Oakland Invaders

The Oakland Invaders were a professional

The team can trace its history to 1977 when they played in the

Taube held fast to David Dixon's original blueprint for the USFL, heavily marketing the team in the Bay Area while keeping tight controls on spending (including player salaries).

Led by the league's 2nd ranked passer QB Fred Besana, WR Gordon Banks, and ex-Raiders HB Arthur Whittington and TE Raymond Chester, the Invaders finished with 9–9 record. However, in an extremely weak Pacific Division, this was enough to garner them the division title. In the playoffs, despite a valiant effort, they were overrun by the eventual league champion Michigan Panthers, 37–21 in front of 60,237 rabid fans in the Pontiac Silverdome (the largest crowd for any USFL game in the 1983 season).

1983 schedule and results

Sources^[3][4][5]

1984 season

The Invaders were picked by most to again challenge for a playoff spot in 1984, but their powerful offense fell apart in the first half of the season, scoring only 82 points. The team was unable to run the ball and lost nine straight to open the season. With the emergence of RB Eric Jordan, the Invaders′ running attack rebounded and the team won seven of its last nine games. The defense was strong throughout the season, finishing seventh in points allowed. However, attendance tumbled to 23,644 per game – nearly 8,000 fewer than in 1983.

1984 schedule and results

Sources^[6][7][8]

1985 season

As early as 1984, Taube had come to believe the USFL should move to the fall. He began looking for new investors when it became apparent that the USFL was going to vote to switch to fall play in 1986, knowing he would be competing directly with the San Francisco 49ers. However, unlike other USFL teams who would be going head-to-head against NFL teams, Taube had reason for optimism. The Raiders had successfully built their own niche market and fan base in Oakland for two decades, and there was at least a chance the Invaders could have survived in the same manner. He nearly merged his team with the Oklahoma Outlaws. However, talks collapsed when Outlaws owner William Tatham demanded that his son, Bill Jr., be given control over the merged team's football operations.

Taube then approached the Michigan Panthers, who had been one of the league's strongest teams during its first two years. Some observers reckoned them as an NFL-quality team; indeed, the Panthers had made a better account of themselves on the field than the Detroit Lions. However, Panthers owner A. Alfred Taubman was a strong supporter of spring football, and had no desire to directly compete with the Lions. Knowing that he would not even begin to be able to go head-to-head with the Lions even if he'd been inclined to do so, he had begun putting out feelers for a merger partner when it became clear that the move to the fall was a foregone conclusion.

Taubman and Taube and quickly reached a deal for a merger. The Invaders would be the surviving team, but Taube sold controlling interest in the merged team to Taubman while remaining chairman of the board. The merger was formally announced after the owners approved moving to the fall.

The new team, bolstered with key players from the Panthers such as

Sources[9]^[10][11]

Past and future National Football League players

• Albert Bentley
• Ray Bentley
• Dave Browning
• Anthony Carter
• Raymond Chester
• Frank Duncan
• Cedrick Hardman
• Derek Holloway
• Bobby Hebert
• Alva Liles
• Dewey McClain
• Dale Markham
• Ray Pinney
• Gary Plummer
• Mike Shumann
• Angelo Snipes
• Randy Van Divier
• Arthur Whittington
• Vito McKeever

Invaders executive

Single-season leaders

Rushing Yards: 1,045 (1983), Arthur Whittington

Receiving Yards: 1,323 (1985), Anthony Carter

Passing Yards: 3,980 (1983), Fred Besana

Season-by-season

References

External links

• USFL.info - Oakland Invaders
• https://web.archive.org/web/20050315221943/http://www.remembertheusfl.8m.com/teams/oakland.html