Storyline: The Gamblers were “that other team” in Houston’s pro football history.
The Houston Gamblers, a professional football team, played from 1984 and folded the following year. The team played in a newly formed league, United States Football League (USFL).
Year-round football was a new concept at the time. With the NFL playing in the fall, the USFL decided to play in the spring.
Courtesy: Flckr
The USFL eventually expanded to 18 teams. One of the majority owners-financial backers (of the New Jersey Generals) was now-President Donald Trump.
In many cities the NFL and USFL competed head-to-head. In my hometown–Houston–it was the Oilers (NFL) and Gamblers (USFL). The USFL made a deal in the city of Houston to share the Oilers’ home stadium, The Astrodome.
The Gamblers’ head coach was Texas native, Jack Pardee. Pardee already had extensive coaching experience in the NFL with the Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers.
Pardee’s offensive coordinator was Darrell “Mouse” Davis, a Run & Shoot advocate. The Run and Shoot hadn’t been introduced in pro football, although it was a style used at the college level. Coach Davis, former head coach at Portland State, developed quarterback Neil Lomax in that style. He did the same thing with Jim Kelly, when Kelly played for the Gamblers–before he jumped to the NFL and the Buffalo Bills.
Jack Pardee and the Houston Gamblers (photo, Houston Press)
The Run and Shoot worked for the Gamblers as Houston wrecked secondaries across the league. During the 1984 season, for example, the Gamblers got national media attention for demolishing the league single-season scoring record of 618 points.
The team won the divisional crown that year, but lost to the Arizona Wranglers in the first round of the playoffs. The Gamblers got out to a 16-3 lead, but lost the game in the 4th Quarter, 17-16.
In 1985 the Gamblers kept the Run & Shoot, but lost Davis, when he became head coach of the the Denver Gold. The Gamblers had a 10-8 record that year, but lost in the playoffs again (in another nail biter), 22-20 to the Birmingham Stallions.
By this time the USFL was beginning to show its struggles. Attendance was down and Trump suggested to owners that the league move games to the fall, competing directly with the NFL. That didn’t work and the league folded in 1986–less than 6 years after it was founded.
Friends and family still talk about the time Houston had two pro football teams. And today, with technology, I can go back in time and watch the team–dressed in black, red, and gold–play.
The Gamblers were “that other team” in Houston’s pro football history.
