Source:USFL Forever– the Stallions and Invaders, from Birmingham in 1985.

Source:The New Democrat

“The Stallions are often cited as being one of the league’s most loved and best supported teams. In 1984 and 1985 they also were one of the best teams in the USFL. The city of Birmingham even bailed the team out of financial trouble with a $1 million loan during the 1985 season when owner Marvin Warner, a former U.S. ambassador, went through some legal problems.

On this night against the Invaders Joe Cribbs gained a season-high 94 yards and Birmingham’s defense had five sacks and two interceptions as the Stallions defeated Oakland 20-17.

The victory put Birmingham atop the United States Football League’s Eastern Conference at 6-2. Second place Tampa Bay, at 5-2. Oakland fell to 4-3-1 and to fourth place in the Western Conference.

Birmingham drove 79 and 63 yards on its first two possessions, capped by scoring runs of 9 yards by Cribbs and 8 yards by quarterback Cliff Stoudt, who injured an elbow on the run and later had to leave the game.

Danny Miller added field goals of 48 and 31 yards for Birmingham.

Oakland’s Bobby Hebert hit Anthony Carter on a 24-yard toss to the 2 and John Williams carried it across early in the second quarter to make it 14-7.

Novo Bojovic got a 27-yard field goal for the Invaders in the third period, and with 20 seconds left in the game, Hebert hit Carter on a 3-yard scoring pass.

Birmingham sacked Hebert for a total of 41 yards, and Clanton got his second interception in the final quarter. Hebert finished with 17 completions on 30 passes for 192 yards.”

From USFL Forever

Stallions quarterback Cliff Stoudt was Terry Bradshaw’s backup for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Just another example the fact that the USFL was major league football. Not a league of career cab drivers, food service workers, or construction workers living out their dreams as pro football players. But guys who not only went to college, but played major college football and at major college football programs. And then were either drafted in the NFL or USFL and played there and in many cases played in both leagues. When perhaps they weren’t given the opportunity to actually play in the NFL and not just sit on the bench. And the Oakland Invaders and Birmingham Stallions were two of the best franchises in the USFL.