Chicago Blitz
| Chicago Blitz | |
|---|---|
 
|
|
| Founded | 1982 |
| Folded | 1984 |
| Based in | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Home field | Soldier Field |
| League | USFL |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Central Division |
| Team History | Chicago Blitz (1983–1984) |
| Team colors |
Red, Blue, Silver, White |
| Head coaches | 1983 George Allen (12-7) 1984 Marv Levy (5-13) |
| General managers | Bruce Allen |
| Owner(s) | 1983 Dr. Ted Diethrich 1984 Dr. James Hoffman 1984 The USFL |
Red, Blue, Silver, White
The Chicago Blitz was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.
The Blitz were one of the twelve charter franchises of the USFL. The ownership group was headed by renowned heart surgeon Dr. Ted Diethrich, with legendary coach George Allen and Southern California developer Bill Harris as minority partners. Harris and Allen had originally sought the franchise, but a search for capital led them to Diethrich. Diethrich served as president, with Harris as executive vice president and Allen as chairman of the board and head coach.
Allen had been out of coaching since 1977; he had been a candidate for the vacant head coaching position with the Chicago Bears a year earlier, but Bears owner George Halas had never forgiven Allen for defecting to the Rams in 1965. Allen immediately became the "face" of the new team, and set about putting together the best 40-man roster he could find. The result was a team loaded with NFL veterans that was the early favorite to be the new league's first champion.
The Blitz finished in a tie for the Central Division title, but were awarded a wild card berth due to a regular season sweep by the eventual champion Michigan Panthers.
In the playoffs, the Blitz blew a 21-point lead over the Philadelphia Stars, losing 44-38 in overtime.
The Blitz was one of the strongest teams in the league. Indeed, some suggested that the Blitz and the two finalists, the Philadelphia Stars and Michigan Panthers, could have been competitive in the NFL. However, they struggled at the gate, averaging only 18,100 fans—a total that looked even smaller in the relatively spacious configuration of Soldier Field. It should be noted that these numbers were very similar to the gates for the Stars and Panthers in their first year. Both of those franchises would see dramatically higher attendance numbers in their second season based on their on-field success in their first year.
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