The San Antonio Gunslingers were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, that played in the United States Football League (USFL) in 1984 and 1985. Owned by oil magnate Clinton Manges, the team played its home games in Alamo Stadium and its colors were kelly green, royal blue, silver, and white. Rick Neuheisel was the team's quarterback. History Manges had previously owned the San Antonio Bulls in the American Football Association, a lower-budget professional league that operated from 1981 to 1983. Under Manges, the Bulls were successful, appearing in the AFA's final championship (but losing in a shutout to the Carolina Chargers). Manges was unable to carry the Bulls name over because the Jacksonville Bulls claimed the name first. Going into the 1984 season, the USFL made the decision to expand to eighteen franchises in order to boost league capital. However, efforts to expand to Minneapolis-St. Paul and Seattle fell through. San Antonio was mentioned as a possible market for expansion, as rapid growth through the 1970s propelled it to major-city status. By 1984, almost 800,000 people lived in San Antonio, making it the 11th largest city in the United States. Despite this, a series of studies of possible new cities concluded that San Antonio could not support a USFL team. The San Antonio area, then as now, was considered a medium-sized market because the surrounding suburban and rural areas were far smaller than the city itself. The owners were also somewhat skeptical about Manges's bid, not in the least because he planned to base the team at Alamo Stadium, a Works Progress Administration project and high school stadium that seated only 18,000 people. Ultimately, fears that Manges would seek a franchise in a proposed league started by WFL, American Basketball Association, and World Hockey Association co-founder Dennis Murphy tipped the scales in his favor. At the time, the flamboyant oil baron was a member of the Forbes 400, and was thought to be one of the richest men in Texas. The USFL did not want to risk losing his apparent wealth to a rival league. Ultimately, Murphy's proposed league folded before it could get off the ground when the USFL placed teams in three of its potential markets–San Antonio, Memphis, and Houston. The USFL had endeavored to avoid the mistakes of the ill-fated World Football League by requiring perspective owners to undergo a detailed due diligence