1985 Tampa Bay Bandits

In February, during a physical examination in Toronto, John Bassett found out he had two inoperable brain tumors and began radiation treatments. The public would not be aware of Bassett's condition for two months. Receiver Chris Collingsworth signed an agreement to join the Bandits for the 1985 season, but four days before the season began the team announced that Collingsworth would not play for them. Lords of London would not insure Collingsworth's tender ankle, so he eventually re-signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie became the third straight Heisman Trophy winner to sign with the USFL. Flutie signed with the New Jersey Generals. The Bandits picked up USC center Chris Foote and defensive back Bobby Futrell from Elizabeth City State.

On February 23, the Bandits opened their final season against Orlando. One time Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jerry Golsteyn started for the Renegades and was sacked eight times. Gary Anderson ran for two second quarter touchdowns to put the home team out front. Anderson finished with 143 yards rushing and four touchdowns, which equaled the league record with 24 points scored. Head coach Lee Corso saw his team turn the ball over four times, as the Bandits won 35-7.

The following week, the Houston Gamblers came to town. Houston's Clarence Verdin returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown and teammate Gerald McNeil returned a punt a league record tying 79 yards for a TD. Jim Kelly threw for 261 yards and four touchdown passes, with Verdin and McNeil each grabbing one, as Houston rolled 50-28.

The next Sunday, the season's first road game took place at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio. John Reaves completed twelve straight passes in the first half and finished the day with 25 completions in 31 attempts, with three touchdowns and one interception. Eric Truvillion caught two TD passes and had 130 receiving yards. Cornerback Warren Hannah intercepted San Antonio quarterback Rick Neiheisel and returned the ball a Bandits record 78 yards for a touchdown. The Bandits beat the Gunslingers 31-18.

Arizona, under head coach Frank Kush, came to Tampa the following Saturday. Gary Anderson ran for a 51 yard touchdown on the Bandits opening drive and finished with 162 yards on 22 carries. Arizona quarterback Doug Williams was intercepted twice in the end zone and was sacked three times in the Bandit's 23-13 victory.

A road trip to New Jersey saw John Reaves (20 of 39 with an interception) throw for 410 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Marvin Harvey had six receptions for 110 yards and Eric Truvillion grabbed five passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. Tampa Bay lead by ten points in the fourth quarter, before Doug Flutie (11 of 22 for 165 yards with 2 TDS and an INT) escaped from three tackles to throw a TD pass to narrow the gap. The game came down to running back Herschel Walker scoring the winning TD with 24 seconds left. Walker finished with 109 yards rushing and the Generals beat the Bandits 28-24. Tampa Bay rebounds the following Friday night, as John Reaves threw for 307 yards in a 28-24 victory at Memphis.

On March 26, John Bassett announced the Bandits would stay in the spring no matter what the rest of the league did. He stated, "After three years, we're the only team with the same owner, the same town, the same coach, that hasn't been moved, sold or gone out of business, so why should I go to the fall? I don't care what the owners do, I ain't' playing then." On April 29, the USFL voted to officially move to a fall season in 1986. Only Denver Gold owner Bud Spedding voted with Bassett to stay with the original concept of a spring league. The Bandits owner said of the vote, "Ego transcends business sense." The next day Bassett announced he would start his own spring league called the International Football League. Bassett said he already had twelve cities lined up and had signed some top NFL draft picks to "conditional service contracts" a few days earlier. On May 6, the USFL said it held all rights to Bandit players, the team logo and nickname. This hurt Bassett's plans for a new spring league and in June he announced he was putting his plans on hold due to his chemotherapy treatments.

On April 6, 51,286 were on hand at Tampa Stadium for a game against Jacksonville. John Reaves (22 of 38 for 293 yards) was intercepted on the Bandits first two possessions and a 10 yard touchdown run by Larry Mason gave the Bulls a 7-0 lead after the first quarter. Since Jacksonville had a touchdown called back and missed a field goal, it could have been worse. The momentum turned when free safety Marcus Quinn recovered a fumble by Bulls running back Mike Rozier. A Larry Brodsky TD catch and a Gary Anderson scoring run gave the home team a 14-7 lead at the break. A field goal by Zenon Andrusyshyn made it 17-7 after three quarters. After a Jacksonville field goal, two Reaves to Anderson touchdown passes put the game away. Jacksonville quarterback Ed Luther was intercepted three times, linebacker James Harrell had a pair of picks, and the Bandits scored 17 points off four Jacksonville turnovers. A late TD by the visitors made the final score 31-17.

The next week, Denver came to town for a Monday night game. 54,267 watched John Reaves complete 18 of 32 passes for 292 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Larry Brodsky caught passes totaling 155 of those yards. Gary Anderson, Greg Boone and newcomer Rickey Williams each had scoring runs for Tampa Bay. The Bandits scored 17 points in a three minute span in the second quarter on the way to a 33-17 win over the Gold.

The Bandits took a three game winning streak and a 6-2 record into Birmingham's Legion Field on April 21. Cliff Stoudt threw a 2 yard TD pass to Joe Cribbs to open the scoring midway through the first quarter. Stoudt then hit Jim Smith for a touchdown late in half and Joe Cribbs, who rushed for 117 yards, scored on a 19 yard run. The two teams had been tied for first place, but the Stallions took sole possession with a 30-3 victory.

Gary Anderson (106 yards rushing) and Baltimore's Kelvin Bryant each ran for second quarter touchdowns and the game was tied 7-7 at the half. John Reaves (11 of 20 for 196 yards) threw two long touchdown passes, but the ground attack sealed the victory. A sixteen play fourth quarter scoring drive, which featured all running plays and consumed over ten minutes of clock time, ended with a 1 yard TD run by Greg Boone. The Bandits posted a 28-14 win over the Stars at Tampa Stadium.

Just 4,912 came out to the Memorial Coliseum on a Saturday night to watch the Express play Tampa Bay. Los Angeles scored first, but the Bandits scored the next 24 points. John Reaves was 20 of 38 for 314 yards and two touchdowns with Larry Brodsky grabbing 129 of those yards. Reaves did toss three interceptions, however, the Express quarterbacks had four passes picked off, including two by Steve Young. The Bandits won 24-14. Before the game, USFL Commissioner Harry Usher gave a "pep talk" to the Express. The L.A. team was struggling financially and the league was keeping the franchise afloat. Since John Bassett was fighting the move to the fall, Tampa Bay was the league outcasts. Usher reportedly told Express players to "do a number" on the Bandits. Steve Spurrier said such behavior from the commissioner was "very unethical."

The next week, 58,928 fans were at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. Gary Anderson ran for a touchdown, tossed a pass for another touchdown and the Bulls turned the ball over four times in a 21-10 victory. Nose tackle Fred Nordgren, who lead Tampa Bay with ten quarterback sacks, sustained a broken leg in the first quarter and was out for the season. At his weekly press conference, Steve Spurrier encouraged the fans to continue to support the Bandits. "What I'm saying is don't let the depressing nature of the USFL affect the way you think about these guys and how they're playing. We're playing for ourselves, but we're also playing to bring a championship to the people of Tampa Bay."

The Bandits played Memphis the following Saturday night and Mike Kelley had another good game against his former teammates. Three first half TD passes by Kelley (20 of 28 for 290 yards) put the Showboats out front 24-0. John Reaves was 22 of 39 with a touchdown and an interception, before Jimmy Jordan came into the game. The Bandits suffered a 38-14 defeat at Tampa Stadium.

When New Jersey came to town, Gary Anderson and Herschel Walker had big days. Anderson ran 164 yards with a touchdown and also had 85 yards receiving with a touchdown. Walker rushed for 166 yards with three scoring runs. John Reaves (19 of 38 for 323 yards and 3 interceptions) threw for two touchdowns and the Bandits lead 24-21 late in the fourth quarter. With four seconds showing on the clock, a 40 yard field goal by Generals place kicker Roger Ruzek sent the game to overtime. Quarterback Doug Flutie (11 of 18 for 161 yards with an INT)) moved the visitors into position to attempt a game winning field goal from 26 yards out. At the 3:53 mark of the extra period, holder Rick Partridge picked up a muffed snap from center and ran 16 yards for a touchdown to beat the Bandits 30-24. Steve Spurrier called it "A tough loss, our guys played their hearts out."

The following week in Orlando, QB Reggie Collier threw for three touchdowns, and ran for another, as the Renegades upset the Bandits. Orlando built a 28-7 halftime lead and won 37-7. After the game Steve Spurrier said, "There is not much to say except that we got beat soundly."

The next Saturday night, the Bandits went to Portland. Breakers quarterback Matt Robinson connected on two first quarter touchdown passes to wide receiver Nolan Franz and running back Buford Johnson scored on two third quarter TD runs. Larry Brodsky did catch two John Reaves touchdown passes in a 27-24 defeat, which was the Bandits fourth in a row.

On June 15, at Tampa Stadium, Gary Anderson rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown as the Bandits played Birmingham. The Tampa Bay secondary intercepted five passes with strong safety Dwayne Anderson and free safety Marcus Quinn picking off two each. A John Reaves touchdown pass and a Zenon Andrusyshyn field goal accounted for the rest of the scoring in a 17-14 victory. The win clinched the Bandits second straight playoff berth.

The regular season closed before 12,647 fans in Baltimore. The Bandits turned the ball over on their first four possessions and ended up with six give-a- ways, three fumbles and three interceptions. Jimmy Jordan relieved John Reaves, while Chuck Fusina had a decent game (17 of 24 for 196 yards and no interceptions) for the Stars. Kelvin Bryant rushed for 114 yards and scored two touchdowns, as Baltimore got off to 24-0 lead and posted a 38-10 victory.

The Final Season

On January 1, 1988 a video on the Bandits 1985 season was released titled “The Final Season.” John Bassett allowed full access to the team and Burt Reynolds narrated the 1 hour 41 minute documentary that chronicles not only the last season for the Bandits, but the story of the team’s dying owner. The film was produced and directed by Michael Tollin who went on to produce Varsity Blues and Coach Carter. A DVD has never been released and even the video tape version is hard to find.

The Bandits finished with a 10-8 record, the worst of the eight playoff teams and the worst in team history. They finished fifth in the seven team Eastern Conference. Tampa Bay's defense allowed 422 points, which were the most a Bandits team had allowed. Gary Anderson was fourth in the league in scoring with 120 points and tied for fourth in rushing with 1,207 yards. Anderson was also eighth in receiving (72 catches for 678), while Larry Brodsky lead in team in receiving yardage (1,071 yards). John Reaves, who was the eighth rated quarterback in the USFL, passed for a team record 4,193 yards with 25 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. Gary Anderson and tight end Marvin Harvey were named all-league by the USFL, and Anderson was named all-league by The Sporting News. The announced switch to a fall season had hurt some teams at the gate, but a league high 45,220 fans attended the games at Tampa Stadium.

Gary Anderson and John Reaves put on a show for the playoff crowd of 19,346 in Oakland. Anderson had 90 yards rushing and 111 yards receiving, while Reaves (18 of 30 for 315 yards with 3 interceptions) passed for three TDs and ran for another. Oakland QB Bobby Herbert (15 of 27 for 271 yards) threw touchdown passes to Derek Holloway and Anthony Carter. With 9:41 left in the fourth quarter, Reaves hit Willie Gillespie on a 15 yard TD pass to tie the game 27- 27. Penalties nullified two successful conversions, so the game remained tied when Zenon Andrusyshyn missed a 35 yard PAT. Oakland's Novo Bojovic missed a 31 yard field goal with 5:14 left in the game, however, he would get another chance. Bojovic kicked a 23 yard field goal on the game's final play and the Invaders won 30-27. Steve Spurrier called the penalty for interlocking legs on the offensive line, which was called on the Bandits first extra point attempt to break the 27-27 tie, "a minor league call." For the second straight year, the Bandits lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Oakland had the best record in the regular season, but Baltimore beat the Invaders 28-24 at East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 14 before 49,263 fans. It was the Stars second straight championship under Jim Mora.

Related Links

1985 Tampa Bay Bandits Results

1985 USFL Eastern Conference Standings

1985 Tampa Bay Bandits Statistics

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