People and Pop Culture
Closing Shot: When the USFL was the new guy
As the Alliance of American Football begins its inaugural season on Feb. 9, and others like the XFL follow, former USFL team owner Bob Caporale offers some perspective on launching a new league
The Boston Breakers take on the New Jersey Generals during the USFL’s first season, in 1983.getty images
Bob Caporale is glad to share what it’s like to be part of the launch of a new football league. The chairman of sports investment firm Game Plan LLC was a minority owner and president of the Boston Breakers when the USFL made its debut in 1983.
Caporale recalls a frantic scramble to find a stadium, sign players and do the many other tasks large and small to get the Breakers up and running.
“It was crazy and fun, and the crazy part was the timing,” Caporale said. “I was the first employee. We had to get so much done in such a short period of time. We all believed in it, but we still had to prove it. The one big difference that I see is that the landscape today is much more crowded than it was in 1983 in terms of teams, leagues, entertainment, TV, streaming and all those things.”
The biggest challenge for the startup Breakers: finding a place to play.
Caporale thought he had a deal for the team to play at Harvard Stadium until the dean of the Harvard Business School, located across the street from the facility, got wind of the plan and nixed it despite Caporale offering to pay $250,000 in rent and to renovate the football locker room.
“He kiboshed the deal and then we scrambled and Boston University was happy to have us,” Caporale said.
But Boston University’s Nickerson Field was small, forcing the Breakers to hastily add more seats, boosting capacity to 20,300, and build a new locker room.
The USFL received broad exposure, thanks to its TV deal with ABC and then-upstart ESPN. “ESPN was young back then and they were terrific,” Caporale said. “They promoted and supported us and it was nice to watch them grow just as we had to grow.”
Boston Breakers team owners Bob Caporale (left), Randy Vataha and George Matthews pose with actor Burt Reynolds, who was a guest at a game in 1983.courtesy of bob caporale
The team’s first game was a 21-17 loss in Tampa against the Tampa Bay Bandits on March 6, 1983. “There were maybe seven or eight lead changes and it was a close game, and you talk about emotion,” Caporale said. “The loss didn’t bother me that much. Here we were on national television playing the first game and everything worked out fine. I was just so relieved and happy.”
The Breakers went 11-7 as one of the USFL’s original 12 teams and averaged 12,817 fans per game at Nickerson Field. They stayed there only one season before moving to New Orleans to play in the much larger Superdome. Caporale then sold his stake but has held on to the memories.
“The most fun was the people, the coaches and the players,” he said. “They really appreciated the opportunity and you could feel it at practice. They loved the game. Many had been to NFL camps and had made NFL teams and it was a new opportunity for them.”
Caporale’s biggest piece of advice to owners of the new leagues? “It never stops,” he said. “You literally are going seven days a week and you have to love it.”
