If you liked the 1984 and 1985 USFL Houston Gamblers, then you will enjoy a terrific website which has just about everything you could want about the Gamblers.  This includes unique photos, photos from the 2010 Gamblers 25th anniversary reunion (has it been that long?!?), and lots of other USFL-related information.
Be sure to check out:

• http://www.houston-gamblers.com

Chet Simmons was the first commissioner of the USFL when the league was announced in 1982. He then held the position until after the 1984 USFL season when he was replaced by Harry Usher. He passed away late this week at the age of 81.

Our condolences go out to his family, friends, and colleagues throughout the sports and television industries. Here are two clips about Chet Simmons from ESPN:

• http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5029218
• http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5029297

On a personal note, when doing a college research project on the USFL years ago I was able to track down Chet Simmons.  Yes, this was before the internet was widely available!

He was gracious to answer my questions and I found out that when he was the USFL commissioner that he lived about 2 miles from where I did.  We shared stories about the neighborhood as well as the USFL and was gracious with his time to a complete stranger.

Those who were involved with the USFL had lots of good things to say about him, and USFLMemorabilia.com wishes Chet’s family all of our prayers during this time.

A special thanks goes to Mrs. Young, Steve Young’s mom, for giving me this pin from the Los Angeles Express when she was teaching junior high school. She knew that I was a huge USFL fan, so she gave this to me one day after class:

Pin Of The USFL Los Angeles Express

Here is a unique piece of USFL memorabilia: the first volume and issue of USFL NEWS

Image Of The First Issue Of USFL News

Here is a piece of unique USFL memorabilia: an autographed picture from Doug Flutie when he played for the New Jersey Generals in 1985

Autograph Of Doug Flutie From The 1985 USFL New Jersey Generals

Here is a unique piece of USFL memorabilia: an autographed picture of Jim Kelly when he played for the Houston Gamblers

Autograph Of Jim Kelly From the USFL Houston Gamblers

If the USFL documentary, “Small Potatoes: Who Killed The USFL” had been given an extra hour on tonight’s show, then which important topics would you like to have seen addressed?  You are welcome to leave your comments provided that they are relevant, use clean language, and are on point.

Here are one man’s suggestions for additional topics which could have been addressed (in no particular order):

• The ownership infighting which led to the new commissioner, Harry Usher, who replaced Chet Simmons
• The combining of teams in 1985 as a result of the 1984 post-season announcement to move to the fall of 1986
• Mentions of owner Taube, Taubman, and Tanenbaum (sp?)
• Some mention of the Marvin Warner situation with Birmingham in 1985
• The 1984 Chicago Blitz/Arizona Wranglers “franchise swap”
• The futures contract to which Lawrence Taylor was signed for the 1988 season with the Generals
• Marcus Dupree as being a sophomore to sign with the USFL
• The concern among NFL owners when Debartolo, Sr. bought the Pittsburgh Maulers while his son owned the 49ers
• The mention of TBS’ initial interest in the USFL’s cable deal
• The mention of the effect that LA Express’ demise had on not getting a legitimate network contract for 1986
• At least one mention of the 1983 draft with Dan Marino being the # 1 pick
• The near-sellout crowd in Jacksonville
• Larry Csonka’s role with the Bulls
• How the logos and jerseys were innovative for its time
• Mentions of the other Hall Of Fame inductees with USFL experience (Marv Levy, etc.)
• How the Stars were poised to take over Baltimore in 1986 since the city was deserted by the Colts
• Mention of Tim Wrightman and other “firsts” in USFL history
• Some mention of George Allen, Lindy Infante, and other significant coaches
• Some mention of the territorial draft
• Some mention of the Breakers being in 3 cities in 3 years

Again, there are probably dozens more unique stories which could have been covered.  At least it finally showed (on a national level) respected NFL Hall of Famers talking about how much fun they had while being in the USFL!

Here Mike Tollin’s response to Donald Trump’s “Small Potatoes” comment about the USFL, during the filming of the USFL documentary which airs this week:  http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/36191/director_mike_tollin_responds_to_donald_trumps_usfl_documentary_anger

Here are the clips from 30for30.espn.com on the upcoming USFL documentary:  http://30for30.espn.com/film/small-potatoes-who-killed-the-usfl.html

The show will air later this month, October 2009.