The league sprung into life in 1983 .
Not before the fledgling competition secured a coup in convincing Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker to skip his final year at the University of Georgia and snub the NFL to join the New Jersey Generals .
The league sprung into life in 1983 , but not before the fledgling competition secured a coup in convincing Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker to skip his final year at the University of Georgia and snub the NFL to join the New Jersey Generals .