKeithen to endorse financing of a domed stadium, New Orleans voters approved funding to construct
885-598: Is named for the Des Plaines River , which flows through it. The name is from 18th-century French referencing the American sycamore which resembles the European plane tree . Portions of Des Plaines are underlain by the " Des Plaines Disturbance ," an area in which the layers of sedimentary rock are highly abnormal. This probably represents an ancient meteorite crater, 75 to 200 feet (23 to 61 m) beneath
944-635: Is situated on and is named after the Des Plaines River , which runs through the city just east of its downtown area. Potawatomi , Ottawa , and Ojibwe ( Chippewa ) Native American tribes inhabited the Des Plaines River Valley prior to Europeans' arrival. When French explorers and missionaries arrived in the 1600s in what was then the Illinois Country of New France , they named the waterway La Rivière des Plaines (English translation: "Plains River") as they felt that trees on
1003-458: The Blitz withdrew the offer realizing they simply did not have the finances. After this failure, Hoffman aggressively marketed the Blitz, pouring much money into advertising. It was to no avail; with a less talented team and no big names to attract fans, ticket sales flatlined. Fans were unhappy that Hoffman had jettisoned the core of a near NFL-quality team in favor of an also-ran. At the outset,
1062-497: The Chicago Cubs for fans), and focused his efforts on getting a new television deal for the team. He was only willing to field a team in the USFL's final spring lame duck season of 1985 if he could merge with another team and was allowed to select players in an expansion draft. When the league refused to agree to these terms, he opted to sit out the 1985 season. He decided to sit out 1986 as well and concentrate instead on getting
1121-754: The Pro Football Hall of Fame that coached in the USFL, both whom coached the Blitz: George Allen (1983) and Marv Levy (1984). Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends Defensive linemen Defensive backs Special teams Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends Defensive linemen Defensive backs Special teams Rushing Yards: 1157 (1983), Tim Spencer Receiving Yards: 1327 (1983), Trumaine Johnson Passing Yards: 2624 (1984), Vince Evans David Dixon (businessman) David Frank Dixon (June 4, 1923 – August 8, 2010)
1180-577: The Superdome . Dixon became a part owner of the Saints, which would be operated by John W. Mecom Jr. , who won the bidding the following month. The team would begin play for the 1967 season . Dixon later relinquished his shares to become the executive director of the Superdome, which he oversaw for a number of years prior to the opening of the stadium in 1975. In 1967, Dixon persuaded his friend and
1239-501: The Wimbledon Championships , formerly limited to amateur players, admitted professionals, and the popularity of the game grew dramatically. Remarkably, within ten years the leading money winner on the tennis pro tour was earning more money than the leading money winner on the pro golf tour. By 1980, Dixon was again proposing a pro football league that played its games in the spring and summer. On May 11, 1982, Dixon
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#17327725078391298-462: The poverty line , including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over. A notable number of Cook County residents reside in unincorporated areas which use a Des Plaines zip code. These areas are densely populated and consist primarily of high density, multi-family housing with a very high percentage of foreign born residents. In the 2000 census the population of these unincorporated areas of Cook County assigned Des Plaines zip codes
1357-423: The "American Football Federation", which would have 10 teams and draft academically ineligible high school graduates. In 1996, Dixon announced the "FanOwnership Football League", whose teams would play from July to November and would sell 70 percent of their stock to the general public. None of Dixon's proposals got beyond the planning stages. In 2008, he published an autobiography The Saints, The Superdome, and
1416-636: The 1961 season the Oakland Raiders finished 1–13, but several future Hall of Fame players were on that team. The owner decided to sell the team to Dixon for $ 236,000, and the team would have become the New Orleans Raiders; however, the mayor of Oakland interceded and helped put a group together and the team would remain in Oakland, eventually hiring a new coach who would quickly turn around the team's on-field fortunes. After persuading
1475-580: The 1983–84 offseason. After the USFL voted to switch to a fall schedule for 1986 (which would never come to pass), Dixon made several attempts to revive spring football. In 1985, he gave a speech at the Harvard Business School, proposing "America's Football Teams, Inc.", a professional league that would sell shares of stock as part of a ticket purchase. After the Fox Television Network was launched in 1987, Dixon proposed
1534-579: The AFL founder Lamar Hunt to finance World Championship Tennis . After signing John Newcombe to a professional contract, Dixon persuaded Cliff Drysdale , Nikki Pilić , Roger Taylor , Tony Roche , Dennis Ralston , Pierre Barthès , and Butch Buchholz , seven of the world's ten best male tennis players, to turn pro within a few weeks. The US Open , the French Open , the Australian Open , and
1593-611: The AFL to play its 1965 All-Star game in New Orleans, Dixon experienced a setback when black players encountered discrimination in the French Quarter . The AFL moved the game to Houston. Later in the year, Dixon first proposed a football league (also called the USFL) that would play its games in the spring rather than the fall. Dixon eventually used the formation of this league to persuade the NFL to expand into New Orleans, which
1652-535: The Des Plaines river, where a small business section had grown up. The railroad platted the prospective town of Rand at the site. In 1859, the Chicago and North Western Railway purchased the rail line, giving the train station the name "Des Plaines." In 1869, the Rand subdivision's name was changed to Des Plaines, and the village of Des Plaines was then incorporated. Des Plaines was reincorporated in 1873 and elected
1711-533: The NFL. However, they struggled at the gate, averaging only 18,100 fans—a total that looked even smaller in the relatively spacious configuration of Soldier Field. These numbers were very similar to the gates for the Stars and Panthers in their first year. Both of those franchises would see dramatically higher attendance numbers in their second season based on their on-field success in their first year. Diethrich lost millions of dollars in 1983. Although he, like most of
1770-567: The Scandal: An Insider's Perspective . Dixon died from complications from a fall he suffered at his home on August 8, 2010, at the age of 87. Des Plaines, Illinois Des Plaines ( / d ɪ s ˈ p l eɪ n z / ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois , United States. Per the 2020 census , the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport . It
1829-409: The USFL had made much of the fact that it required potential owners to submit to a detailed due diligence and meet strict capitalization requirements. However, it subsequently emerged that USFL officials had largely dispensed with these procedures after Hoffman made an offer for the Blitz. They had been so desperate to get an apparently solid owner in the nation's third-largest market that they never took
Chicago Blitz - Misplaced Pages Continue
1888-591: The Wranglers roster moved to Chicago. Over 100 total players changed hands. The most notable exception was that Wrangler quarterback Alan Risher stayed in Arizona to back up Greg Landry . Diethrich initially wanted to take the Blitz name with him to Arizona, but Hoffman insisted on keeping the Blitz name in Chicago. However, little else was left. As soon as the deal closed, Allen sent virtually everything of value at Blitz headquarters in Des Plaines to Phoenix, including typewriters and mirrors. Nearly everything with
1947-594: The aircraft died, as did two workers at a repair garage. Two more, along with three civilians, were injured. In 2008, the Illinois Gaming Board awarded the state's 10th casino license to Midwest Gaming and Entertainment LLC to build a 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m ) casino on approximately 21 acres (85,000 m ) adjacent to the Tri-State Tollway at the northwest corner of Devon Avenue and Des Plaines River Road. Midwest Gaming received
2006-568: The award despite having the lowest bid because other bidders were found unacceptable by the Board, with one board member finding no bidders acceptable. The city approved zoning in early 2010, and the casino opened in July 2011 as Rivers Casino . In July 2022, the third largest winning lotto ticket in U.S. history, valued at $ 1.34 billion, was sold at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines near O'Hare Airport on Touhy Avenue. As of November 2022 ,
2065-604: The board and head coach. Allen had been out of coaching since 1977; he had been a candidate for the vacant head coaching position with the Chicago Bears a year earlier; he'd made his mark in the NFL a quarter-century earlier as the Bears' de facto defensive coordinator. However, Bears owner George Halas had never forgiven Allen for defecting to the Los Angeles Rams in 1965. The feeling was mutual; Allen relished
2124-600: The chance to get the better of the rival Bears. Allen immediately became the "face" of the new team, and set about putting together the best 40-man roster he could find. The result was a team loaded with NFL veterans that was the early favorite to be the new league's first champion. The Blitz finished in a tie for the Central Division title with the Michigan Panthers . However, the Panthers were awarded
2183-602: The city but does not stop. Pace provides bus service on multiple routes connecting Des Plaines to destinations across the region. The Pace Pulse Dempster Line travels through the city on its route between Evanston and O'Hare . Major highways in Des Plaines include: Interstate Highways [REDACTED] Interstate 90 [REDACTED] Interstate 294 US Highways [REDACTED] US 12 [REDACTED] US 14 [REDACTED] US 45 Illinois Highways [REDACTED] Route 58 [REDACTED] Route 72 [REDACTED] Route 83 The majority of
2242-405: The city was 62.42% White , 15.23% Asian , 2.40% African American , 1.01% Native American , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 9.24% from other races , and 9.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.53% of the population. There were 21,849 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.63% were married couples living together, 10.26% had
2301-461: The developers built a steam-powered mill next to the river to cut local trees into railroad ties . Socrates Rand then bought the mill and converted it into a grist mill , which attracted local farmers. The Illinois and Wisconsin Railroad made its first stop in the area in the fall of 1854. In 1857, the Chicago, St. Paul, and Fond du Lac Railroad began running its route, stopping near the mill on
2360-472: The division title after sweeping the Blitz in the regular season, and would go on to become the league's first champions. In the playoffs, the Blitz blew a 21-point lead over the Philadelphia Stars , losing 44–38 in overtime. The Blitz was one of the strongest teams in the league. Indeed, some suggested that the Blitz and the two finalists, the Stars and Panthers, could have been competitive in
2419-447: The firing of the front office staff the Blitz attracted only 7,500 people per game, the second-lowest average gate in the league. The inability to draw even 10,000 per game would dramatically affect the team's bottom line. With four games to go, a press conference was held announcing that the Blitz would be shut down. At the same time, the USFL awarded a new Chicago franchise to Chicago White Sox minority owner Eddie Einhorn . While it
Chicago Blitz - Misplaced Pages Continue
2478-534: The other owners, knew that he could expect years of losses until the USFL established itself, he soon tired of flying between his home in Phoenix (he was the founder of the Arizona Heart Institute ) and Chicago. Indeed, he had actually sought a team in Phoenix when the USFL initially took shape, but backed out when he could not hammer out a stadium deal. Years later, he said that spending three days
2537-492: The players were different. Hoffman spent heavily in promoting the new Blitz. He hired NFL veteran, future Pro Football Hall of Famer and Chicago native Marv Levy as coach: Levy reportedly thought he would be taking over George Allen's team when he took the job. Bears backup QB Vince Evans was brought in to be the new Blitz starting quarterback. Evans signed in November 1983 to a 4-year, $ 5 million deal in spite of owning
2596-522: The river resembled European plane trees . The first white settlers came from the eastern United States in 1833, after the 1833 Treaty of Chicago was negotiated, followed by many German immigrants during the 1840s and '50s. In the 1850s, the land in this area was purchased by the Illinois and Wisconsin Land Company along a railroad line planned between Chicago and Janesville, Wisconsin . In 1852,
2655-449: The site of the first McDonald's franchise , which was torn down in 1984 and replaced by a museum the following year. The museum was demolished in 2018 after repeated flooding. In 1979, Des Plaines was the site of the accident of American Airlines Flight 191 , in which a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 departing from O'Hare lost an engine and wing material and crashed near a local trailer park just north of Touhy Avenue . All 271 people on board
2714-536: The team in the hands of his minority partners. However, Hoffman's now-former partners returned the franchise to the league soon afterward when they could not even begin to secure the financing needed to take the field. The USFL now had a major problem, as they could not simply shut down the Blitz. Its contract with ABC required the league to have teams in the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago markets, which were home to ABC's strongest-performing stations. The league
2773-428: The third-worst record in the league. The 1983 Wrangler defense gave up a league worst 442 points and the 1984 Blitz were equally as challenged defensively, finishing second to last in the league with 466 points allowed. Evans was the quarterback many fans expected—a flashy talent with little accuracy or consistency and a penchant for turnovers. For the season, he completed 48.7% of his passes with 14 TDs and 22 INTs for
2832-423: The town. The bedrock was highly fractured by the impact, with large blocks of sediment upended. The crater was eventually filled by glacial activity, so that no trace now remains on the surface. Addresses in the city limits of Des Plaines have their own numbering system. Areas in unincorporated Maine Township have Des Plaines postal addresses that follow the Chicago numbering system. Devon Avenue in Des Plaines
2891-558: The vacant Chicago franchise. A search for capital led them to renowned heart surgeon Dr. Ted Diethrich , who had originally expressed interest in a franchise for his hometown of Phoenix . Allen and Diethrich had been friends since the 1970s, when Diethrich gave a talk on heart disease to Allen's Washington Redskins . However, he agreed to join Allen and Harris' group in return for controlling interest. Diethrich served as president, with Harris as executive vice president and Allen as chairman of
2950-520: The winning ticket holder has not come forward or been identified. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Des Plaines has a total area of 14.38 square miles (37.24 km ), of which 14.24 square miles (36.88 km ) (or 98.98%) is land and 0.15 square miles (0.39 km ) (or 1.02%) is water. Des Plaines is traversed by two interstate highways – I-90 (the Northwest Tollway ) and I-294 (the Tri-State Tollway ). Des Plaines
3009-640: Was 25,617. This unincorporated area has never been a part of the city of Des Plaines, and the majority of this area is separated from the actual city of Des Plaines by a belt of Forest Preserve lands and a Tollway barrier created by I-294. According to the city's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the major employers in the city are Rivers Casino (Des Plaines) , Universal Oil Products , Oakton Community College , Sysco Food Services, Juno Lighting , Holy Family Medical Center , Wheels Inc. (passenger car and truck leasing), and LSG Sky Chefs . China Airlines maintains their Chicago office in Des Plaines. It
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#17327725078393068-408: Was 42.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 73,639, and the median income for a family was $ 93,205. Males had a median income of $ 52,530 versus $ 36,173 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 37,220. About 5.0% of families and 7.9% of the population were below
3127-553: Was able to announce the formation of the 12-team league to be known as the United States Football League, which played for three seasons from 1983 to 1985. Dixon quickly became dismayed at his franchise owners' profligate spending, which did not fit the business model he envisioned for the USFL, and sold out his share in the league (a dormant franchise that would become the Houston Gamblers ) in
3186-738: Was an American businessman and sports executive who helped create the New Orleans Saints NFL team, the Louisiana Superdome , World Championship Tennis (WCT) and the original version of the United States Football League (USFL). An alumnus of Tulane University , Dixon created the New Orleans Professional Football Club, Inc., to lobby for an NFL or an AFL franchise for that city starting in 1962. In
3245-521: Was an expansion draft and its requirements. All of the initial 12 teams were required to make players available for the six new expansion teams. Secondly, Evans was not a capable replacement for Risher, the league's 6th-ranked passer in 1983. Levy kept the "new" Blitz competitive at first. While they lost their first five games, two came as a result of late field goals and one came in overtime. They managed consecutive wins over Washington and San Antonio, but won only three more times after that, finishing with
3304-433: Was forced to take over the franchise, with league personnel director Carl Marasco taking over as team president, and future Hall of Famer Bill Polian becoming player personnel director. Soon after taking control, Marasco fired nearly all of Hoffman's front office staff in a cost-cutting move. Although the 1984 Blitz had many of the same players as the 1983 Wranglers, they were a weaker team due to two reasons. First, there
3363-518: Was formally incorporated into the city limits. The largest unincorporated areas are in the O'Hare area and east of the Tri-State Tollway. As of the 2020 census there were 60,675 people, 21,849 households, and 14,785 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,218.23 inhabitants per square mile (1,628.67/km ). There were 25,094 housing units at an average density of 1,744.58 per square mile (673.59/km ). The racial makeup of
3422-665: Was previously located in Michigan Plaza in the Chicago Loop . College campuses include: Public school districts include: Private schools include: The Des Plaines station and Cumberland station provide Metra commuter rail service along the Union Pacific Northwest Line . Trains travel southeast to Chicago Union Station , and northwest to either Harvard station or McHenry station . Metra's North Central Service travels through
3481-423: Was stressed that Einhorn's franchise was not the Blitz, Einhorn retained the rights to all Blitz players and coaching staff—strongly implying the team would play in the 1985 season. ABC had no objections to this move, probably due to the USFL's anemic ratings in Chicago. Einhorn was a strong proponent of the USFL's planned move to the fall in 1986 (so as not to compete with his own White Sox or their crosstown rivals
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