For information on the Women's United Soccer Association team of the same name, see Boston Breakers
The Portland Breakers were a professional American Football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. The Boston Breakers are a professional soccer club to be based in Boston Massachusetts that will begin play in Women's Professional Soccer in American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with For the proposed "New USFL" see United States Football League (2010. The television program Coach paid tribute to the defunct team by naming a team in the show the Orlando Breakers. Coach is an American television Sitcom that aired for nine seasons on ABC from 1989 to 1997 Coach is an American television Sitcom that aired for nine seasons on ABC from 1989 to 1997
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History
Boston Breakers
The team started out in 1983 as the Boston Breakers, owned by Boston businessman George Matthews and former New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Vataha. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) The New England Patriots, commonly called the " Pats " by sports writers and fans are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston Randel Edward "Randy" Vataha, (born December 4, 1948 in Santa Monica California) was a Wide receiver who played seven seasons in They had originally hoped to play at Harvard Stadium, but Harvard University rejected them almost out of hand. Harvard Stadium is a Horseshoe -shaped football Stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston Massachusetts, in the United States Their next choice was Sullivan Stadium, the home of the Patriots, but high rent and the stadium's location (30 miles southwest of Boston) made this unrealistic. Foxboro Stadium (or Foxborough Stadium) was an outdoor sports venue located in Foxborough Massachusetts. They finally settled on Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University, a rather antiquated facility that seated only 21,000. Nickerson Field is a stadium on the site of Braves Field, in Boston Massachusetts the former home of the National League Boston Braves For similarly-named academic institutions see Education in Boston MA. Coach Dick Coury put together a fairly competitive team that finished 11-7, just one game out of the playoffs. Dick Coury is an American football coach who served as head coach of the Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers of the United States Football League from 1983 to 1985
However, Nickerson Field was so small that the Breakers lost money even when they sold out; visiting teams got a portion of the gate proceeds. This was an untenable situation for a team aspiring to be part of a major sports league. When no suitable solution to the venue problem could be found in the Boston area, Matthews sold his interest to New Orleans real estate developer Joe Canizaro. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana
New Orleans Breakers
They relocated for the 1984 season to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Breakers. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Here, they played in the Louisiana Superdome, also home to the NFL's New Orleans Saints. The Louisiana Superdome, often informally referred to simply as the The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans Louisiana. They started out the season 5-0, and all signs pointed to them running away with the Southern Division. However, they only won three more games to finish 8-10. This included a 35-0 shellacking by the Philadelphia Stars and losses in their last six games.
Portland Breakers
After the season, the Breakers were forced to move again by the USFL's decision to switch to a fall schedule beginning in 1986. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Canizaro knew that the Breakers could not hope to compete with the Saints, and opted to move to Portland, Oregon. Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the Confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers Unfortunately, the constant moving finally took its toll on the Breakers, and they finished far out of contention.
The Breakers were one of nine teams slated to play in the USFL's first fall season, but shut down during the USFL's antitrust suit against the NFL. United States antitrust law is the body of Laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior (monopoly and Unfair business practices. That suit resulted in the USFL being awarded only $3 in damages.
Unlike many other USFL teams, the Breakers never changed their name, logo or colors when they relocated.
Top "name" players
Among the top "name" players that the Breakers had were Marcus Dupree, Johnnie Walton, Tim Mazzetti, Matt Robinson, Buford Jordan, Jeff Gossett, and Dan Ross. Marcus L Dupree (born May 22, 1964 in Philadelphia Mississippi) was one of the most highly recruited High school football players John B Walton (born October 4, 1947 in Elizabeth City North Carolina) was a former professional American football Quarterback, who Timothy Alan Mazzetti (born February 1, 1956 in Old Greenwich Connecticut) is a former National Football League Placekicker Matthew Thomas "Matt" Robinson Jr ( January 1, 1937 – August 5, 2002) was an American Actor. Paul Buford Jordan (born June 26, 1962 in Lafayette Louisiana) is a former professional American football Running back in the Jeffrey Alan Gossett (born January 25, 1957 in Charleston Illinois) is a former American football punter who played in the
Coaches and Executives
Coury was the team's coach for all three seasons. Defensive coordinator was the late Pokey Allen who would later take Portland State University to two national championship games. Ernest Duncan "Pokey" Allen Jr ( January 23, 1943 &ndash December 30, 1996) was a football player and coach The Offensive coordinator during the 1983 season was College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL Most Valuable Player Roman Gabriel. An offensive coordinator typically refers to the coach on a American football team who is in charge of the offense. The College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend Indiana, USA is a hall of fame and museum devoted to College football. The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities most notably the Associated Press, to the player who is considered most valuable Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr (born August 5, 1940 in Wilmington North Carolina) is a former American football player Allen would hire former Breaker executive Steven "Dream" Weaver as his marketing director and whose publicity stunts raised his Portland State teams to a national acclaim. The team president for the Portland Breakers was the legendary John Ralston, who was also a founder of the USFL. John Ralston may refer to John Ralston (actor, Canadian actor John Ralston (coach, American football player John Ralston Other executives included Jack Galmiche, John Brunelle and Brian Feldman. Feldman was the only executive who worked in all three cities.
Single season leaders
- Rushing Yards: 1296 (1984), Buford Jordan
- Receiving Yards: 1189 (1984), Frank Lockett
- Passing Yards: 3772 (1983), Johnnie Walton
Season-by-season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Breakers | |||||
| 1983 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 2nd Atlantic | -- |
| New Orleans Breakers | |||||
| 1984 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 3rd EC Southern | -- |
| Portland Breakers | |||||
| 1985 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 5th WC | -- |
| Totals | 25 | 29 | 0 | ||
Head coaches
- Dick Coury (1983-1985)
External links
| United States Football League Coaches | Players | Radio coverage | Seasons | Television coverage | Venues |
| Arizona Wranglers (1983-84) | Birmingham Stallions (1983-85) | Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers (1983-85) | Chicago Blitz (1983-84) | Denver Gold (1983-85) | Los Angeles Express (1983-85) | Michigan Panthers (1983-84) | New Jersey Generals (1983-85) | Oakland Invaders (1983-85) | Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars (1983-85) | Tampa Bay Bandits (1983-85) | Washington Federals/Orlando Renegades (1983-85) | Houston Gamblers (1984-85) | Jacksonville Bulls (1984-85) | Memphis Showboats (1984-85) | Oklahoma/Arizona Outlaws (1984-85) | Pittsburgh Maulers (1984) | San Antonio Gunslingers (1984-85) |
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