The Philadelphia Stars were a professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team based in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. The Stars competed in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) as a member club of the league's North division. The team played its home games at

Protective Stadium Protective Stadium is an outdoor multi-purpose stadium owned and operated by the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex, Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Since its opening in 2021, the stadium ...

and

Legion Field Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ...

, both in

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, in 2022, and

Ford Field Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL), the Mid-Americ ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, in 2023. Ultimately, the team would never play a game in Philadelphia. The Stars appeared in the playoffs once, won the division championship game once, and appeared in one USFL Championship Game. On December 19, 2023, the USFL informed its players union that the Stars would not be among four USFL teams to be contracted as part of the league's upcoming merger with the XFL.

History

The Philadelphia Stars were one of eight teams that were officially announced as a USFL franchise on ''

The Herd with Colin Cowherd ''The Herd with Colin Cowherd'' (or simply ''The Herd'') is an American sports talk show hosted by Colin Cowherd. A simulcast, it airs as both a sports talk radio show and television broadcast on Fox Sports Radio and Fox Sports 1, respectively. ...

'' on November 22, 2021. On January 6, 2022, It was announced on ''The Herd with Colin Cowherd'' that former

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

Head coach Bart Andrus was named the head coach and general manager of the Stars. Andrus later announced most of his staff on January 28, 2022, on the ''Dan Sileo Show''. During the

2022 USFL draft The 2022 USFL draft, also known as the 2022 USFL player selection meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released thro ...

, the Stars selected quarterback Bryan Scott with the 3rd overall pick, and selected highly touted cornberback, Channing Stribling. After training camp, Scott was officially named the Stars' starting quarterback for the 2022 season by head coach Andrus. After starting the season 2–3, the Stars went 4–1 in their last five games, clinching a playoff berth in week 8 after a victory over the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in Metro Detroit. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played its home gam ...

. They went on to beat the

New Jersey Generals The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...

19–14 in the North Division Championship game, earning them their first USFL Championship Game appearance. However, despite erasing a halftime 11-point deficit, they ultimately lost on a late touchdown to the Birmingham Stallions, 33–30. On December 19, 2023, the USFL informed its players union that the Stars would not be among the four USFL teams to be contracted as part of the league's upcoming merger with the XFL.

Player history

Current NFL players

Notable players

Coach history

Head coach history

''*Andrus also served as the team offensive coordinator''

Defensive coordinator history

Championships

North Division championships

Records

Statistics and records

Season-by-season record

''Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.''

Mascot

On April 11, 2022, the Stars unveiled their

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

, a monstrous red creature that drew comparisons to other Philadelphia sports mascots Gritty and the

Phillie Phanatic The Phillie Phanatic is the official mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team. He is a large, furry, green bird with an extendable tongue. He performs various routines to entertain fans during baseball games at Citizens Ban ...

. The Stars then held a

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

poll asking fans whether the mascot should be named "Astro", "Cosmo", or "Blob". "Blob" took 65 percent of the vote, and the name was confirmed on April 15. The Stars have offered few details about Blob besides describing him as "out of this world" and noting that he enjoys dancing.

Rivalries

Key Stone State Battle

The Philadelphia Stars shared a rivalry with their cross-state foes the Pittsburgh Maulers called the Key Stone State Battle. The Stars went 3–1 against Pittsburgh during both USFL seasons.

Franchise matchup history

References

{{Authority control 2021 establishments in Alabama American football teams established in 2021 Philadelphia Stars (2022) American football teams in Philadelphia United States Football League (2022) teams