latest article

An article titled "Reggie White and the USFL" discussing Reggie White's football career, with photos of Reggie White in his football uniform.
Page from Gridiron Greats magazine, Summer 2025, featuring an article about football highlights and history, with a list of references and a blue subscription banner at the bottom.

Memphis showboats

1983-1986

U.S.FL logo with red, white, and blue patriotic design, and text reading 'United States Football League'.
Cover of a book titled 'The Memphis Showboats: The USFL Team and the City's Fight for Major League Status' by Keith B. Wood, with a foreword by Steve Ehrhart. The cover features a black silhouette of a football player wearing a helmet with the number 92 and a fan-shaped graphic and a partly visible stadium in the background.
American football helmet with a red faceguard and a logo on the side resembling a rising sun or spray pattern, set against a red background.
An embroidered patch featuring a train with smoke coming from the engine. The text on the train reads "Modal Showboats" in gray and pink letters.

The Memphis Showboats: The USFL Team & the City’s Fight for Major League Status chronicles the journey of the Bluff City to gain an NFL franchise as one of the strongest franchises in the upstart USFL. 1983-1986 are among the city's proudest professional sports moments in a past littered with failed professional sports franchises. When the upstart league's antitrust lawsuit yielded only a $1 victory, it signaled the league's impending doom and the city's loss of its most successful professional football franchise. Yet, the memory of the Showboats remains a point of pride for Memphians, who embraced the USFL's Memphis franchise. Coached by one of the game's most charismatic and eccentric strategists, Pepper Rodgers left his indelible mark on the city. The team's highest-profile draft pick, defensive end Reggie White, led the team on the defensive side of the ball for two seasons before going on to a Hall of Fame career in the NFL. Walter Lewis, the team's starting quarterback, had been the first African-American to start at Alabama for Coach Bryant. He brought excitement as a multiple-threat quarterback decades before this style of play became prevalent in the NFL. The team's owner was a homegrown entrepreneur who made his millions as one of the leading cotton brokers in the world, William Dunavant. And, the team's general manager gave up his position as one of the top executives in the USFL to come to Memphis to guide the franchise, Steve Ehrhart. The Showboat moniker matched the city's history as the quintessential riverboat town in a league that was as rogue as playing in the spring suggested. The Memphis Showboats hopes to take the reader back through the journey leading up to the team's arrival, their two seasons in the USFL, and the aftermath of the league's demise.

Black and white aerial view of a crowded football stadium filled with spectators, with a football game in progress on the field, labeled 'Showboats'.
Logo of the United States Football League (USFL) with an American flag theme, featuring star patterns and red and white stripes, and text that reads "United States Football League."
Cover of a book titled 'The Memphis Showboats: The USFL Team and the City's Fight for Major League Status' by Keith B. Wood. The cover features a silhouette of a football player wearing a helmet with the number 92, in front of a stylized depiction of a stadium or arena with a red and white color scheme.
Book cover titled 'The Memphis Showboats: The USFL Team and the City's Fight for Major League Status' by Keith B. Wood with a foreword by Steve Ehrhart. The cover features a silhouette of a football player in a black uniform with red accents and the number 92, and a stylized illustration of a Memphis landmark in red and white.
A football game with players on the field, with one player tackling another player.
Cartoon bulldog mascot with a Mohawk hairstyle, wearing a football helmet and jersey, with the text 'SHOWBOATS' curved above it.

podcast with Bob Swick and Gridiron Greats Magazine

Screenshot of a podcast episode titled 'Gridiron Greats The P...' from the Sports History Network, episode 144, dated July 24, 2024, with a logo of a football helmeted player and playback controls.

Click on the image of the Gridiron Greats Podcast to access my conversation with Bob Swick about the USFL’s Memphis Showboats.

  • #9 - Derrick Crawford WR

    The East High and Memphis State receiver joined the Boats in 1984 and became one of he league’ most prolific receiver and kick returners.

    A football player in a white uniform with red accents, wearing a silver helmet with red details, holding a football and running on a field.

  • Head Coach - Pepper Rodgers

    One of the game’s most eccentric coaches who brought”Pepper-Ball” to Memphis. Beloved by fansand players alike, he brought a true “Showboat” mentality to the Bluff City.

    Two men talking and shaking hands on a sports field with a large crowd in the stands behind them, possibly at a sports event.

  • #92 - Reggie White DE

    The University of Tennessee alum brought ignited the crowd behind the Memphis Sock Exchange. A DE who cold out run RBs, while discarding lineman like they weren’t even there. Before he became the Minister of Defense, he led the Bo’ young defensive line.

    A football player in a white and red San Francisco 49ers uniform with the number 32, wearing a helmet, on the field during a game.

  • #10 - Walter Lewis - QB

    Following a stellar career at Alabama, Lewis foreshadowed the modern quarterback right here in Memphis. HIs ability to execute what we refer to as the run - pass - option for Coach Rodgers made Lewis one of the most dangerous QBs in the league.

    American football player wearing team uniform with number 10, running with the ball on a football field.

  • #84 Greg Moser - WR

    Moser joined the Showboats for the 1985 season after playing WR in the Run-N-Shoot with the Texas Gamblers. He became an integral piece of the receiving core for Lewis and Kelley. He finished second in receptions and led the team in yards per reception at 20.1 yards/catch.

    An American football player in a red and white uniform catching a football near the sideline, while another player in a white and gold uniform is on the ground nearby, on a football field during a game.

  • #7 - Alan Duncan K

    The former University of Tennessee kicker became a fan favorite in Memphis. The son of evangelical missionaries, his faith echoed that of Reggie White’s. Cut briefly in 1985, he continued to practice at Rhodes College and came back to kick several crucial field goals on the Boats road to the USFL semi-finals.

    Vintage football game scene with players, one in red uniform kneeling, another in red uniform standing. Referee in black and white striped shirt nearby. Crowd in stands watching.