Orlando Americans American Football Association 1981

Orlando Americans

American Football Association (1981)

Tombstone

Born: 1981 – AFA expansion franchise
Folded: Postseason 1981

First Game: May 30, 1981 (L 30-27 @ Virginia Hunters)
Last Game
: August 8, 1981 (W 32-3 vs. Texas Wranglers)

AFA Championships: None

Stadium

Orlando Stadium
Opened: 1936

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Team Colors:

Ownership

 

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Orlando Americans
Logo T-Shirt

This Orlando Americans were a semi-pro football outfit that played one season at the Citrus Bowl circa 1981. The Americans gained 15 minutes of national notoriety after getting bamboozled by a poorly conditioned impostor claimed to be a former SEC All-American offensive lineman. 
This design is available in sizes Small through 3 XL today from our friends at Cincinnati’s Old School Shirts!

 

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Background

The Orlando Americans were a minor league football outfit that played for one season in the obscure American Football Association (AFA). The team played at what was then known as Orlando Stadium, better known by its previous and future names, the Tangerine Bowl and the Citrus Bowl.

The Impostor

Robert Lee Johnson just wanted a shot at playing professional football. At a doughy 280 pounds, the aspiring o-lineman wasn’t NFL material. He wasn’t sure he would pass muster with the new Orlando Americans of the fly-by-night AFA either. After all, the Americans boasted a handful of players with NFL pedigree, including former New York Giants back-up quarterback Jerry Golsteyn and a pair of former Green Bay Packers wide receivers in Ken Payne and Barry Smith.

Robert Lee Johnson wasn’t sure he could make the Americans, but he knew of somebody who could: former University of Georgia All-American guard Randy Johnson.  Randy Johnson’s injury-shortened three-year NFL career ended in 1979 pre-season camp.  Robert Lee stole his identity, signing with Orlando under Randy’s name and filling in Randy’s biographical information on team questionnaires.  Members of the Americans’ coaching staff soon grew suspicious about the corpulent “Randy Johnson” huffing and puffing his way around the team’s training field.

“Nobody can do go downhill that far that fast,” one staff member later told The Associated Press, recalling Robert Lee’s physique.

Americans Head Coach/General Manager Bob Williams wrote away to the sports information department at the University of Georgia to provide a photo of (the real) Randy Johnson, but the comparison was inconclusive.  Eventually, Robert Lee came clean. He claimed to be a former Temple University center who borrowed Randy’s name and reputation to further his football dreams.  The real Randy threatened to sue. Robert Lee was given his release.

1985 Topps USFL trading card for quarterback Jerry Golsteyn of the Orlando Renegades

Demise & Aftermath

The case of the False Johnson got the Orlando Americans some national press coverage in June of 1981.  Otherwise, the Americans garnered little attention during their lone summer of play in 1981.  Orlando Stadium was far too big for crowds that peaked around 6,000 per game, according to a 1991 retrospective by the Orlando Sentinel.

The Americans finished with a 5-7 record. The club vanished quietly after their lone season ended in August 1981.

Remarkably, Americans quarterback Jerry Golsteyn used his stay in the  AFA to earn another shot in the NFL.  Golsteyn made the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of training camp in 1982 as a back-up to quarterback Doug Williams. He played two years for the Bucs. In 1985, Golsteyn returned to Orlando and the Citrus Bowl to finish his career as the second-string signal caller for the Orlando Renegades of the big-budget United States Football League.

 

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Editor's Pick

Outsiders II

by Bob Gill with Tod Maher & Steve Brainerd
 
Outsiders II covers the independent minor leagues of professional football from 1951 through 1985. This volume contains histories and yearly statistical summaries for the top minor leagues of the period, plus the World Football League, which has a claim to major league status, and the United States Football League, which was clearly a major league. It also includes yearly summaries for the best of the lesser leagues, which featured a good number of interesting players in their own right.
 
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Links

American Football Association Programs

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Comments

11 Responses

  1. I actually saw the Orlando Americans play one game that summer. Also on the team? Former Florida State quarterback (and future Tampa Bay Bandit) Jimmy Jordan.

    I have never seen anything extensive written about them since, so, thanks.

    1. Hi Jim,

      I’ve never seen one online. Your best bet at this point – at it is a long-shot – would be to find a program from the 1981 Americans (or a perhaps a rival team from same AFA season) that might have a logo you could scan.

      Drew

  2. I was at every Orlando Americans home game. My 2nd ex-wife, Linda, was one of their cheerleaders! They put on a good show!

    1. I was a running back for them my name is Gary Anderson and Eric Hager Ness it was a tight end for them both out of Minnesota

  3. I played TIGHT END for the Orlando Americans I
    caught 34 PAAESS 10 in one game Ron Enclade I worked with UCF RECEIVERS AND TIGHT ENDS IN SUMMER OF 1981 VERY PROUD OF THE KNIGHTS KICKING MY GATORS ASS…

  4. I played C for the Orlando Americans. There is a whole story behind Randy Johnson that you missed. Contact me

  5. Hey guy’s it’s great to see some familiar teammate names here on this post. I punted for them Brett Porche. Hope you all well and hopefully stay in contact? Who remembers the flight home from Roanoke where the engine of the plane caught fire and we had to abruptly return to Roanoke Airport? Take care, Brett

    1. OMG how I remember I was the one to scream fire. , that’s what I remember we made a u turn and I didn’t even remember as we were landing back at the airport , and we headed back to the hotel and we smoke marijuana all night with Rick Sowers out of Arizona.. that’s what i remember..

  6. I was stationed at the naval hospital in Orlando at the time. One of our orthopedic physicians, Dr Murray, was a team physician. A friend of mine and I went to most home games and we would yell at Doc Murray about our leg. The stadium was so empty he could hear us and see us in the wide open seating. A beer cost more than a ticket, sit wherever you want.

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