Home		Wikipedia (Alabama Hawks) Wikipedia (CoFL)

Will the CoFL's Alabama Hawks move to Birmingham?

October 10, 1969
In a desperate need of more fans and money, the Huntsville-based Alabama Hawks ownership and management decide to play their last three home games in other cities.

Hawks general manager Earl Dotson made the announcement that the team was moving two of its final three scheduled home games to Birmingham. “We had hoped to retain the franchise in North Alabama, but there seems to be no one interested in football here.”

The other "home" game would be played in Orlando, where the Panthers always drew well at the Tangerine Bowl.

Of the three regular season games played in Huntsville's Milton Frank Stadium, the Hawks have averaged 5,469 in the stands. The first game brought out a respectable 8,300 fans, but each game has drawn considerably less and less.

Fair Park Stadium, part of the Alabama State Fairgrounds, will be the site of the games in Birmingham. This venue has a football field inside an automobile racetrack, which is known as Birmingham International Raceway. Racing legend Bobby Allison is a fixture at this track, along with his brother Donnie Allison and friend Red Farmer.

	Alabama Hawks come to Birmingham to meet the media (back L to R): Louis Thompson and head coach Dave Sington (front L to R): Tom Bryan, Mike Hall, and Paul Ragland

The Hawks joined the Continental Football League last year, moving from the Professional Football League of America. Prior to joining the CoFL, the Hawks were known as the Huntsville Rockets, and they played for the PFLA championship in 1967 but lost to the Joliet Chargers. Prior to their only year in the PFLA, the Rockets were members of other minor league circuits; the Southern Football League (1963 to 1964) and the North American Football League (1965 to 1966).

The Hawks were an unofficial minor league affiliate of the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons. In August of this year, the Falcons went to Huntsville to play an exhibition game against the Hawks. The Falcons team was mostly comprised of rookies, and they easily defeated the Hawks, 55-0. This contest marked the only time an NFL team played a CoFL team, and the last time an NFL team played a minor league team.

The Continental Football League began play in 1965 and was primarily formed from teams in the United Football League and Atlantic Coast Football League.

In February 1965, Alex Schoenbaum, owner of the Charleston, West Virginia, franchise boasted, “This will not be a minor league, this will be a major league. Ours will be a league stretching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. We are throwing away salary restrictions and plan to go big time all the way. We are dealing with men able to finance big budgets, such as those in the National and American leagues. We’ll bid for top player talent. We’ll go for big crowds and national television.”

While not quite living up to that plan, the league has grown steadily each year.

Despite reports of increased ticket sales for 1969, it doesn't appear the league and teams have sufficient funding to offset the continued absence of a television agreement. Without TV, the league's situation is becoming dire.

			1969                            Continental Football League
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	Alabama Hawks		Arkansas Diamonds		Chicago Owls		Dallas Rockets		Fort Worth Braves
	Indianapolis Capitols		Jersey Jays		Las Vegas Cowboys		Mexico Golden Aztecs		Norfolk Neptunes
	Ohio Valley Ironmen		Oklahoma Thunderbirds		Omaha Mustangs		Orlando Panthers		Portland Loggers
	Sacramento Capitols		San Antonio Toros		Seattle Rangers		Spokane Shockers		Texarkana Titans
	Tri-City Apollos		West Texas Rufneks

1969 Continental Football League
Pacific Division	Texas - West Division	Texas - East Division	Central Division	Atlantic Division
Las Vegas Cowboys	Mexico Golden Aztecs	Dallas Rockets	Chicago Owls	Alabama Hawks
Portland Loggers	San Antonio Toros	Fort Worth Braves	Indianapolis Capitols	Arkansas Diamonds
Sacramento Capitols	West Texas Rufneks	Oklahoma Thunderbirds	Ohio Valley Ironmen	Jersey Jays
Seattle Rangers		Texarkana Titans	Omaha Mustangs	Norfolk Neptunes
Spokane Shockers			Tri-City Apollos	Orlando Panthers

1969 Alabama Hawks Roster
No.	Name	Position	College
	Jim Anderson	C	Jackson State
	Amos Ayers	CB	Arkansas-Pine Bluff
	Terry Belvin	DT	-none-
	Eddie Bolden	OG	Tennessee State
	Tom Bryan	RB	Auburn
	Henry Burnette	OT	Lincoln (Missouri)
	Bob Byrd	LB	Jacksonville State
	Mac Byrd	LB	Southern California
	Tyrone Caldwell	DT	South Carolina State
	Jim Callahan	WR	Temple
	Joe Cooper	FL	Tennessee State
	Ken Corbin	LB	Miami
	Ken Deckard	FL	McMurry
	Chuck Detwiler	S	Utah State
	Woodrow Dixon	CB	Stillman
	Jimmy Dye	DB	Miami
	Eddie Edwards	RB	Lincoln (Missouri)
	Don Fitzgerald	RB	Kent State
	Ted Franklin	RB	Alabama A&M
	Frank Fuder	T	Memphis
	Allen Green	K	Mississippi
	Larry Groce	LB	Troy
	Andy Gross	OG	Auburn
	Mike Hall	LB	Alabama
	Doyle Hill	QB	North Alabama
	Fred Hubbs	OT	Miami
	Eddie Hughes	RB	Texas Southern
	Onree Jackson	QB	Alabama A&M
	Ray Jeffords	TE	Georgia
	Jim Judd	TE	Missouri
	Ricky Lindsey	WR	North Alabama
	Dean Lotz	C	Memphis
	Bobby Lowery	SE	New Mexico State
	Garth Morgan	DB	Montana
	Gene Mosley	TE	Jackson State
	Mike O'Dell	DT	Memphis
	Wally Oyler	P-S	Louisville
	Lonnie Paige	DT	North Carolina Central
	Tony Pleviak	DT	Illinois
	H. K. Reeves	T	Arkansas State
	Denver Samples	DE	Texas-El Paso
	Greg Soulds	DB	Utah
	Terry Southall	QB	Baylor
	Lynn Swinford	DB	Jacksonville State
	Louie Thompson	DE	Alabama
	Hank Urbanowicz	DT	Miami
	Jeff Van Note	C	Kentucky
	Rod Verkey	LB	Cortland State
	Ray Vinson	S	Jacksonville State
	Roger Whitehead	LB	South Carolina State
	Paul Williams	WR	California

1969 Alabama Hawks Schedule
Date	Opponent	Result	Score
Preseason
08/02/1969	Atlanta Falcons (rookies)     National Football League	L	55-0
08/16/1969	Indianapolis Capitols	L	33-21
Regular Season
08/30/1969	at Tri-Cities Apollos	W	31-17
09/07/1969	Chicago Owls	W	28-26
09/13/1969	at Omaha Mustangs	W	31-7
09/21/1969	Norfolk Neptunes	L	20-7
09/28/1969	Tri-Cities Apollos	W	17-13
10/05/1969	at Orlando Panthers	L	49-10
10/11/1969	at Arkansas Diamonds	L	31-28
10/19/1969	at Orlando Panthers	L	7-3
10/25/1969	Arkansas Diamonds (in Birmingham)	W	21-7
11/01/1969	at Norfolk Neptunes	L	24-7
11/08/1969	Omaha Mustangs (in Birmingham)	W	32-10
11/14/1969	at Jersey Jays	L	35-6
Final Season Results: 6-6
The Indianapolis Capitols are the 1969 Continental Football   League champions.

Epilogue

	The Alabama Hawks' Jeff Van Note went on to play for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons from 1969 to 1986

At a league meeting in February of 1970, the Alabama Hawks and four other franchises were voted out of the league for failing to meet financial obligations during the 1969 season.

In the end, it would not matter as the Continental Football League decided to fold in August of 1970. The league died because of a slow trickle of teams being ejected, folding on their own, or leaving to play in other leagues.

However, the CoFL bucked the odds and played for five complete seasons. This is a feat that many minor league organizations had not done, or have not done since, regardless of sport.

At its zenith, many considered the CoFL to be the best minor football league ever formed.

Alabama Hawks owner Jimmy Lane was disappointed the team and league had come to an end. "I don't regret anything about it, except for the fact that we had to fold. I'm proud we made the effort. In the beginning, I figured it would take five years for it to become successful in a space-oriented town and for us to begin attracting people from a 50-mile radius. Economically, it could've meant a lot to the city. But..."

Eventually Birmingham would get its own professional football team, but it wouldn't be for another five years.

In 1974 the World Football League's Birmingham Americans made their debut and went on to win the first, and only, WFL Championship.

			Teams of the                            Continental Football League
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	Akron Vulcans 1967		Alabama Hawks 1968 to 1969		Arkansas Diamonds 1968 to 1969		Brooklyn Dodgers 1966		Charleston Rockets 1965 to 1968
							NEED LOGO
	Chicago Owls 1968 to 1969		Dallas Rockets 1969		Eugene Bombers 1967		Fort Wayne Warriors 1965		Fort Worth Braves 1969
	Hartford Charter Oaks 1965 to 1967		Indianapolis Capitols 1968 to 1969		Jersey Jays 1969		Las Vegas Cowboys 1968 to 1969		Long Beach Admirals 1967
	Mexico Golden Aztecs 1969		Michigan Arrows 1968		Montreal Beavers 1966 to 1967		Newark Bears 1965		Norfolk Neptunes 1965 to 1969
	Ohio Valley Ironmen 1968 to 1969		Oklahoma City Plainsmen 1968		Oklahoma Thunderbirds 1969		Omaha Mustangs 1968 to 1969		Orange County Ramblers 1967 to 1968
							NEED LOGO
	Orlando Panthers 1966 to 1969		Philadelphia Bulldogs 1965 to 1967		Portland Loggers 1969		Quad Cities Raiders 1968		Rhode Island Indians 1965
			NEED LOGO
	Richmond Rebels 1965 to 1967		Sacramento Buccaneers 1967		Sacramento Capitols 1968 to 1969		San Antonio Toros 1969		San Jose Apaches 1967
	Seattle Rangers 1967 to 1969		Spokane Shockers 1968 to 1969		Texarkana Titans 1969		Toronto Rifles 1965 to 1967		Tri-City Apollos 1969
	Victoria Steelers 1967		West Texas Rufneks 1969		Wheeling Ironmen 1965 to 1967

Continental Football League ball

1969 Continental Football League Championship Game program

Alternative league logo used by many teams

Contact Gene Crowley
Last update: March 22, 2024