The Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 through 1985. Based in Oakland, California, they played at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum.

The team can trace its history to 1977 when they played in the California Football League as the Twin Cities Cougars, and won four league championships (1979–1982). During that time, they played their home games at the Marysville High School field.

History

In reaction to the Raiders relocating to Los Angeles Oakland had been without a football team since the Oakland Raiders relocated to Los Angeles before the 1982 NFL season. The Invaders stepped in to fill the void; the similar name was no accident. One of the Invaders' first player signings was former Raider and 49er Cedrick Hardman, who came out of a one-year retirement to serve as player-coach.

The team was originally owned by Bay Area real estate magnates Jim Joseph and Tad Taube. However, after the original owner of the USFL's Los Angeles franchise, Alex Spanos, bought the San Diego Chargers instead, Joseph and Taube flipped a coin to decide who would buy the Los Angeles rights. Joseph won the toss, selling his stake in the Invaders to Taube. As it turned out, Joseph was forced to move his team to Phoenix, Arizona as the Arizona Wranglers.

1983 season Taube held fast to David Dixon's original blueprint for the USFL, heavily marketing the team in the Bay Area while keeping tight controls on spending (including player salaries).

Led by the league's 2nd ranked passer QB Fred Besana, WR Gordon Banks, and ex-Raiders HB Arthur Whittington and TE Raymond Chester, the Invaders finished with 9–9 record. However, in an extremely weak Pacific Division, this was enough to garner them the division title. In the playoffs, despite a valiant effort, they were overrun by the eventual league champion Michigan Panthers, 37–21 in front of 60,237 rabid fans in the Pontiac Silverdome (the largest crowd for any USFL game in the 1983 season).

1983 schedule and results Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue AttendanceRegular season 1 March 6 at Arizona Wranglers W 24–0 1–0 Sun Devil Stadium 45,167 2 March 13 Birmingham Stallions L 14–20 1–1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 47,344 3 at Michigan Panthers W 33–27 2–1 Pontiac Silverdome 28,952 4 at Denver Gold L 12–22 2–2 Mile High Stadium 38,720 5 April 3 at Los Angeles Express L 7–10 2–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 23,538 6 April 10 at Boston Breakers W 26–7 3–3 Nickerson Field 7,984 7 Philadelphia Stars L 7–17 3–4 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 34,901 8 April 24 at Birmingham Stallions L 9–21 3–5 Legion Field 18,500 9 Arizona Wranglers W 34–20 4–5 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 27,460 10 May 8 Tampa Bay Bandits L 10–17 4–6 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 26,989 11 Washington Federals W 34–27 5–6 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 25,900 12 at Tampa Bay Bandits L 9–29 5–7 Tampa Stadium 43,389 13 May 29 Los Angeles Express W 20–10 6–7 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 28,967 14 New Jersey Generals W 34–21 7–7 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 32,908 15 Denver Gold W 16–10 8–7 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 26,840 16 at Philadelphia Stars L 6–12 8–8 Veterans Stadium 16,933 17 Boston Breakers W 17–16 9–8 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 30,396 18 July 3 at Chicago Blitz L 7–31 9–9 Soldier Field 12,346Playoffs DivisionalPlayoff July 10 at Michigan Panthers L 21–37 0–1 Pontiac Silverdome 60,237 Sourcesstatscrew.com 1983 Oakland Invaders Game-by-Game Results Retrieved December 30, 2018usflsite.com 1983 USFL Season Retrieved December 30, 2018profootballarchives.com 1983 Oakland Invaders (USFL) Retrieved December 30, 2018

1984 season The Invaders were picked by most to again challenge for a playoff spot in 1984, but their powerful offense fell apart in the first half of the season, scoring only 82 points. The team was unable to run the ball and lost nine straight to open the season. With the emergence of RB Eric Jordan, the Invaders′ running attack rebounded and the team won seven of its last nine games to finish the season at 7-11. The defense was strong throughout the season, finishing seventh in points allowed. However, attendance tumbled to 23,644 per game – nearly 8,000 fewer than in 1983.

1984 schedule and results Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue AttendancePreseason 1 January 29 vs. Arizona Wranglers L 0–6 0–1 Sun Devil Stadium 2 vs. Denver Gold L 6–12 0–2 Francisco Grande, Arizona 3 vs. Chicago Blitz L 21–31 0–3 Mesa, Arizona 4 vs. Michigan Panthers W 7–6 1–3 Mesa, ArizonaRegular season 1 February 26 at Arizona Wranglers L 7–35 0–1 Sun Devil Stadium 29,176 2 March 4 New Orleans Breakers L 0–13 0–2 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 41,200 3 March 11 Los Angeles Express L 0–10 0–3 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 23,479 4 March 18 at Philadelphia Stars L 7–28 0–4 Veterans Stadium 30,284 5 at San Antonio Gunslingers L 10–14 0–5 Alamo Stadium 11,012 6 April 1 at Pittsburgh Maulers L 14–28 0–6 Three Rivers Stadium 22,408 7 at Tampa Bay Bandits L 0–24 0–7 Tampa Stadium 58,777 8 Houston Gamblers L 27–35 0–8 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 18,320 9 April 22 Washington Federals L 17–31 0–9 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 14,828 10 April 29 at Chicago Blitz W 17–13 1–9 Soldier Field 7,802 11 Denver Gold W 20–17 2–9 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 19,331 12 May 13 Arizona Wranglers W 14–3 3–9 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 20,004 13 Memphis Showboats W 29–14 4–9 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 22,030 14 at Oklahoma Outlaws W 17–14 5–9 Skelly Stadium 16,378 15 Jacksonville Bulls W 17–12 6–9 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 29,687 16 Michigan Panthers W 20–13 7–9 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 23,918 17 at Los Angeles Express L 19–24 7–10 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 14,794 18 at Denver Gold L 7–20 7–11 Mile High Stadium 32,623 Sourcesstatscrew.com 1984 Oakland Invaders Game-by-Game Results Retrieved December 30, 2018usflsite.com 1984 USFL Season Retrieved December 30, 2018profootballarchives.com 1984 Oakland Invaders (USFL) Retrieved December 30, 2018

1985 season As early as 1984, Taube had come to believe the USFL should move to the fall. He began looking for new investors when it became apparent that the USFL was going to vote to switch to fall play in 1986, knowing he would be competing directly with the San Francisco 49ers. However, unlike other USFL teams who would be going head-to-head against NFL teams, Taube had reason for optimism. The Raiders had successfully built their own niche market and fan base in Oakland for two decades, and there was at least a chance the Invaders could have survived in the same manner. He nearly merged his team with the Oklahoma Outlaws. However, talks collapsed when Outlaws owner William Tatham demanded that his son, Bill Jr., be given control over the merged team's football operations.

Taube then approached the Michigan Panthers, who had been one of the league's strongest teams during its first two years. Some observers reckoned them as an NFL-quality team; indeed, the Panthers had made a better account of themselves on the field than the Detroit Lions. However, Panthers owner A. Alfred Taubman was a strong supporter of spring football, and had no desire to directly compete with the Lions. Knowing that he would not even begin to be able to go head-to-head with the Lions even if he'd been inclined to do so, he had begun putting out feelers for a merger partner when it became clear that the move to the fall was a foregone conclusion.

Taubman and Taube and quickly reached a deal for a merger. The Invaders would be the surviving team, but Taube sold controlling interest in the merged team to Taubman while remaining chairman of the board. The merger was formally announced after the owners approved moving to the fall.

The new team, bolstered with key players from the Panthers such as Bobby Hebert, went a league-best 13–4–1 in the regular season and advanced all the way to the 1985 USFL championship game. The championship game was a rematch of sorts with Chuck Fusina's Stars, who now played in Baltimore; the Panthers had upended the Stars in the league's inaugural title game. The Invaders were in the midst of a potential game-winning drive when a personal-foul penalty derailed their momentum, allowing the Stars to defeat Hebert's Invaders 28–24, and claim indisputable bragging rights as the league's all-time best team.

Despite reaching the championship game, the team's attendance fell again, to a barely sustainable 17,509. Soon after the championship game, Taubman decided to pull out. The loss of Taubman's wealth left the Invaders without nearly enough resources for the move to the fall, and they suspended operations for the 1986 season. As it turned out, the championship game was the last USFL game ever played, as the league was effectively killed by an antitrust suit against the NFL in which it only won $3 in damages.

1985 schedule and results Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue AttendancePreseason 1 vs. Arizona Outlaws W 10–3 1–0 Mesa, Arizona 2 vs. Arizona Outlaws W 12–0 2–0 Mesa, Arizona 3 February 17 vs. Arizona Outlaws W 31–13 3–0 Fresno, California 10,204Regular Season 1 February 24 Denver Gold W 31–10 1–0 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 23,622 2 March 3 Baltimore Stars T 17–17 1–0–1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 20,495 3 March 10 Houston Gamblers L 7–42 1–1–1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 16,037 4 March 17 Jacksonville Bulls W 42–36 2–1–1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 16,678 5 March 24 at Memphis Showboats W 31–19 3–1–1 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 28,773 6 March 31 at Los Angeles Express W 30–6 4–1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 11,619 7 at Portland Breakers L 17–30 4–2–1 Civic Stadium 23,388 8 at Birmingham Stallions L 17–20 4–3–1 Legion Field 44,500 9 San Antonio Gunslingers W 27–20 5–3–1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 18,215 10 Arizona Outlaws W 27–11 6–3–1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 12,972 11 May 5 at Orlando Renegades W 21–7 7–3–1 Florida Citrus Bowl 21,085 12 Los Angeles Express W 27–6 8–3–1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 12,482 13 at San Antonio Gunslingers W 24–21 9–3–1 Alamo Stadium 7,118 14 at Denver Gold W 31–16 10–3–1 Mile High Stadium 12,372 15 June 2 Portland Breakers W 38–20 11–3–1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 12,740 16 at Arizona Outlaws L 21–28 11–4–1 Sun Devil Stadium 10,591 17 June 15 New Jersey Generals W 34–29 12–4–1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 24,338 18 at Houston Gamblers W 31–21 13–4–1 Houston Astrodome 15,797Playoffs Quarterfinal June 30 Tampa Bay Bandits W 30–27 1–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 19,346 Semifinal at Memphis Showboats W 28–19 2–0 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 37,796 USFLChampionship July 14 vs. Baltimore Stars L 24–28 2–1 Giants Stadium 49,263 Sourcesstatscrew.com 1985 Oakland Invaders Game-by-Game Results Retrieved December 30, 2018usflsite.com 1985 USFL Season Retrieved December 30, 2018profootballarchives.com 1985 Oakland Invaders (USFL) Retrieved December 30, 2018

Past and future National Football League players Gary Anderson Albert Bentley Ray Bentley Dave Browning Anthony Carter Raymond Chester Frank Duncan Cedrick Hardman Derek Holloway Bobby Hebert Alva Liles Dewey McClain Dale Markham Ray Pinney Gary Plummer Mike Shumann Angelo Snipes Randy Van Divier Arthur Whittington Vito McKeever

Invaders executive William Hambrecht later emerged as a founder of the United Football League.

Single-season leaders Rushing Yards: 1,045 (1983), Arthur Whittington

Receiving Yards: 1,323 (1985), Anthony Carter

Passing Yards: 3,980 (1983), Fred Besana

Season-by-season

|1983 || 9 || 9 || 0 || 1st Pacific || Lost Divisional (Michigan) |- |1984 || 7 || 11 || 0 || 4th WC Pacific || |- |1985 || 13 || 4 || 1 || 1st WC || Won Quarterfinal (Tampa Bay)Won Semifinal (Memphis)Lost USFL Championship (Baltimore) |- !Totals || 31 || 26 || 1 |colspan="2"| (including playoffs)

References

External links USFL.info – Oakland Invaders