With the phenomenal NFL Conference Championship games being played over the weekend, and all the Tom Brady retirement chatter, you may have missed some seemingly insignificant football items.

A few USFL teams announced coaching hirings last week.

Yes, the USFL is back with an eight-team league beginning play in April. Philadelphia will have an entry and use the same “Stars” name that the Philadelphia franchise used during the USFL’s first go around back in 1983.

However, the Stars weren’t the first fledging non-NFL football franchise in Philadelphia.

This latest installment of my look back at YESTERDAY - a trip back in time to the late 1960s, the 1970s, and the early 1980s - is a recollection of a pair of other football leagues from that time period as well as events, pop-culture situations and items from that era.

Anyone remember the Philadelphia Bell and the World Football League?

In 1974, league president Gary Davidson announced franchises in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Boston, Florida, Chicago, Detroit, Southern California, Memphis, Birmingham, Toronto and Hawaii. He had future plans to create franchises in Europe.

The Bell were one of 12 franchises during the inaugural 1974 season. The team featured a group of journeymen and free-agent players who played their games at the old JFK Stadium - and were televised by WTAF Channel 29.

King Corcoran, a minor league football player from the Pottstown Firebirds, was their quarterback. The Bell also featured future Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver Vince Papale, and John Land, a sturdy running back who was also the team’s leading receiver.

Head coach Ron Waller, also from the Firebirds, was one of several coaches and league executives who were later found guilty in the “Papergate” scandal in which teams inflated attendance numbers. Waller boasted of crowds of over 50,000 for the first two home games when in reality, the paid attendance was in the low teens.

The Bell lost $2 million – a large sum back then - in its first season, but it still moved forward to 1975. But it wasn’t just the Bell in financial trouble - the entire league was drowning in losses. The IRS took away the Birmingham Americans helmets and uniforms after they won the championship in 1974 due to their owner’s escalating debts.

The WFL made one last stab to save the league during the 1975 season by signing NFL stars such as the Dolphins’ trio of Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield; the Vikings’ John Gilliam; the Raiders’ Daryl Lamonica, and a few other notable players. The Bell made history that season when it hired ex-Packers cornerback Willie Wood after Waller quit, making Wood the first African-American to be named a head coach in any profession football league.

But nothing worked.

The Bell’s final game was at Franklin Field in October 1975 with just over 1,800 fans in the stands.

It was a great idea, but money always gets in the way. Does anyone still have a Bell T-shirt?

Less than 10 years later, the Stars made spring football in Philadelphia a reality. Led by ex-Penn State stars Chuck Fusina at quarterback, and Scott Fitzkee at wide receiver, the Stars posted a 15-3 regular-season record and advanced to the league championship game before losing to Michigan.

The Stars also struggled at the gate, and memories of the WFL “Papergate” scandal surfaced when they announced 120,000 attended the first two home games at the Vet, In reality, the paid attendance for each game was under 20,000.

Philadelphia had another stellar season the following year with a 16-2 regular season mark, and a USFL championship game win over Arizona. The team nearly doubled its attendance in its second season and became a hot commodity.

Unfortunately, their fortunes soon changed. The league voted to switch to the fall season, and the Stars moved to Baltimore. They weren’t as successful a sell in Baltimore, but they managed to capture their second consecutive title with a win over Oakland in the final.

The fall move proved disastrous to the league financially, and it disbanded after the 1985 season.

Snow Games

... The recent snowfall in the area brought back some childhood memories of playing “kill the man with the ball,” as well as football games at the park or in the playground. Some of you may have built snow forts, but my crowd was usually trying to tackle each other in some form.

These were also recess and lunch hour games at school. What didn’t matter then - but would matter now - was when you had to go back to the classroom and sit there with your wet shoes, shirts, pants, and frozen hands.

We also had an active street hockey team back then. That extended into our late teens when we could drive to different parks.

I still remember the frigid wind chill numbers in which we played games - but didn’t mind it.

Where’s Joe?

... On Feb. 1, 1964, the world was introduced to G.I. Joe. It became an instant success and the most wanted boys’ item for several years.

My favorite costume was the scuba outfit, along with the adventure kit that helped you submerge him in water. You also had to have the foot locker to store all of your accessories.

I wish I still had a Joe and the outfits today.

Beatles Connection

... On Feb. 1, 1964, the Beatles scored their first No. 1 hit, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” Ten years later in 1974, Ringo Starr topped the charts with “You’re Sixteen. A year later in 1975, Neil Sedaka was on top with “Laughter in the Rain.”

Say a Prayer

... Over the past two weeks, Sister Jane Mead passed away. She broke through the Billboards chart In February 1974 with the unorthodox hit “The Lord’s Prayer,” which reached No. 4 in the USA and was an international smash. She re-recorded it in 1999.

It was the first hit record sung by a nun since Sister Jeanine Deckers released “Dominique” in 1963. You have to be an old-timer like me to remember that one.

On TV

... “The Six Million Dollar Man” ruled the airwaves in 1974. Remember the slow-motion jumps and leaps complete with the background sound? He was followed up with the “Bionic Woman.”

Snack time ... You could have watched those shows with a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, which hit the market in 1974.