1984 Tampa Bay Bandits

The league continued to sign some of the top college players. The Heisman Trophy winner out of the University of Nebraska, Mike Rozier, signed with Pittsburgh. Brigham Young quarterback Steve Young signed with Los Angeles and University of Miami quarterback Jim Kelly signed with Houston. Memphis signed Tennessee defensive lineman Reggie White, Jacksonville got wide receiver Gary Clark from James Madison University and New Orleans signed Southern Mississippi running back Marcus Dupree. NFL players also began signing with the new league. Doug Williams left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the Oklahoma Outlaws. Joe Cribbs, Brian Sipe, Dan Ross and Vince Evans also jumped leagues. The Bandits signed a couple of offensive lineman, Florida A&M's Nate Newton and Dan Fike from the University of Florida, and Gator linebacker James Harrell. Former Florida quarterback Wayne Peace joined the team during the season.

The Bandits opened their second season on February 26 against Houston before 42,915 fans at Tampa Stadium. Gary Anderson scored the winning touchdown with 2:33 left in the game, as Tampa Bay posted a 20-17 win over the Jack Pardee coached Gamblers. Anderson had 144 yards on the ground, two touchdowns and caught six passes for 100 yards. John Reaves was 25 of 42 for 308 yards and one interception.

The following Friday night, the Bandits did not turn the ball over at Sun Devil Stadium. Gary Anderson had two second quarter TD runs and the game was tied late in the fourth quarter. With less than three minutes left, a 49 yard Zenon Andrusyshyn field gave the Bandits a 20-17 victory over the Arizona Wranglers.

Tampa Bay then played the Jacksonville Bulls for the first time before 51,274 fans. John Reaves was intercepted on the first two possessions and the Bulls had a 12-0 lead after one quarter. Early in the second, Gary Anderson leaped into the end zone from two yards out to put the home team on the board. The Bandits blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety, Jacksonville scored a TD and a Zenon Andrusyshyn field goal made it 18-12 at the half. John Reaves threw a scoring pass to Eric Truvillion, however, a missed extra point meant the game was tied at 18-18. A Greg Boone TD run put the Bandits out front, then Jacksonville answered and the game was tied again. Reaves was intercepted four times, three of which lead to scores, and the Bulls turned the ball over three times. A 30 yard Andrusyshyn field goal, with just two seconds on the clock, gave the Bandits a 28-25 victory over Lindy Infante's Bulls.

The Bandits were 3-0 when they traveled to Denver on March 18, where former Bronco quarterback Craig Morton had taken over as the Denver head coach. In a Colorado blizzard, the Bandits lost to the Gold 26-20 when cornerback David Martin returned a John Reaves interception 38 yards for the winning touchdown. Wayne Peace started the following week when Birmingham visited Tampa. Peace was sacked in the end zone for a safety by Joe Cugliari on his first possession and the Bandits lost the game 27-9.

The Bandits third straight loss took place in Philadelphia, as Kelvin Bryant scored three touchdowns in a 38-24 Stars victory. The next week, John Reaves returned as the starting quarterback against Oakland at Tampa Stadium. Reaves completed 23 of 33 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown, as the Bandits beat the Invaders. Tampa Bay's Alvin Bailey returned an USFL record nine punts in the 24-0 victory over Oakland.

A Monday night game at the Superdome in New Orleans saw Tampa Bay score 21 points in the second quarter. John Reaves threw two touchdown passes, and had 126 of his 174 yards passing in that second quarter, as the Bandits beat the Breakers 35-13. The next Monday night, at Michigan, Reaves tossed two TD passes in a 20-7 win over the Panthers.

Tampa Bay returned home for a Saturday night game against Washington. The game was out of reach early, as the Federals turned the ball over on their first three possessions and each time the Bandits scored a touchdown. Reaves threw for three touchdowns, and Gary Anderson ran for two scores, as the Bandits trounced Washington 37-19.

The following Saturday night, the Bandits played Jacksonville before 71,174 fans at the Gator Bowl. Tampa Bay scored three TDs in the final five minutes of the first half to take a 24-10 lead into the locker room. John Reaves (16 of 27 for 205 yards) threw two touchdown passes and Greg Boone rushed for 118 yards as the Bandits beat the Bulls 31-13.

The next game was at Tampa Stadium against the Oklahoma Outlaws. The Outlaws starting quarterback was former Buccaneers star Doug Williams. Williams (25 of 48 for 317 yards with three interceptions) passed for three touchdowns, but John Reaves (22 of 31) threw for four scores and a team record 378 yards. The home team was lead by tight end Marvin Harvey with three TD catches and wide receiver Willie Gillespie with 107 receiving yards. Tampa Bay scored on its first three possessions and Oklahoma scored the first two times they had the ball. The second half was all Bandits and they spoiled Doug Williams homecoming 48-21.

On May 20, the Bandits posted a team record seventh straight victory. John Reaves connected with Eric Truvillion on the opening series and Gary Anderson ran for three touchdowns. New Orleans running back Marcus Dupree did run for a pair of 1 yard scores in Tampa Bay's 31-20 victory. The next week the winning streak came to an end. Mike Kelley, who had played with Bandits the previous season, threw three touchdowns in 31-21 Memphis victory.

On June 3, when Walt Michaels brought his New Jersey Generals to town, the Bandits clinched their first playoff berth. John Reaves (14 of 23 for 211 yards and an interception) threw three TD passes before Wayne Peace came into the game in a mop up role. New Jersey's Brian Sipe (11 of 21 for 83 yards and 2 INTs) was infective, so Gene Bradley (10 of 22 for 68 yards with a TD) replaced him at quarterback. Tampa Bay blocked a punt for safety and Willie Gillespie was on the receiving end of two TD passes. The Bandits lead 21-7 at the half and scored nineteen points in the third quarter to put the game away. Unfortunately, receiver Eric Truvillion broke his ankle in the game and was out for the season. Steve Spurrier said of the 40-14 win, "I thought we'd play well, but I didn't expect a blowout."

Gary Anderson ran for three touchdowns against Memphis, which set a league record with twenty rushing TDs for the season. Greg Boone also ran for two scores in the 42-24 victory over the Showboats at Tampa Stadium.

16,832 were in the stands when the Bandits traveled to Pittsburgh. Defensive back Jeff George returned a fumble 51 yards to put Tampa Bay up 7-3 in the first quarter. Greg Boone ran for 166 yards and broke loose on a draw play for an 80 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. John Reaves (15 of 34 for 221 yards and an INT) threw a touchdown pass to Gary Anderson, while Maulers QB Glenn Carano (13 of 30 for 151 yards) tossed three interceptions, in the Bandits 21-9 victory.

On June 24, the Bandits closed out the regular season with a playoff preview at Birmingham. With the help of a Joe Cribbs touchdown run, Cribbs was held to 34 yards that Sunday afternoon, the Stallions lead 10-0 in the second quarter. Reaves (15 of 21 for 159 yards) and Jimmy Jordan (12 of 23 for 151 yards and an interception) each threw a touchdown pass. The Bandits won 17-16 in the only one-point game in team history.

Tampa Bay and Birmingham tied atop the Southern Division at 14-4, however, the Stallions took first place on the tiebreakers. The season established several records for the three year history of the team, including the best record, most points scored (498) and fewest points allowed (337). John Reaves had his best season as a Bandit quarterback (313 of 544 for 4,092 yards with 28 TDs and 16 interceptions) and was the league's fifth rated passer. Greg Boone (1,009 yards) and Gary Anderson (1,008 yards) finished ninth and tenth in the USFL in rushing. Anderson lead the team in scoring (21 touchdowns for 126 points) and placed fourth in the league. Despite missing three games, Eric Truvillion lead the team in receiving (70 catches for 1,044 yards). Truvillion was tied for sixth place among the league's receiving leaders with teammate Marvin Harvey (70 receptions for 938 yards), while Gary Anderson (66 catches for 682 yards) finished eighth. Zenon Andrusyshyn, who finished eighth in the USFL in scoring with 106 points, was named Special Teams player of the Year by the league. While no member of the team was named to the USFL's all-league team, linebacker James Harrell was named all-league by The Sporting News. Tampa Bay was again second in the league in attendance, this time to Jacksonville. An average of 46,158 people attended Bandits home games, which was the highest total in team history.

On July 1, the Bandits traveled to Legion Field for the team's first playoff game. 32,000 fans saw five Tampa Bay turnovers, including three interceptions of John Reaves (15 of 34 for 213 yards and 2 TDs), end the Bandits season. Birmingham running back Joe Cribbs rushed for 122 yards and a score, Clif Stoudt (13 of 27 for 127 yards) ran for two TDs and Danny Miller booted five field goals for the Stallions. Each team had plenty of penalties, Tampa Bay eleven for 74 yards and Birmingham thirteen for 93 yards. As bad as the Bandits played, they only trailed 27-17 in the third quarter of a 36-17 defeat. Steve Spurrier said of the game, "The way Birmingham played, it would have been difficult to beat them even if we played a lot better. But the way we played, we just about gave ourselves no chance to win."

Philadelphia again had the best record in the regular season, 16-2, and made it to the USFL Championship Game. On July 15, Jim Mora's Stars beat George Allen's Arizona Wranglers 23-3 before 52,662 fans at Tampa Stadium.

On July 21, the Bandits and league champion Philadelphia played an exhibition game at London's Wembley Stadium. Several starters on both sides only saw limited action. Jimmy Jordan was intercepted in the end zone with 12 seconds left, as the Stars prevailed 24-21 before 21,000 spectators.

On August 22, the USFL received a report from their consultants saying that "The league's best hope is to continue playing in the spring and move to the fall later on." They also presented a poll of USFL fans showing they wanted the league to remain in the spring. The Bandits were the only USFL team making money. Tampa Bay had marketed the new team very well and did not spend millions to sign college and NFL players. New Jersey owner Donald Trump spearheaded the effort to move to the fall and convinced the majority of owners that to become a financial success the move was inevitable. The reality was that the league had not followed their own blueprint for success. Teams did spend millions to lure top players to the league and the expansion was too much too soon. At that August 22 meeting, the owners voted to move to a fall season beginning in 1986, however, it would not be made official until the following April. They also named Harry Usher, vice president of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, the commissioner for the 1985 season.

Related Links

1984 Tampa Bay Bandits Results

1984 USFL Southern Division Standings

1984 Tampa Bay Bandits Statistics

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