New Jersey Generals
| New Jersey Generals | |
|---|---|
 
|
|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Folded | 1986 |
| Based in | East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States |
| Home field | Giants Stadium |
| League | USFL |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | Atlantic Division |
| Team History | New Jersey Generals (1983–1985) |
| Team colors |
Scarlet Red, White, Royal Blue (Gold, Brown) |
| Head coaches | 1983 Chuck Fairbanks (6–12) 1984–1985 Walt Michaels (25–13) |
| Owner(s) | 1983 J. Walter Duncan/Chuck Fairbanks 1984–1985 Donald Trump |
Scarlet Red, White, Royal Blue (Gold, Brown)
The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983–85, winning 31 regular-season games and losing 25 while going 0–2 in postseason competition. Home games were played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which was called The Meadowlands for Generals games.
Team colors were scarlet, white, royal blue and sunflower gold. The primary logo was a gold five-star general wreath. Team helmets were solid scarlet with the logo decal on each side and a white face-mask. Home uniforms featured red jerseys with white numbers trimmed in royal blue, with numbers on the sleeves and no striping; pants were white with a single wide red stripe trimmed in blue down the sides from hip to knee. Road jerseys were white with red numbers trimmed in blue. The team was the second in the New York metropolitan area to be known as "Generals," since there was a professional soccer team in the late 1960s known as the "New York Generals."
The franchise was originally owned by Oklahoma oil magnate J. Walter Duncan, who took on former New England Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks as a minority partner. Fairbanks also served as general manager and head coach.
The team made a big splash by signing Heisman Trophy-winning underclassman Herschel Walker, a running back from the University of Georgia. While the USFL had followed the NFL's lead in banning underclassmen from playing, league officials were certain that this rule would never withstand a court challenge. In an even more ominous development, Walker did not sign a standard player contract. Rather, he agreed to a three-year personal-services contract with Duncan. The contract was valued at $4.2 million—more than double the USFL's salary cap of $1.8 million. Nonetheless, the other owners knew having the incumbent Heisman winner in their fold would lend the USFL instant credibility, and allowed the contract to stand. Eventually, nearly all of the other teams jettisoned league founder David Dixon's original blueprint and began signing star players to expensive contracts—a step which ultimately proved to be the league's undoing.
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