Cowboys Champ Ray Horton USFL Title Bid Falls Short
A former representative of “America's Team” winning the United States Football League's championship on Independence Day weekend might've been one of the finest forms of gridiron serendipity. Alas for Ray Horton, it was not to be, as his Pittsburgh Maulers ran into a spring football juggernaut.
Horton, previously a Super Bowl champion with the Dallas Cowboys, saw his bid for spring football immortality fall just short on Saturday night. Despite a spirited effort from the Maulers, his group was unable to stop the Birmingham Stallion's monopoly on the rebooted USFL, as they fell by a 28-12 final at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, OH.
Birmingham took home its second championship in as many years with the win, having previously topped the Philadelphia Stars in last year's edition.
Horton was thus denied a fourth professional football title, the first of which came as a defender with the Cowboys after the 1992-93 season. It was the last season of a 10-year playing career for Horton, who spent four seasons in Dallas (1989-92) after six with the Cincinnati Bengals. He'd later earn two more rings as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers, partaking in their title runs in 2005 and 2008.
Despite the loss, Horton's first head coaching endeavor proved to be a fruitful one: not only did get the Maulers into the USFL title game after they finished a league-worst 1-9 in last year's return but his son and defensive coordinator Jarren won the league's Assistant Coach of the Year Award. Pittsburgh ranked at the top of the USFL in yardage against (257.5) and total points allowed (178) en route to the title game.
The completion of the USFL's wrapped up spring football affairs for the 2023 season. It proved to be a successful one for North Texas football, as the Arlington Renegades prevailed in the XFL Championship Game against the DC Defenders in May.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
COWBOYS FISH REPORT … now a podcast! Join us inside The Star, ANY TIME!
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Cowboys?
Follow FishSports on Twitter
Follow Cowboys / Fish on Facebook
Subscribe to the Cowboys Fish Report on YouTube for constant daily Cowboys live reports!
