How does the self-described 'Football Capital of the South' not have an NFL team? This is the second part in a series from CregStephenson that traces the history of pursuits by Magic City leaders to land a big-league football team for Birmingham.
stars, including running back Johnny Musso, wide receiver Dennis Homan and defensive back Larry Willingham. With former Miami quarterback George Mira Jr. under center and ex-CFL coach Jack Gotta in charge on the sideline, they were one of the more successful teams in the league both on the field and at the gate.
The good times didn’t last, however. A local sporting goods store confiscated the team’s equipment for non-payment immediately after the game. The Vulcans beat Memphis 31-0 on Oct. 19, 1975, in what proved to be their final game. The league ceased operations the following day, to the surprise of just about everybody.told AL.com
“I think really the end came probably when the WFL folded at mid-season in its second season,” Adamson said in 2020. “Birmingham and Memphis applied for admission into the NFL, but of course the NFL already had chosen Tampa Bay and Seattle as expansion teams. I think the relationship they had would have prevented those two cities from coming in anyway.”
“The NHL also recently lost their television contract for the first time,” Rozelle told the Associated Press. “And some people say that’s because of expansion. … NFL clubs look at the experience of hockey … and informal talks with other club owners find that most of them are against further expansion right now.”
According to a report by the Miami Herald, Dolphins owner Joe Robbie had met with Birmingham mayor David Vann “for an extended period of time” in January 1977, when both were in Washington for the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter. Vann said he told Robbie the Dolphins “would be welcome in Birmingham,” though the ultimate decision would rest with the city’s Park and Recreation Board.
For his part, Robbie seemed to take Snyder’s report in stride, and even noted in several interviews that he believed Birmingham would make an excellent home for an NFL team. A few months later, Snyder wrote in his syndicated column that while Birmingham and Memphis were capable of supporting an NFL club, their best hope was not relocation but expansion, which at that point was “at least a few years away” .
“They’re just mentioning us — along with those other cities — in hopes people up there will give them what they want,” Burgess told The Birmingham News for a story published Feb. 18, 1979. “They’re not moving here … or anywhere else.”
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