Birmingham Stallions - 1985 Season

1985 Season

After having a very successful 1984 season and coming to within a win of the USFL Championship game, the Stallions entered 1985 with high hopes.

Like most USFL teams, the Stallions exercised more fiscal responsibility in 1985 and made only minor upgrades to their roster in the off-season. The only notable addition during the off-season was defensive tackle Doug Smith who was a 2nd round pick by the Houston Oilers in 1984. Smith, an Auburn graduate, was a territorial selection of the Stallions in 1984, and signed with the Stallions after being unable to come to a contract agreement with the Oilers.

After acquiring the first overall pick in the 1985 USFL Open Draft, the Stallions selected a wide receiver from Mississippi Valley State University named Jerry Rice. The USFL draft was held in January 1985, however, when the NFL Draft was held four months later, Rice was considered a "project" by several NFL scouting staffs and dropped to the 16th overall pick to the San Francisco 49ers.

Although Rice signed with the '49ers, credit should be given to GM Jerry Sklar and his staff for realizing the potential of Rice well ahead of most other professional scouting staffs.

With the USFL from 18 to 14 teams, the Stallions also acquired some solid depth in safety David Dumars from the Denver Gold, offensive tackle Phil McKinnely from the Memphis Showboats, linebacker Ken Kelley from the Chicago Blitz and defensive back Mickey Sutton from the Pittsburgh Maulers.

Birmingham opened the season, as they did in 1984, by hosting the New Jersey Generals at Legion Field. The game featured the USFL debut of 1984 Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie at quarterback for the Generals. In front of 34,785 at Legion Field, the Stallions controlled the majority of the game and won their opener, 38-28 over New Jersey.

The Stallions jumped out to a 5-1 record in 1985 and finished the regular season on a 6-1 clip to claim the Eastern Conference title and the #2 seed in the USFL Playoffs with a 13-5-0 mark. Only the Oakland Invaders had a better record in 1985 with a 13-4-1 record.

Quarterback Cliff Stoudt had a solid season passing for 3,358 yards, 34 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. Stoudt's 34 touchdown passes was second only to Houston's Jim Kelly who tossed for 39 majors in 1985.

Stoudt's primary target in 1985 was wide receiver Jim Smith who had a career year catching a USFL record 20 touchdown passes. Smith caught 87 passes for a league leading 1,322 yards and was named to the USFL All-Star team.

Runningback Joe Cribbs recorded his second consecutive 1,000+ yard season with 1,047 yards on 267 carries and 7 touchdowns.

Safety Chuck Clanton also set a professional football record with 16 interceptions in 1985 as he also added 275 returns yards and a major picking off passes. The NFL record of 14 in a season was set in 1952 by Dick 'Night Train' Lane of the Los Angeles Rams. The CFL record of 15 in a season was set in 1972 by Al Brenner of the Calgary Stampeders.

In the USFL Quarter-Final, the Stallions defeated the visiting Houston Gamblers 22-20, at Legion Field.

The following week, the Stallions hosted the defending champion, and nemesis, the Baltimore Stars at Legion Field. After losing to the Stars in the Eastern Conference final in 1984, the Stallions were hoping to exact revenge, however, they dropped a 28-14 decision to Baltimore in what would eventually be Birmingham's last USFL game.