Jan 17, 2022
As we continue to debate the
general wisdom of resurrecting the intellectual property of the
original short-lived 1980s version of the United States Football
League - as well as question the viability of launching yet
another spring pro football circuit - our attention this
week turns to one of the eight chosen "franchises" for the new USFL
launching this April.
Of course, memorably
well-supported originals like the Tampa Bay Bandits, New Jersey
Generals, Birmingham Stallions, and the only two clubs to ever win
USFL championships - the Stars (once in Philadelphia, once in
Baltimore) and the Michigan Panthers - make some semblance of
sense.
But the lamentable one-year
Pittsburgh Maulers?
Longtime sports promotions
executive Tom Rooney - nephew of famed Pittsburgh Steelers founder
Art Rooney, and former Maulers front office executive - joins for a
nostalgic trip back to Three Rivers Stadium ("One and Dumb: The
Story of the Maulers" from Three Rivers Stadium: A Confluence of
Champions) and shares just why this mostly
forgotten team from 1984 just might be worth bringing back to
life.