League History (check out Links page)
Team History
Logo
Mile High Stadium
Mascot
Cheerleaders
The Gold Territorial Schools
Until the spring of 1982, professional football in Denver was the Broncos. When the USFL announced its plans to field a team in Denver, fans were interested. Ron Blanding, a real estate tycoon in the Colorado area, announced the Gold would begin play in Mile High in the spring of 1983. Blanding hired Robert “Red” Miller as his coach. Miller was a Denver idol since he took the 1977 Broncos to the Super Bowl. Miller had recently been released by the new owner of the Broncos, and the fans in Denver were glad Miller would lead the Gold. Blanding and Miller took the league guidelines to heart. In an attempt to keep the salaries to a manageable level, the Gold relied primarily on NFL players at the twilight of their careers. The 1983 Gold featured former Denver Broncos Jeff Knapple and “Lumpy” Hyde. There was concern around the league that the Gold (and a few other teams) would not be competitive. The fans in Denver didn’t seem to care, and snatched up in excess of 30,000 season tickets.
(From the 1983 Media Guide)
Following
is a short history behind the Gold’s logo.
Ancient alchemists who believed in turning lesser metals intro gold used
the 16-point radiating sun as the symbol for gold.
The circle in a dominance position implies symmetry, wholeness and unity.
The combination of the circle and the 16-point star or sun put together
form the Denver Gold logo. The
Denver Gold team colors are Gold (PMS #873) and Black.
Home to the
Denver Broncos, Mile High Stadium was chosen as the home for the Denver Gold.
Built in the 1920s for the Denver Bears (minor league baseball) the
stadium was modified in the 1960s for football.
Sitting atop the scoreboard, Bucky the Bronco, watches the action.
In 1983, Mile High was home to the Broncos, the Gold and the Denver
Zephyrs (AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox)
Mile High is scheduled for demolition at the close of the 2000 NFL season. A “New” Mile High is being constructed on the parking lot (and former site of McNichols Arena)
Mile High hosted the first USFL Championship. When the final gun sounded, fans swarmed the field in an attempt to take a piece of history. What the New York Post called “Mile High Riot” was not what the league, or the Gold, had anticipated.
For some reason, the Gold chose a cheetah as its mascot. “Black Gold” was usually seen sleeping in a cage on the Gold sildelines in the 1983 season.
Since the Dallas Cowboys made them popular in the 1970s, no professional football team is complete without the cheerleaders (just look at the XFL) The Denver Gold Cheerleaders were known as “Pure Gold.” The cheerleading squad featured traditional cheerleaders and even a baton twirling “Ms. Twirl”
To see the 1983 Cheerleader Team Photo click here
(Tab by the way, for anyone under 25, was a diet cola)
In an attempt to foster a local fan base, each USFL team was “assigned” five colleges. This would allow each team to draw upon taken from local schools. The Denver Gold was assigned:
Colorado
Colorado State
Texas Tech
West Texas State
Wyoming
This Page last updated on May 08, 2001