Pittsburgh Maulers franchise returning in 2022 USFL reboot

Go dust off that purple pennant buried in the attic, and ask your dad if you can borrow his old Mike Rozier jersey.

The Pittsburgh Maulers are back.

The Maulers were one of eight teams announced for the United States Football League’s re-boot scheduled for this coming April. They’ll play a 10-game schedule that runs from mid-April through mid-June — although for the coming season, there will be no home games. All eight teams will be headquartered at a yet-to-be-determined site.

We are the Pittsburgh Maulers ⚒ pic.twitter.com/kvQL4hY8uI

— Pittsburgh Maulers (@USFLMaulers) November 22, 2021

Pittsburgh made the initial cut along with Detroit, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Houston, New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Birmingham, Ala. The Maulers will play in a North division along with the Michigan Panthers, New Jersey Generals and Philadelphia Stars.

All teams names are throwbacks to the original USFL, a league that flirted with the big time in the early-to-mid 1980’s. The USFL then competed against the NFL for talent and signed some big names out of college, including eventual Pro Football Hall of Famers Jim Kelly, Steve Young and Reggie White in addition to college stars such as Herschel Walker, Chuck Fusina and Rozier.

The league ultimately folded after a misguided attempt to move from a spring season to the fall to compete head-to-head with the NFL.

The new USFL seems to have no such illusions. With Fox broadcasting as its owner, it potentially could serve as a spring diversion for football-starved sports fans as well as provide a developmental league for marginal NFL players. The recent incarnates of the Alliance of American Football (2019) and XFL (2020) each ended up unearthing some NFL talent that had fallen through the proverbial cracks — although each league, like many before it, failed.

That includes the original USFL, for which the Maulers played in during the second of its three completed seasons. But despite the presence of No. 1 overall draft pick and reigning Hesiman Trophy-winning running back Rozier, the Maulers went 3-15 in their only season, tying for the league’s worst record.

Founded by Penguins owner Edward DeBartolo, the Maulers averaged almost 23,000 fans per game at Three Rivers Stadium. They sold out the home opener against the Birmingham Stallions but never again drew an announced crowd of more than 25,000.

RT if you are ready to #DropTheHammer! ???? pic.twitter.com/EfTQPpfejN

— Pittsburgh Maulers (@USFLMaulers) November 22, 2021

There was no immediate word where the Maulers would play in Pittsburgh should the team and league survive into 2023 and if plans stood to locate franchises in home markets.

Like those for the new USFL’s other seven teams, the Maulers’ logo and team colors are virtually identical — albeit updated and modernized — to the ones the team used almost four decades ago. The logo features purple and dark orange with a man in a hardhat that vaguely resembles a steel worker wielding a sledgehammer.

USFL’s management includes two prominent members of Fox’s NFL coverage. Former Dallas Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston has been named executive vice president of football operations and former NFL referee Mike Pereira is the USFL’s head of officiating.

According to a release from Fox, games are scheduled to be played mostly on weekends, with special broadcasts on specific Fridays and Mondays.

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