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The Sacramento Surge was a professional American football team that played in the WLAF in 1991 and 1992. The team played its first season at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, and the second season in Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State University campus. The team was coached by former Buffalo Bills quarterback/head coach Kay Stephenson.

The Surge won the World Bowl in 1992, the only American team to do so. On this championship team was future professional wrestler Bill Goldberg.

After the WLAF ended its American presence at the end of the 1992 season, Surge owner Fred Anderson continued Sacramento's presence in professional football by acquiring a Canadian Football League expansion franchise. The new team was named the Sacramento Gold Miners; Stephenson and several Surge players were retained in the change, as were the team colors of aqua and yellow.

 

The Coach

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George Kay Stephenson (born December 17, 1944) is a former American college and professional football player and current coach, whose latter career has seen him work in four different professional leagues. Stephenson played quarterback for the American Football League's San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills before entering the coaching ranks.

Pro Football Coaching Career

After serving as a quarterbacks coach the previous season, Stephenson succeeded Chuck Knox as Buffalo Bills head coach on February 3, 1984. Stephenson was reportedly surprised to get the job, claiming that Bills owner Ralph Wilson "never explained his reasons for selecting me." Under Stephenson, the Bills went 8-8 in 1983, 2-14 in 1984, and after losing the first four games of 1985, Stephenson was replaced by Hank Bullough. Perhaps the most lasting impression that Stephenson left on the Buffalo Bills was when he decided to change their helmet color from white to red prior to the 1984 season, insisting that the change would aid Buffalo quarterbacks in finding receivers downfield. At the time, three of the Bills' four division rivals (New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, and Miami Dolphins) wore white helmets. The gambit didn't work as interceptions actually increased the subsequent season.

Stephenson also coached in the World League where he led the Sacramento Surge to the 1992 World Bowl championship, and in the Canadian Football League he coached the San Antonio Texans and the Edmonton Eskimos.

Date of birthDecember 17, 1944 (1944-12-17) (age 65)
Place of birthDeFuniak Springs, FL
Position(s)Quarterback
Head Coach
CollegeFlorida
Career record10-26-0
Playing statsNFL.com
Playing statsDatabaseFootball
Coaching statsDatabaseFootball
Team(s) as a player
1967
1968
AFL San Diego Chargers
AFL Buffalo Bills
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1983-1985
1991-1992
1993-1994
1995
1998
NFL Buffalo Bills
WLAF Sacramento Surge
CFL Sacramento Gold Miners
CFL San Antonio Texans
CFL Edmonton Eskimos

The Uniform

The Surge Uniform was identical for 1991-1992 except I have found some small differences.  One is the Wilson "W" on the sleeve.  Some are black and some are white.  I also have a jersey with a teal collar when most of them are gold.  Al, some of the jerseys have a teal collar instead of a gold one. If you know anything about this, let me know. 

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1991 Surge Home Jersey #57 Matti Lindholm LB (Operation Discovery Player - Finland)
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1991 Game Used Riddell VSR-1 Helmet
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1992 Game Used World Bowl '92 Jersey #23 Pringle (signed by Pringle)
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1991 Surge Pants

The Stadiums

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Hughes Stadium (1991 Season)

Charles C. Hughes Stadium, commonly referred to as Hughes Stadium, is a 23,000 seat stadium in Sacramento, California, located at Sacramento City College. The stadium is named after Charles C. Hughes, the first superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District.

LocationSacramento, California
Capacity23,000
Tenants

Sacramento Surge 

Sacramento City College

Various regional high schools

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Hornet Field (Stadium) (1992 Season)

Hornet Stadium is a 21,195 seat football stadium in Sacramento, California. It is located at Sacramento State. It was completed in 1969. It is the home football stadium of the Sacramento State Hornets.

It was the home stadium of the Sacramento Surge of the WLAF and the Sacramento Gold Miners of the Canadian Football League. Starting in 2010, it will be home to the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League.

The stadium was the site of some historic moments in Canadian Football League history. On July 7, 1993, It was the site of the first Canadian Football League game ever played on American soil. The Calgary Stampeders defeated the Gold Miners 38-36.

A year later, it hosted the first game between US franchises when the Las Vegas Posse defeated the Gold Miners 32-26.

The stadium underwent a $1 million improvement in preparation for the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials in July 2000. Further improvements were made during the spring of 2004, when the stadium hosted the 2004 U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials. The stadium has also hosted the NCAA Track Championships in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Recent additions to Hornet Stadium include a new scoreboard, which is fully functional for both football and track and field, and a new public entrances. Ground was also broken on August 24, 2006 for the Broad Athletic Center, which will be the new fieldhouse at the stadium for both football and the track and field teams at Sacramento State.

The largest crowd ever to witness an event in Hornet Stadium was when the Sacramento Surge defeated the Barcelona Dragons in the World League playoffs on May 30, 1992 in front of 26,445 fans.

The largest Sacramento State crowd came on September 18, 1999, as the Hornets defeated arch-rival UC Davis in the Causeway Classic, 48-27, in front of 20,993 spectators.

Opened1969
OwnerSacramento State
OperatorSacramento State
SurfaceField Turf
Capacity21,195
Tenants
Sacramento State (NCAA) (1969-Present)
Sacramento Mountain Lions (UFL) (2010-Present)
Sacramento Gold Miners (CFL) (1993-94)
Sacramento Surge (WLAF) (1992)

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1991 Surge Results, Stats, Roster
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1992 Surge Results, Stats, Roster

wikipedia.org

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