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Quarterback
Greg Frey (14) was expected to be the Ohio Glory’s starting quarterback for the
1993 World League of American Football season, but that was a season that never
came. The National Football League decided to suspend WLAF operations in
September of 1992, then brought the league back in an all-European format
beginning in 1995.
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In the
immediate aftermath of the 1992 season, the Ohio Glory had plenty of reasons to
be optimistic.
The team finished its first season in the World League of American
Football at 1-9 (including six losses to the league’s four playoff teams), but,
after an 0-6 start in which the average loss was 13 points, there finally was a
home win against Frankfurt, a home overtime loss against New York-New Jersey, a
seven-sack effort at Sacramento and a tough three-point home loss to
Birmingham.
In addition, the Glory finally had found its quarterback for the future
in former Ohio State standout Greg Frey, who had more touchdown passes (three)
than times sacked (two) in the final six quarters of the season.
Glory General Manager Peter Hadhazy said shortly after the season
concluded, “I guess 1-9 teams deserve to get lucky every once in a while. We’ve
got something to build on for the future.”
Frey was with the Glory for the second half of 1992, but only after
third-string quarterback Chris Cochrane was summoned by Frankfurt due to injury
– and after Frey’s agent tried to get the ex-Buckeye into camp earlier in the
year. The team had grappled with possibly going after former OSU quarterback
Art Schlichter before the 1992 WLAF draft, and, as would have been the case
with Schlichter, the team didn’t want the pressure to play the hometown
favorite Frey.
“We thought we were set at the quarterback position,” Hadhazy said at
the time. “If we were going to bring Frey in just because he’s a local guy to
be a backup or not to play, it wouldn’t have been fair to us or the Ohio fans
who wanted to see him.
“If the season started today, there’s no question we’d win more games
than we lost.”
Even with the quarterback problems the team had in 1992, the Glory
realistically could have won four games. A different decision in the final
minute at Orlando in the opener could have resulted in a win, and the New
York-New Jersey and Birmingham home games were close to going the other
direction.
Given the Glory’s second-half play, and with Frey in the fold and
slated to start from the outset, 1993 was looking bright for the franchise.
“With a little tinkering, no major overhaul, I think we can reverse
that record,” Hadhazy said then.
Unfortunately, Hadhazy and Glory Head Coach Larry Little never had that
chance. In September of 1992, the National Football League’s owners voted to
suspend the WLAF due to the NFL’s recent loss of a major antitrust suit with
the NFL’s players.
Hadhazy reacted to the news at the time with disappointment, noting,
“Two days before the NFL announcement, we sent applications to our season
ticket holders to re-up. The response was unbelievable. We could have doubled
our attendance.
“The frustrating part of this is not being able to turn around that
record.”
Two decades later, the disappointment of not being able to improve on
the 1992 season still was real.
“Crushing. Absolutely crushing,” said Ken Einhorn, the Glory’s Director
of Public Relations. “It was very disappointing. It’s something you take a
little personal. I wish it would have lasted longer. It just never caught on.”
Said John Lombardi, the team’s Special Projects and Gameday
Coordinator, “It was really disappointing. I would have loved to have another
chance to play. I understand why they did it. It was a business decision, so I
can’t argue against them, but it would have been nice to have another shot.”
Reportedly, the move to suspend the WLAF saved every NFL team a
half-million dollars per year. Ultimately, the league returned in the spring of
1995 – and in a European-only format.
So what might the 1993 version of the Ohio Glory have looked like?
At the end of the 1992 season, the Glory had 43 players on the roster –
36 active and 7 on injured reserve. If the WLAF used the same method of
protecting players as it did the year before (allowing 26 per team), here’s
what that group may have looked like:
NAME POS.
Greg Frey QB
Lydell Carr FB
Deval Glover WR
Patrick Jackson WR
Phil Logan WR
Melvin Patterson WR
Curtis Wilson C
Eric Harmon G
Curt Mull G
Ken Vines G-C
Mike Graybill T
Ben Jefferson T
Chad Rolen DE
Mike Sunvold DE
Charles Jackson DT
Kent Wells DT
Stacy Harvey LB
A.J. Jimerson LB
Kerry Owens LB
Aaron Ruffin CB
Jason Wallace CB
Darren Hughes CB-S
African Grant S
Tim James S
Darren Willis S
Tom Rouen P
In 1993, the Glory would have had a nucleus to work with – something
the team didn’t have to begin 1992. It also would have the benefit of another
draft (featuring unprotected 1992 WLAF players and other free agents) and
another NFL allocation (which may have included 1992 running backs Amir Rasul
and Adam Walker and 1992 wide receiver Walter Wilson).
Right after the season, Little said he wanted to bring back fullback
George Swarn, who was in camp with the team in 1992 and had been on injured
reserve before the team released him.
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