Show-Boating in LA

Los Angeles, CA.: Entering week 15 with an 8-6 record and a perilous hold on the sixth and final playoff spot in the American, Memphis needed wins over two division winners just to make this year's playoffs. From there, James Huggins' club had to overcome the defending league champions, one of the leagues most feared defenses, and two number-one seeds and the loss of three defensive starters for the World Bowl for Memphis to claim its first World Bowl title.

Veteran QB Antonio Wilson, who was benched mid-season for the younger James Perry, was tasked by head coach Huggins to lead the charge through the playoffs. As he knelt down on the final play in the Los Angeles Coliseum, the age-less Wilson was mobbed by his teammates, who know all too well this may have been the last snap of Wilson's career.

A championship parade has been scheduled for Tuesday at noon along Riverside Drive.

New Decade, Old Blood

Memphis, TN.: With the dawn of the 1980's upon us, Showboats fans are caught somewhere in the middle of looking back on 1979 with championship pride and looking ahead to 1980 with an aging roster.

While 1979 will always be remembered as a championship year, it may also cover what was shaping up to be a mediocre season. QB James Perry failed to hold off veteran Antonio Wilson, Gregory Shea showed signs of wear, and Gerald Hall wasn't even the 'Boats top receiver.

It took a miracle run to close out the '79 season just to earn the sixth-seed in the playoffs and some serious magic to go from the lowest seed to league champion. So what now, 'Boats fans? Try to defend the title with the team yet another year older or begin the painful task of saying goodbye and starting anew?

Wilson goes out on top

Orlando, FL.: Antonio Wilson watched from the Memphis sidelines, the Florida sun setting behind him, as the final play of World Bowl VII fell to the Florida turf, clinching Memphis' second consecutive World Bowl championship. The 36 year old veteran threw for 475 yards and two touchdowns, closing perhaps the most fortuitous career in USFL/WFL history. After starring as the QB for San Jose, Wilson fell out of favor and was relegated to a reserve role. He left San Jose as a free-agent in 1978 and signed with a Memphis club that had gone through four ownership changes since its inception. Nobody could have predicted he would resurrect his career and a franchise and lead the Showboats to three division titles, two conference titles, and two World Championships. Wilson announced his intention to retire to the club at halftime, which seemed to give the 'Boats new life in the second half, spurring them to victory over New Orleans. During the trophy presentation, the hot Florida sun had finally given way to twilight, bringing to rest the career of a Memphis legend.

The Memphis Era Ends In '81

Memphis, TN.: It remains an adage as old as the game itself: "Father time is undefeated." Heading into the 1981 season, the Memphis Showboats were still riding high, coming off back-to-back league championships, But his time, the defending champs had a new captain, a new steward, and a new game plan.

James Perry finally took over the QB job full-time, if only by default. Salvador Appleton was brought in after the abrupt firing of James Huggins in the first month of the season, due to the new rule changes. There were still enough familiar faces to seem like this Showboats team could make a run at another playoff berth and a chance to three-peat.

In the end however, the 'Boats came up short.

Players once reviled for their ferocity were now old men with lingering wounds. What was once a high-flying attack was made to adjust to a ball-control offense. Players didn't fit schemes and coaches seemed out of sorts. Memphis was competitive at 9-7, but just out of reach for the league playoffs.

This offseason will see more changes coming. A new head coach will be brought in. New blood will be needed to fit the new schemes. And Memphis legends will bid farewell: RB/Returner Gregory Shea will leave as the USFL/WFL all-time leader in total yards (18,517). WR Gerard Hall will leave with 10,715 receiving yards and 81 TDs. Nathan Branch will likely see his contract expire after recording 130 sacks in a Showboats uniform.

The good news for 1982 is the Showboats now have seen the new style of play and have become more familiar with their new playbook. Maybe one day we'll look back and say that 1982 was the beginning of a new Memphis era in the USFL/WFL.