Story of the USFL

Below is a loose (very loose) chronology of the headline stories from the USFL: Herschel Walker signs on When football was F-U-N Young signs with Express The Class of '84 Marcus Dupree: The phenom Blitz 'em in Chi ... uh, Buffalo Only the sky was their limit The cradle of NFL coaching? Perpetual motion (The pursuit of) USFL trivia The Donald (Trump, of course) The $3.76 lawsuit Stick with the plan Landeta and Flutie -- Greg Garber

The three-time All-American from the University of Georgia was the most famous college football player since Red Grange when he signed a $3.9 million, three-year contract with the New Jersey Generals on Feb. 23, 1983. Herschel Walker, winner of the 1982 Heisman Trophy, gave the USFL a sporting chance.

It rivaled the 1965 signing of Joe Namath by the New York Jets of the American Football League and Julius Erving's 1971 contract with the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association -- which is saying something. Because Walker was only a college junior, the signing created a storm of controversy -- a quaint notion in today's context of Lebron James.

"It was really an excitement," said Maurice Carthon, a fellow rookie running back. "The day Herschel signed, we're in training camp at the University of Central Florida (in Orlando) and this big helicopter touches down. I had never seen a helicopter. I remember Irv Cross of CBS chasing Herschel out of the helicopter for an interview.

"I mean, it was a really, really big deal."

The Generals sold 36,000 season tickets, nearly half of them in the 11 days between Walker's signing and the opener. The league's national ratings for that first weekend on ABC were 14.2, close to CBS' numbers for the NFL the previous season.

In three seasons at Georgia, Walker had run for 5,259 yards and scored 52 touchdowns. In three seasons with the Generals, Walker was remarkably consistent, running for 5,562 yards and 61 touchdowns. He led the USFL three times in touchdowns and twice in rushing yardage.

"Everybody looked down on us," Walker once said. "That made us play so hard."

Next: When football was fun

Greg Garber is a senior writer at ESPN.com.