1983 Boston Breakers season

The team started out in 1983 as the Boston Breakers, owned by Boston businessman George Matthews and former New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Vataha. However, finding a stadium proved difficult. The lack of a professional-quality stadium had stymied previous attempts at pro football in Boston before the Patriots arrived in 1960.

1983 Boston Breakers season
Owner	George Matthews
General manager	Randy Vataha
Head coach	Dick Coury
Home field	Veterans Stadium
Results
Record	11–7
Division place	2nd Atlantic Division
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Uniform
Boston Breakers 1984 →

The largest stadium in the region was Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, home of the Patriots. However, it was owned by the Sullivan family, owners of the Patriots, and Matthews and Vataha were not willing to have an NFL team as their landlord. As a result, their initial choice for a home facility was Harvard Stadium, but Harvard University rejected them almost out of hand. They finally settled on Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University, which seated only 21,000 people – the smallest stadium in the league.^[1] The team's cheerleaders were called "Heartbreakers".

Coach Dick Coury put together a fairly competitive team led by quarterback Johnnie Walton (then 36 years old, a former Continental Football League and World Football League alumnus who had been out of football since the late 1970s) and Canadian Football League veteran halfback Richard Crump. The Breakers finished 11–7, finishing one game behind the Chicago Blitz for the final playoff spot. Walton, who had retired from pro football years earlier and had spent the previous three years coaching college football, was the league's seventh ranked passer. Coury was named coach of the year.

Despite fielding a fairly solid team, playing in Nickerson Field doomed the team in Boston. The stadium had been built in 1955 (though parts of it dated to 1915), and had not aged well. It was so small that the Breakers lost money even when they sold out as visiting teams got a portion of the gate proceeds. The Breakers and Washington Federals were the only teams to draw fewer than 14,000 per game in 1983. The other 10 teams drew over 18,000 per game. (The fans who came to the games were generally passionate; the documentary Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? made note of a particular Breakers victory in which fans stormed the field afterward.)

Concluding that Nickerson Field was not suitable even for temporary use, Matthews again approached Harvard, but the school refused again. He then hashed out a deal to move to Foxborough, but ultimately decided against being a tenant of an NFL team. He considered an offer to sell a stake in the team to Jacksonville, Florida businessman Fred Bullard, but pulled out after Bullard proposed firing Coury in favor of Florida State coach Bobby Bowden. (Bullard would ultimately land an expansion franchise, the Jacksonville Bulls.) After floating offers to move to Seattle, Honolulu, and Portland, Matthews decided to move to New Orleans. He sold a 31 percent interest to New Orleans real estate developer Joe Canizaro, and the move was approved by the USFL on October 18, 1983. Matthews later sold his remaining stake to Canizaro, but Vataha remained as team president.^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1983 Boston Breakers staff

Front office Owner – George Matthews General manager – Randy Vataha Head coaches Head coach – Dick Coury Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator - Roman Gabriel Quarterbacks – Roman Gabriel Wide receivers – Steve Coury Tight ends – Bill Redell Offensive line – Keith Rowen

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator - Doug Kay Defensive line – Curt Jones Linebackers – Dale Lindsey Defensive backs – Doug Kay Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Keith Rowen

^[2]

Roster

1983 Boston Breakers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 10 John Walton 18 Doug Woodward Running backs (RB) 26 Richard Crump HB 25 Tony Davis HB 43 Louie Giammona HB 38 Derek Hughes 39 Dennis Johnson FB 32 Frank Lockett HB/WR 33 Anthony Steels HB Wide receivers (WR) 84 Nolan Franz 83 Charlie Smith 88 Dwayne Strozier Tight ends (TE) 87 David Bayle 81 Beau Coash 89 Chris Combs

Offensive linemen (OL) 78 Bruce Branch G 72 Louis Bullard OT 69 Jerell Franklin G/LB 64 Greg Horton G/OT 62 Dan Hurley OT 60 Brad Johnson C 50 Mike Katolin C 53 Mike McLaughlin C 65 Gerry Raymond G 74 Ernie Rodgers OT 70 Pat Staub OT Defensive linemen (DL) 61 Jeff Gaylord DT 99 Robert Geathers DE 66 Billy Don Jackson DT/DE 71 Oudious Lee DT 73 Larry McClain DT 68 Ernie Price DE/DT 75 Daryl Wilkerson DE/DT

Linebackers (LB) 63 John Andreoli 48 Matt Bradley 58 Mike Brewington 57 Orlando Flanagan 54 Gary Gibson 55 Bill Gompf 56 Marcus Marek 59 Ben Needham 52 Ray Philips 51 Bill Roe 88 Marcus Tarver Defensive backs (DB) 24 M.L. Carter CB 42 Charles Harbison S 23 Lyndell Jones CB 40 Terry Love S 36 Joe Restic S 22 Tim Smith S 20 Woodrow Wilson CB Special teams  5 Tim Mazzetti K  1 Mitch Hoopes P

Rookies in italics

^[3]

USFL Draft

Main article: 1983 USFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
2	14	Leonard Smith	Defensive Back	McNeese State
3	35	Clint Sampson	Wide Receiver	San Diego State
4	38	George Harris	Linebacker	Houston
5	59	John Tuggle	Running Back	California
6	62	John Courtney	Defensive Tackle	South Carolina State
7	83	Dan Dufour	Center	UCLA
8	86	Todd Seabaugh	Linebacker	San Diego State
9	102	Tom Holmoe	Defensive Back	BYU
9	107	Marcus Marek	Linebacker	Ohio State
10	110	Lorenzo Bouier	Running Back	Maine
10	115	Mark Brown	Linebacker	Purdue
11	131	Walter Ross	Running Back	Northern State
12	134	Herkie Walls	Wide Receiver	Texas
12	139	Jeff Turk	Defensive Back	Boise State
13	155	Darral Hambrick	Wide Receiver	UNLV
14	158	Charles Young	Defensive Tackle	North Texas

Schedule

Week	Day	Date	TV	Opponent	Results		Location	Attendance
					Score	Record
1	Sunday	March 6		at Tampa Bay Bandits	17-21	0-1	Tampa Stadium	42,437
2	Sunday	March 13		at Denver Gold	21-7	1-1	Mile High Stadium	41,926
3	Sunday	March 20		Washington Federals	19-16	2-1	Nickerson Field	18,430
4	Sunday	March 27		at New Jersey Generals	31-21	3-1	Giants Stadium	41,218
5	Saturday	April 2	ABC	Birmingham Stallions	27-16	4-1	Nickerson Field	10,976
6	Sunday	April 10	ABC	Oakland Invaders	7-26	4-2	Nickerson Field	7,984
7	Sunday	April 17		at Arizona Wranglers	44-23	5-2	Sun Devil Stadium	20,911
8	Sunday	April 24	ABC	at Philadelphia Stars	16-23	5-3	Veterans Stadium	10,257
9	Sunday	May 1		Michigan Panthers	24-28	5-4	Nickerson Field	10,971
10	Saturday	May 7	ESPN	at Los Angeles Express	20-23	5-5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	16,307
11	Sunday	May 15		Denver Gold	17-9	6-5	Nickerson Field	4,173
12	Sunday	May 22		at Washington Federals	21-14	7-5	RFK Stadium	7,303
13	Sunday	May 29	ABC	Philadelphia Stars	21-17	8-5	Nickerson Field	15,668
14	Monday	June 6	ESPN	Chicago Blitz	21-15	9-5	Nickerson Field	15,087
15	Sunday	June 12	ESPN	at Birmingham Stallions	19-31	9-6	Legion Field	20,500
16	Sunday	June 19	ESPN	Tampa Bay Bandits	24-17	10-6	Nickerson Field	15,530
17	Saturday	June 25	ESPN	at Oakland Invaders	16-17	10-7	Oakland-Alameda County Stadium	30,396
18	Sunday	July 3		New Jersey Generals	34-10	11-7	Nickerson Field	15,798

^[4][5][2]

Rewards

Award	Winner	Position
All-USFL Team	Marcus Marek	LB
All-USFL Team	Tim Mazzetti	K
USFL Coach of the Year	Dick Coury	Head coach
USFL Coach of the Year (TSN)	Dick Coury	Head coach

Final Statistics

Offense

Breakers Passing
	C/ATT	Yds	TD	INT
John Walton	330/589	3772	20	18
Doug Woodward	16/26	136	3	1
Tim Mazzetti	1/1	15	0	0
Charlie Smith	0/1	0	0	0
Breakers Rushing
	Car	Yds	TD	LG
Richard Crump	190	990	8	62
Tony Davis	139	443	6	21
Anthony Steels	55	237	1	18
Dennis Johnson	44	165	1	20
Andy Johnson	13	62	0	14
John Walton	12	32	2	10
Doug Woodward	4	28	0	12
Derek Hughes	6	15	0	7
Charlie Smith	3	13	0	8
Frank Lockett	8	–7	0	7
Mitch Hoopes	1	–11	0	–11
Joe Restic	1	–21	0	–21
Breakers Receiving
	Rec	Yds	TD	LG
Nolan Franz	62	848	4	50
Charlie Smith	54	1009	5	58
Richard Crump	44	315	4	22
Tony Davis	42	260	1	18
Frank Lockett	37	535	3	86
Beau Coash	25	343	1	44
Dennis Johnson	23	110	1	12
Anthony Steels	20	148	3	27
Andy Johnson	17	150	0	22
Louie Giammona	13	75	1	16
David Bayle	7	106	0	22
Dwayne Strozier	1	12	0	12
Chris Combs	1	11	0	11
Billy Taylor	1	1	0	1

Defense

Breakers Sacks
	Sacks
Daryl Wilkerson	6.0
Ray Philips	6.0
Larry McClain	6.0
Jeff Gaylord	4.0
Oudious Lee	4.0
Terry Love	3.0
Ben Needham	2.0
Charles Harbison	2.0
Bill Roe	2.0
Joe Restic	2.0
Ernie Price	1.0
Robert Geathers	1.0
Billy Don Jackson	1.0
Marcus Tarver	1.0
Marcus Marek	1.0

Breakers Interceptions
	Int	Yds	TD	LG	PD
Woodrow Wilson	4	45	0	32
Marcus Marek	4	23	0	10
Ben Needham	3	10	0	8
Joe Restic	3	8	0	8
Terry Love	3	105	0	102
Charles Harbison	2	66	0	46
Tim Smith	2	50	0	31
Ray Philips	2	12	0	7
Lyndell Jones	1	33	0	33
Mike Brewington	1	10	0	10
M.L. Carter	1	0	0	0

Breakers Fumbles
	FF	Fmb	FR	Yds	TD
Richard Crump		9	3	0	0
Tony Davis		7	3	0	0
Andy Johnson		4	1	0	0
Dave Riley		3	1	0	0
John Walton		3	1	0	0
Woodrow Wilson		3	1	0	0
Nolan Franz		2	1	0	0
Dennis Johnson		2	0	0	0
Ira Matthews		2	0	0	0
Daryl Wilkerson		1	2	15	0
David Bayle		1	0	0	0
Derek Hughes		1	1	0	0
Mike Katolin		1	0	0	0
Oudious Lee		1	1	0	0
Frank Lockett		1	3	0	0
Charlie Smith		1	1	0	0
Tim Smith		1	0	0	0
Anthony Steels		1	0	0	0
Doug Woodward		1	1	0	0

Special Teams

Breakers Kicking
	FGM–FGA	XPM–XPA
Tim Mazzetti	27-35	38-38

Breakers Punting
	Pnt	Yds	Lng	Blck
Dario Casarino	55	2345	72	0
Mitch Hoopes	23	866	60	0
Joe Restic	11	386	51	0

Breakers Kick Returns
	Ret	Yds	TD	Lng
Woodrow Wilson	15	336	0	43
Ira Matthews	13	210	0	27
Anthony Steels	13	204	0	26
Derek Hughes	6	123	0	25
Louie Giammona	4	83	0	27
Frank Lockett	2	66	0	40
Charlie Smith	3	45	0	22
Charles Harbison	2	18	0	10
Bill Gompf	1	18	0	18
Richard Crump	1	13	0	13
Ben Needham	1	5	0	5

Breakers Punt Returns
	Ret	Yds	TD	Lng
Woodrow Wilson	15	122	0	26
Anthony Steels	8	45	0	12
Louie Giammona	10	44	0	13
Nolan Franz	5	29	0	10
Ira Matthews	3	15	0	10

^[2]

Standings

Atlantic Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	Stadium	1983 Capacity	Avg. Att.	Avg. % filled	Coach
y-Philadelphia Stars	15	3	0	.833	379	204	Veterans Stadium	72,204	18,650	26%	Jim Mora
Boston Breakers	11	7	0	.611	399	334	Nickerson Field	21,000	12,817	61%	Dick Coury
New Jersey Generals	6	12	0	.333	314	437	Giants Stadium	76,891	35,004	46%	Chuck Fairbanks
Washington Federals	4	14	0	.222	297	422	RFK Stadium	54,794	13,850	25%	Ray Jauch

References

1. Reeths, Paul (2017). The United States Football League, 1982-1986. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1476667447.
2. "1983 Boston Breakers (USFL) - Pro Football Archives". www.profootballarchives.com.
3. "1983 Boston Breakers football Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
4. "1983 Boston Breakers football Game-by-Game Results on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
5. "1983 USFL Season - USFL (United States Football League)". www.usflsite.com.