Sports season
USFL teams: Western, Eastern The 1985 USFL season was the third and final season of the United States Football League (USFL), and the last by a league using that name until the 2022 USFL season.
Rule changes
Adopted instant replay for the 1985 season. Under the instant-replay rule, a team may have one appeal per half in three situations:[1]
- A fumble or no-fumble situation.
- Whether a pass is complete, incomplete or intercepted.
- Whether the ball has penetrated the goal line.
The team asking for the replay would lose a time out if they were wrong.
The replay was available only in games televised by ABC.[2]
Franchise changes
- Pittsburgh Maulers fold.
- Chicago Blitz suspend operations.
- Michigan Panthers merge with the Oakland Invaders.
- Arizona Wranglers and the Oklahoma Outlaws merge and create the Arizona Outlaws.
- New Orleans Breakers relocate to Portland, Oregon as the Portland Breakers.
- Philadelphia Stars move games to College Park, Maryland, with plans to move to Baltimore in 1986, team is renamed the Baltimore Stars.
- Washington Federals are sold and relocate to Orlando, Florida, as the Orlando Renegades.
General news
August 22, 1984, the owners voted to move to a fall schedule starting in 1986.
Harry Usher became the new commissioner of the USFL in January 1985.
The USFL and the United States Football League Players Association (USFLPA) agreed on a four-year agreement in March 1985.[3]
On April 29, 1985, the league's owners voted 13–2 to reaffirm their decision to begin playing a fall season in 1986.[4]
Regular season
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
y = Division Champion, x = Wild Card
New Jersey finished ahead of Memphis based on a head-to-head tiebreaker advantage (2-0-0).
Playoffs
Statistics
1985 regular season stat leaders
1985 USFL regular season sortable offensive team statistics
1985 USFL regular season sortable defensive team statistics
Awards
See also
References
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Park City Daily News - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ Mizell, Hubert (April 30, 1985). "By its own hand, USFL will fall into oblivion". St. Petersburg Times. pp. 1C. Retrieved March 1, 2014.