Unbelievable Find Out How the Houston Gamblers Changed Football History

There is not much special with the Houston Gamblers other than their dubious choice of a moniker. With betting scandals across the NFL and other pro sports leagues, naming your team after this compromising activity is… interesting. With that said, the Houston Gamblers’ stats for the 2023 season are nothing to write home about.

Naming itself after gambling did not provide any extra luck with Houston. For one, the team is stuck in the South Division, which means a tougher USFL schedule than the North. Houston is now unlikely to make the postseason given its division record (2-3) and point differential (-6) compared to the New Orleans Breakers.

The team is supposed to be a defensive force. Coupled with its prolific rushing attack (second in the USFL in yardage), Houston was supposed to “dash and smash” its way to the playoffs. Unfortunately, based on the Houston Gamblers’ stats, the team is turnover prone (-3 in differential, last in the USFL) and gives up the second-most points (23.7) per game.

Houston Gamblers Team History

Still, the Gamblers have potential and could take inspiration from the XFL’s Arlington Renegades as a longshot that ended up winning the league. The USFL odds have Houston at +850 to win the USFL Championship, which is short considering where it finds itself now.

By this, we mean the best Gamblers on the field. It starts with Mark Thompson, the team’s lead back. The 28-year-old has been the team’s bell-cow and has rushed for 570 yards and a league-leading 13 touchdowns. He’s also fumbled just once in 116 carries.

On defense, safety Manny Bunch has stepped up. He has put up 54 tackles (35 solo) including four tackles for loss, an interception, and a forced fumble.

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On special teams, the Gamblers also average 69.6 yards in kick-offs and 42.7 in punts. In return, they average 25.7 yards in kick-offs and 8.7 during punts. They haven’t scored a touchdown in either.

And in kicking, the Gamblers have made 75% of its field goal attempts (12-of-16) and 84% of its extra-point attempts (21-of-25). The kicking team has scored 57 points in total for Houston.As the United States Football League worked toward returning to competition for the first time in more than three decades, USFL commissioner Daryl Johnston mentioned to me that he thought running back Mark Thompson could be a breakout player for the league.

Not a whole lot of people know more about football than Moose Johnston. So I followed his nudge and texted Thompson to ask if he would talk for a story.

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Nearly an hour later, he replied: Hey, RJ! I really appreciate the offer, this is huge. However, I’m really focused on being the best product of myself I can be when the lights cut on. When the season begins if you’re still interested feel free to reach out again. I’ll lock your number in now.

In many respects, Thompson was the kind of player the USFL, as a spring league designed around the NFL’s regular season, was created to showcase. As a standout high school player in the Philadelphia area and a junior college All-American, he’d only flashed his athletic brilliance a handful of times at Florida where self-inflicted problems tarnished an otherwise budding talent.

He was enough of a talent to warrant signing in 2018 after two years at Florida and had been a part of teams and training camps for the Raiders, Ravens, Lions and Panthers.

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As he was beginning to find his footing in the NFL, though, the impact of the pandemic halted his football career. As a former Super Bowl champion fullback for the Dallas Cowboys, Johnston was impressed by what he saw from Thompson on film as he helped locate, scout and sign more than 400 players in 2022.

Thompson was a running back who kind of got lost in the shuffle a little bit with COVID, Johnston told me. And with a hamstring pull, when he did have some opportunities to go to a [NFL training] camp, he was one of the running backs that I looked at that just said, ‘OK, why is this guy not in the NFL?’

Interview with Gamblers running back Mark Thompson RJ Young talks to Houston Gamblers RB Mark Thompson, as they delve into his remarkable success in the USFL and he shares his aspirations for the future.

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There were also some off-field issues. Johnston and the USFL, though, recognize there are those that deserve second chances, chances to show maturity, good citizenship, community engagement, and to showcase their ability as football players.

In fact, 2022 USFL MVP KaVontae Turpin was such a player the USFL took a chance on. Seven months after the New Jersey Generals first signed Turpin, the Cowboys invited him to training camp. His ability as a punt and kick returner led the Cowboys to sign him to their 53-man roster. By the end of the 2022 season, he had been named a Pro Bowler and an NFL All-Pro by his peers.

You know, that's what the hook is here in this league, Johnston said. Giving these young men another opportunity. Sometimes it's a non-traditional path back to the NFL. Sometimes it's just changing the narrative that's out there about you. Sometimes it's just showcasing your skill set.

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Thompson, now 28, was held back by injuries in 2022, though when he is healthy he is the USFL's closest comparison to Derrick Henry. At 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, it’s not uncommon to see Thompson running by defenders and over them — as one Birmingham Stallion experienced last week in the Gamblers’ 27-20 win at Protective Stadium.

Thompson is tied for the league lead in rushing TDs this season, having already notched eight. Reigning Offensive Player of the Year Darius Victor rushed for nine TDs in all of 2022.

Against the 2022 North Division champion Generals on Sunday at Simmons Liberty Bank Stadium (4 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), Thompson figures to play an important role. But he’s taking the days as they come, grateful to play pro football, and looking to put together a complete season.

Houston Gamblers Vs San Antonio Gunslingers, 1985. Sam Harrell.

I feel like last year, there was a lot of hype going into the season, he said. And those first few games, I was definitely doing what I needed to do to showcase my talent, but I didn't have a strong finish. And overall, the team didn't do well. And if the team doesn't do well, everyone's not gonna get looks. When we all play well, we’re all gonna get looked at. So I think I just need to keep playing the way I'm playing. I have to do the little things right.

He is. He’s playing with fury on the field, remaining focused, humble and team-oriented on it. In that way, he’s showing himself to be the man Johnston sought out personally.

I reached out to him and spoke to him directly, Johnston told me. This is somebody who's learned from his mistakes, knows that he's missed an opportunity and knows that the clock is running on him. I'm excited to see what Mark Thompson does with this opportunity because I think he's one of those guys that knows that there's not a lot of time left for him. And if he's going to have that opportunity to get to the NFL level, he's got to have a breakout season in the USFL. And when you watch him on film, he is fully capable of doing that.

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RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast The Number One College Football Show. Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young and subscribe to The Number One College Football Show on YouTube.Jack Pardee was hired to be the franchise’s first head coach when the Gamblers were preparing for their first season in 1984. Pardee is the only coach in history to be a head coach in college, NFL, USFL, World Football League, and the CFL. Prior to joining the USFL, Pardee already had stints in the WFL coaching the Florida Blazers and in the NFL coaching the Chicago Bears, and the Washington football team.

The important hire he would make to his staff was bringing in Darell “Mouse” Davis as their offensive coordinator. Davis’ hire was so important because of the impact he made on football and changing the style of play we are more accustomed to today. He was responsible for the creation of the run-and-shoot offense. This is where the offense emphasizes more receiver motion and audibles to receiver’s routes depending on the defensive formation.

Houston had the right quarterback to lead that offense with the addition of NFL hall of fame quarterback Jim Kelly. Kelly stated his displeasure about playing for a cold-weather team like the Buffalo Bills who drafted him in the NFL Draft back in 1983. Bruce Allen convinced Kelly to play in the USFL and play for whoever he wanted to. He chose to play in the Astrodome in Houston for the Gamblers and skipped out on the NFL.1984 Season: Revolutionary Offense Creates Excitement

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