A top star in college, Chuck Fusina led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a 11-0 record in 1978 and was the runner-up in Heisman Trophy voting. Overall, he guided Penn State to a 29-3 mark in games he started and still has a parking lot named after him in Happy Valley. Fusina wore this lightly-used heavy mesh Wilson size 44 jersey with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while spending three seasons as a back-up to Doug Williams. He saw duty on just seven occasions in his time with the Buccaneers in mop-up roles (five passes attempted overall, one touchdown pass) after being drafted in the 5th round (133rd overall) in the 1979 NFL Draft. The Bucs dealt Fusina to the San Francisco 49ers for a draft pick after Joe Montana's reserves, Guy Benjamin and Bryan Clark, were injured in the 1982 preseason. Fusina never appeared in a regular season game for the 49ers.
In 1983, Fusina went to the upstart United States Football League and quickly established himself as one of the league's top players. He won back-to-back league championships under Coach Jim Mora for the Philadelphia and Baltimore Stars in 1984 and 1985. He passed for over 10,000 yards (843 of 1,382 for 10,051) with the Stars and led all-USFL QBs with 66 career touchdown passes. Fusina was The Sporting News USFL Player of the Year in 1984 and was named the MVP of that year’s championship game. After the USFL folded, he was signed mid-season by the 0-4 Green Bay Packers in 1986 and saw limited action (32 pass attempts) as a back-up to Randy Wright. On a side note, I would say this is one of the best looking jerseys the NFL has ever seen. A shame the Buccaneers changed their original color scheme.
