Oakland Invaders

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Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s.

Oakland, California was without a professional football team after the NFL's Oakland Raiders relocated to Los Angeles, California before the 1982 season. The USFL Oakland Invaders stepped in, hoping that the Oakland football fan base would support them and their similar name. The team started with good attendance (31,211 in 1983) which dwindled as the the USFL lost popularity (17,509 in 1985). The Michigan Panthers merged with the Invaders before 1985 and it helped the team to reach the 1985 USFL championship game. That game however would be the last game ever played in the USFL.

Some former National Football League players and some who would play for the NFL later on were on this team. Among them were Ray Pinney of the 1970's Pittsburgh Steelers, Anthony Carter, Arthur Whittington, Bobby Hebert, Raymond Chester and Albert Bentley.

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