replacement teams. In addition, the NFL instituted
a controversial antisteroid policy in 1987 that would
become the longest-running such rule in profes-
sional sports. That year also saw the premiere of the
Arena Football League, which played a scaled-down
indoor version of American football.
Besides Washington’s defeat of the Denver Bron-
cos 42 to 10 in Super Bowl XXII, the big football
news of 1988 was of a more societal nature. On Sep-
tember 4, 1988, Johnny Grier became the first Afri-
can American referee in NFL history, opening the
door for other minorities to participate more fully in
the sport.
The final year of the decade saw the NFL both fig-
uratively and literally rocked by changes. The San
Francisco Forty-Niners temporarily moved their play
to Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California, after
the Bay Area earthquake of October 17, 1989, dam-
aged their home stadium, Candlestick Park. Little
more than a week later, Paul Tagliabue was chosen to
succeed NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who had
held the position since 1960 and was known as the
force behind the creation of both the Super Bowl
andMonday Night Football. In addition, Art Shell be-
came the first African American head coach in the
NFL, leading the Oakland Raiders after serving as a
player and as an assistant coach for twenty years.
That year also saw the beginnings of free agency, giv-
ing players more freedom to sign contracts with
other teams following the expiration of their initial
contracts. Finally, in one of the most famous draft-
day trades ever, the Dallas Cowboys traded running
back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for
five veteran players and six draft picks over three
years. Dallas later used these picks to leverage trades
for additional draft picks and veteran players. As a
result of this, the team drafted many of the stars that
would help it win three Super Bowls in the 1990’s.
College Football Colleges and universities fall into
three divisions under National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) guidelines, and each division
has several conferences. Seasonal and conference
play culminates in postseason bowl games such as
the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, and the Sugar
Bowl. Despite the growing popularity of professional
football during the 1980’s, college competitions re-
mained a staple for American sports fans—particu-
larly in rural areas, where in-person access to NFL
teams was sometimes difficult. Televised college foot-
ball matches also frequently attracted large audi-
ences, and postseason college bowl games, which
typically showcased top teams, garnered significant
audience interest as post-holiday fare.
Unlike NFL players, college players were not al-
lowed to receive salaries, yet college football has
played an important role in the sport, not only as a
source of talent for professional teams, but also as a
way of generating revenue for participating universi-
ties. By the 1980’s, televised college football was a sig-
nificant source of income for the NCAA, which over-
saw the sport at participating universities.
A number of would-be big-name professional play-
ers incubated in the college football conferences
during the 1980’s. These players included the Geor-
gia Bulldogs’ Herschel Walker, who earned a 1980
freshman rushing record of 1,616 yards and went on
to clinch the team’s first national title in the Sugar
Bowl with a 17-10 victory over Notre Dame. In 1981,
Southern California’s Marcus Allen became the first
running back to gain more than 2,000 yards in
one season and outpolled Georgia’s Walker for the
Heisman Trophy, awarded annually by the Down-
town Athletic Club of New York City to the best col-
lege football player of the year. Walker, however, re-
bounded in 1982 to earn the coveted award. That
same year saw Alabama win the Liberty Bowl, push-
ing coach Bear Bryant’s thirty-eight-year record to
323 wins, 85 losses, and 17 ties. He died less than a
month later.
In 1984, Boston College quarterback Doug
Flutie, the first player to pass for 10,000 yards, won
the Heisman Trophy. The Miami Hurricane’s Vinny
Testaverde won the award in 1986, and in 1988, the
star of the year was Oklahoma State running back
Barry Sanders, a virtual unknown who captured
the limelight by shattering the NCAA single-season
records for rushing yards (2,628) and touchdowns
(39). By 1989, the Miami Hurricanes had cemented
their claim as team of the decade by winning their
third national title of the 1980’s. That same year,
Houston quarterback Andre Ware became the first
African American quarterback to win the Heisman
Trophy.Impact The 1980’s became known as the decade in
which football claimed the title of America’s most
popular spectator sport. The game evolved to be-
come a key part of American culture and also began
to bridge the gender gap among sports fans. TheThe Eighties in America Football 383