March 6, 1983

Philadelphia Stars at Denver Gold

Chuck Fusina lines up under center for the Stars in the first game played by the Gold.  The Gold D played well, but four turnovers by the  Gold O, and a failure to score from the two as time ran out, left the Gold with a 13-7 loss.  Picture is courtesy of Paul Reeth's USFL Site

Box Score (from the 1984 Media Guide)

Game Summary (from the LA Times, March 7, 1983)

My Memories

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Stars 13, Gold 7
Sunday, March 6 at Denver

Philadelphia	7	3	3	0	-	13
Denver		0	0	0	7	-	7

	Phi	-	Fusina 2 yd run (Trout Kick)
	Phi	-	Trout 50yd FG
	Phi	-	Trout 29yd FG
	Den	-	Johnson 1yd run (Speelman Kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

			PHI		DEN
First Downs		13		15
Total Net Yards		232		215
Net Yards Rushing	103		103
Net Yards Passing	129		112
Total Plays		64		66
Passes			29-16-0		33-17-4
Return Yards		90		104
Penalty Yards		49		20

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AP Wire Servises, March 7, 1983

Philadelphia 13, Denver 7 - Chuck Fusina ran for a touchdown, David Trout kicked a pair of field goals - one from 50 yards - and the Stars held off a Gold rally in the fourth quarter before 45,102 at Denver.
   Denver's last chance to win the game failed with 22 seconds left when substitute Gold quarterback Ken Johnson's pass to fullback Larry Canada in the end zone fell incomplete on fourth down from the Philadelphia two.

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Memories of the Game

    I was 17.  My father had purchased season tickets to the Gold for my birthday.  We had great seats.  Right on the 40, about a dozen rows behind the bench.

    We drove the 60 miles from home to the stadium.  I was excited about the game, the team and the league.  My father talked about how cold the game would be when the sun went down.

     After we paid for parking (right next to McNichols arena - another stadium that no longer exists) my father commented how the only hat he had brought was a hat in the colors of my high school - red and gold.  He asked if I thought that would be all right, since he did not want to appear to support the other team.  But we had no idea what colors the other team would wear.

     As we sat and watched the warm ups, my dad commented that the Stars were wearing Red and Gold.  He told the guy sitting next to him "Who could have guesses the other guys would wear Red and Gold?"  The gentleman's response: "Who the hell knows what color anybody in the league is wearing?"  We laughed, but my dad purchased us both a Denver Gold hat (the lucky stripes version) and we wore those to all the remaining games.

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This Page last updated on July 08, 2002