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Birmingham Americans

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Birmingham Americans
Birmingham Americans logo
Logo
General information
FoundedDecember 1973
FoldedMarch 1975
StadiumLegion Field
HeadquarteredBirmingham, Alabama
ColoursRoyal Blue, Scarlet, and White      
Personnel
OwnerBill Putnam
General managerJack Gotta
Head coachJack Gotta
Nickname
Ams
League / conference affiliations
World Football League
Central Division
Championships
World Bowl wins: 1
1974

The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League (WFL). The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974. The team was owned by William "Bill" Putnam, doing business as Alabama Football, Inc.

The club played all of their home games at Legion Field. The most successful of the World Football League franchises, the Americans led the league in attendance and won all 13 of their home games. They developed a reputation for come-from-behind victories and winning by narrow margins. The Americans finished the 1974 regular season at 15–5 and won the 1974 World Bowl by one point over the Florida Blazers.

Financially unstable due to investor reluctance and lavish signing bonuses paid to lure National Football League (NFL) players to the new league, the team folded after only one season. Most of the team's assets were seized to pay back taxes; failed lawsuits to recover the signing bonus money kept the team in the headlines long after the WFL was itself defunct. The Americans were replaced as the Birmingham WFL franchise for the 1975 season by a new team called the Birmingham Vulcans.

Franchise history

[edit]

Atlanta businessman William R. "Bill" Putnam was awarded an expansion franchise for Birmingham in the upstart World Football League and secured a lease to play at Legion Field.[1][2] The five original investors in Alabama Football, Inc., all Atlanta businessmen, were majority owner Bill Putnam, Cecil Day, Lon Day, Jay Donnelly, and Erv Plesko.[3] Between them they had already invested over US$1.5 million in the franchise and hoped to find ten investors in Birmingham to buy in for an additional $150,000 each.[3] Unable to find local investors for the team, Putnam threatened to move the Americans from Birmingham before the start of the 1974 season.[4] However, with more than 10,000 season tickets sold before the first game, the team's position in Birmingham was secured for the year.[5]

Vince Costello, an assistant coach with the Cincinnati Bengals, was chosen as head coach/general manager. A few days after the announcement, he turned down the job to become an assistant with the Miami Dolphins. Jack Gotta, head coach of the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League (CFL), was hired.[6] Gotta put together a solid squad, including veteran quarterback George Mira, rookie passer Matthew Reed, wide receiver Dennis Homan, running back Charley Harraway of the Redskins, and former St. Louis Cardinals and Auburn standout safety Larry Willingham.[5][7] Johnny Musso, a former Alabama fullback with the CFL's BC Lions, was the Americans' first round pick in the WFL's "pro draft" in March 1974.[8][9] Birmingham selected 42-year-old retired professional basketball player and former Atlanta Hawks head coach Richie Guerin in the fortieth and last round of that draft,[9] drawing laughter from the audience.[10] Radio play-by-play duties were handled by Larry Matson with color commentary provided by a series of guest commentators.[11]

1974 season

[edit]
Former Americans' quarterback George Mira (1974)
An admission ticket to the first Americans game at Legion Field versus the Southern California Sun on July 10, 1974. All of their home game tickets were accidentally printed without entry gate information, one of many organizational problems with the new team.[12]

Birmingham competed in the Central Division, along with the Chicago Fire, Memphis Southmen, and Detroit Wheels.[13] The team began training camp on June 3 at the Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama, and broke camp during the first week in July.[14] The Americans played a 20-game regular season with no pre-season games. (The team did however play one "controlled scrimmage" against the Jacksonville Sharks on Saturday, June 29, 1974.)[15] Most games were played on Wednesday nights with nationally televised games on Thursday nights.[16][17] The Americans won their first ten games, finishing the regular season 15–5, in second place in the Central Division behind Memphis.[18] Midway through the season, the World Football League Players Association was formed and Americans fullback Charley Harraway was selected to serve as its first president.[19] Alfred Jenkins was named the team's Most Valuable Player for the 1974 season.[20]

First half

[edit]

The Americans' first game was played on July 10, 1974, against the Southern California Sun in front of a crowd of 53,231 at Legion Field.[21] (The announced attendance of 53,231 was inflated. The actual attendance figure was 43,031 for the opening game, of which 41,799 had paid.)[22][23] Held scoreless by the Sun for the first three quarters and trailing by a touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter, the Americans came back to win 11–7.[24] In their first road game, the Americans overcame a 26-point deficit at halftime to win 32–29 over the New York Stars in front of 17,943 at Downing Stadium on July 17, 1974.[25] The second home game, a 58–33 win over the Memphis Southmen on July 24, drew an announced attendance of 61,319 fans (actual attendance was 54,413 with 40,367 paying).[22][23][26][27]

In the first of back-to-back games against the