The Gold were the only team that made money in its inaugural season – averaging more than 41,000 fans a game.
Real estate tycoon Ron Blanding brought spring football to the Mile High City. He turned to former Broncos’ head coach “Red” Miller. Miller was an idol in Denver because he brought the Broncos to the Super Bowl in 1978. The 1983 Gold also featured former Denver Broncos Jeff Knapple and “Lumpy” Hyde.
Right from the start, the Gold were a frugal franchise that didn’t
want to spend money on its draft picks. The Gold were one of the
franchises that ran a tight financial ship – which kept the talent level
low. Blanding had done his best too keep costs down, but he knew
the fans would not support a loser for long. He demanded a better
showing, and when Miller was unable to produce, he was fired - the
first USFL coach to get the axe. The Gold were off to a 4-7 start
and attendance dropped to 33,000 following Miller’s firing.
Blanding looked to another Denver legend, former Bronco QB
Craig Morton to coach the team. Morton won all three home
games, but lost the three road games as Denver finished 7-11.
Despite the franchises poor performance, Denver led the league in
attendance with 41,736 fans per game.
The Gold finished the ’84 campaign by going 9-9, but attendance dropped to 33,953. Mouse Davis took over for Morton in ’85, and QB Bob Gagliano started using the Run-n-Shoot offense, which would enter the NFL in a few years.
The Gold drew a disappointing 14,000 fans per game in ’85, after leading the league in attendance in 1983. The announcement of the move to a fall schedule really hurt the Gold because they would go head-to-head against the beloved Broncos -- not a smart move. So they merged with the Jacksonville for the ’86 season – the year that never was.
The Gold finished with a 27-27 record in its three years of existence, making the playoffs once.
Real estate tycoon Ron Blanding brought spring football to the Mile High City. He turned to former Broncos’ head coach “Red” Miller. Miller was an idol in Denver because he brought the Broncos to the Super Bowl in 1978. The 1983 Gold also featured former Denver Broncos Jeff Knapple and “Lumpy” Hyde.
Right from the start, the Gold were a frugal franchise that didn’t
want to spend money on its draft picks. The Gold were one of the
franchises that ran a tight financial ship – which kept the talent level
low. Blanding had done his best too keep costs down, but he knew
the fans would not support a loser for long. He demanded a better
showing, and when Miller was unable to produce, he was fired - the
first USFL coach to get the axe. The Gold were off to a 4-7 start
and attendance dropped to 33,000 following Miller’s firing.
Blanding looked to another Denver legend, former Bronco QB
Craig Morton to coach the team. Morton won all three home
games, but lost the three road games as Denver finished 7-11.
Despite the franchises poor performance, Denver led the league in
attendance with 41,736 fans per game.
The Gold finished the ’84 campaign by going 9-9, but attendance dropped to 33,953. Mouse Davis took over for Morton in ’85, and QB Bob Gagliano started using the Run-n-Shoot offense, which would enter the NFL in a few years.
The Gold drew a disappointing 14,000 fans per game in ’85, after leading the league in attendance in 1983. The announcement of the move to a fall schedule really hurt the Gold because they would go head-to-head against the beloved Broncos -- not a smart move. So they merged with the Jacksonville for the ’86 season – the year that never was.
The Gold finished with a 27-27 record in its three years of existence, making the playoffs once.
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