Home		National Football League

Will Birmingham join the National Football League?

October 22, 1975
League officials and franchise owners vote to fold the World Football League during their 13th week of play.

October 23, 1975
With the decision made to fold the World Football League, Birmingham officials are already at work trying to secure a future in the National Football League.

Birmingham Vulcans general manager Jack Gotta left this morning for Memphis where he will meet with Southmen owner John Bassett to formulate a plan for a two franchise entry request for the NFL. "I think our chances of getting in the NFL are the best of any city in America which doesn't have a franchise already. We have all the necessary ingredients... ownership, the greatest fans in football, and a stadium that seats 70,000. The last two years have proved people here will support professional football. The fact we did close down in October means we will make application for the 1976 season, but we're not in control of anything and we'll have to abide by whatever timetable the NFL decides on."

George Siebels, Birmingham's mayor, announces he will telegraph the NFL's commissioner, Pete Rozelle, immediately to petition entry to the league.

Vulcans head coach Marvin Bass said, "I don't look at it as an ending. I look at it as the beginning of something big. I'm psychic in some ways and that's the way I feel."

October 28, 1975

	A. E. "Pee Wee" Burgess

A. E. "Pee Wee" Burgess, who was heavily involved as an owner of the Birmingham Vulcans, Richard Cohn, and Ed Friend meet with Rozelle in New York to get acquainted.

Rozelle was interviewed on Monday Night Football and would only say that he has been contacted by Birmingham and Memphis.

Earlier in the week, Rozelle informed all team owners that they were forbidden for the rest of the season from signing any World Football League player that is currently under contract.

December 17, 1975
The National Football League has decided not to extend franchise offers to Birmingham and Memphis.

A formal poll of league owners will occur shortly but they will likely follow the committee's recommendation. It would take a favorable vote for 20 of the 26 franchises to override the committee's decision.

"We're not in for '76, and for now that's about it. Certainly we are disappointed, but we'll keep trying. We aren't giving up. We had a couple of meetings with commissioner Rozelle and the expansion committee, and they were very nice. But the answer was no. We'll apply again at the proper time," said Burgess.

Bassett is not taking the rejection well, hinting at possible anti-trust proceedings against the NFL. If it occurs, Birmingham will not be a part of that legal action. "We aren't considering a suit at this time," said Burgess. Bassett is taking a wait-and-see approach before making the final decision. "We basically want to see the results of the polling of the ownership before jumping into other areas. All I can say right now is I'm totally disappointed. We hope the league as a whole will not accept this recommendation. We feel the committee has done a great disservice to the American football public and especially to the mid-south community, which has shown tangible support and enthusiasm for our application. In the meantime, we and our counsel will explore all available options in connection with this application," Bassett said.

The NFL says it isn't against Birmingham and Memphis so much as it is against further expansion. Tampa and Seattle were both recently granted franchises and will begin play in 1976. Expansion Committee chairman Dan Rooney explained by saying, "We had no negatives to Birmingham and Memphis. Our problem is expansion per se, not these two cities."

Commissioner Rozelle says the logistics just could not be worked out. "The people in our expansion committee are pro-expansion. The problem is committing now. There are three hurdles in any expansion by the NFL. The first hurdle is the state of mind. Then selection of cities, and ownership in those cities. It's safe to say Birmingham and Memphis did not clear that first big hurdle. Sports leagues have folded and contracted, teams have folded and other leagues have abandoned expansion plans. This, plus litigation we're not involved in, has created a cloud of uncertainty among the league owners."

"One of the things Memphis wanted was to participate in the college draft, and this would cause serious problems for our new teams and the weaker teams in the league," Rozelle said.

Birmingham's general manager, Jack Gotta, said they would have been willing to go without the benefit of the college draft, if Birmingham and Memphis could have first access to all the former players in the folded World Football League. "There are so many fine players available it's ridiculous. Don't tell me we couldn't take our club and add players from other WFL franchises and not be competitive."

September 1976

			1976-77                           National Football League
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	Atlanta Falcons		Baltimore Colts		Buffalo Bills		Chicago Bears		Cincinnati Bengals
	Cleveland Browns		Dallas Cowboys		Denver Broncos		Detroit Lions		Green Bay Packers
	Houston Oilers		Kansas City Chiefs		Los Angeles Rams		Miami Dolphins		Minnesota Vikings
	New England Patriots		New Orleans Saints		New York Giants		New York Jets		Oakland Raiders
	Philadelphia Eagles		Pittsburgh Steelers		San Diego Chargers		San Francisco 49ers		Seattle Seahawks
	St. Louis Cardinals		Tampa Bay Buccaneers		Washington Redskins

Epilogue
The National Football League did expand, however, Birmingham was not to be a part of it. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks both began play in 1976.

Two former World Football League cities, Charlotte and Jacksonville, made it into the NFL in 1995 when the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars began play.

Memphis briefly tasted the sweetness of the NFL, when the Houston Oilers temporarily move there in 1997 and become the Tennessee Oilers. In 1998 the franchise moved permanently to Nashville and became known as the Tennessee Titans.

Yet another former WFL city joined the NFL in 2002, when Houston received a replacement franchise for the departed Oilers. Ironically, they were named the Houston Texans, which is what the Houston team was named in the WFL.

			Teams of the                            National Football League
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Akron Indians 1926		Akron Pros 1922 to 1925		Arizona Cardinals 1994 to 2023		Atlanta Falcons 1966 to 2023		Baltimore Colts 1950; 1953 to 1983
					NEED LOGO
	Baltimore Ravens 1996 to 2023		Boston Braves 1932		Boston Bulldogs 1929		Boston Patriots 1970		Boston Redskins 1933 to 1936
	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Boston Yanks 1944 to 1948		Brooklyn Dodgers 1930 to 1943		Brooklyn Lions 1926		Brooklyn Tigers 1944 to 1945		Buffalo All-Americans 1922 to 1923
			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Buffalo Bills 1970 to 2023		Buffalo Bisons 1924 to 1929		Buffalo Rangers 1926		Canton Bulldogs 1922 to 1926		Carolina Panthers 1995 to 2023
	Chicago Bears 1922 to 2023		Chicago Cardinals 1922 to 1959		Chicago Staleys 1921		Cincinnati Bengals 1970 to 2023		Cincinnati Reds 1933 to 1934
			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	Cleveland Browns 1950 to 2023		Cleveland Bulldogs 1924 to 1925; 1927		Cleveland Indians 1923; 1931		Cleveland Rams 1937 to 1945		Columbus Panhandles 1922
	NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	Columbus Tigers 1923 to 1926		Dallas Cowboys 1960 to 2023		Dallas Texans 1952		Dayton Triangles 1922 to 1929		Denver Broncos 1970 to 2023
			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Detroit Lions 1934 to 2023		Detroit Panthers 1925 to 1926		Detroit Wolverines 1928		Duluth Eskimos 1926 to 1927		Duluth Kelleys 1923 to 1925
	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Evansville Crimson Giants 1922		Frankford Yellow Jackets 1924 to 1931		Green Bay Packers 1937 to 2023		Hammond Pros 1922 to 1926		Hartford Blues 1926
									NEED LOGO
	Houston Oilers 1970 to 1996		Houston Texans 2002 to 2023		Indianapolis Colts 1984 to 2023		Jacksonville Jaguars 1995 to 2023		Kansas City Blues 1924
			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	Kansas City Chiefs 1970 to 2023		Kansas City Cowboys 1925 to 1926		Kenosha Maroons 1924		Las Vegas Raiders 2020 to 2023		Los Angeles Buccaneers 1926
							NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Los Angeles Chargers 2017 to 2023		Los Angeles Raiders 1982 to 1994		Los Angeles Rams 1946 to 1994; 2016 to 2023		Louisville Brecks 1922 to 1923		Louisville Colonels 1926
			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Miami Dolphins 1970 to 2023		Milwaukee Badgers 1922 to 1926		Minneapolis Marines 1922 to 1924		Minneapolis Red Jackets 1929 to 1930		Minnesota Vikings 1961 to 2023
	New England Patriots 1971 to 2023		New Orleans Saints 1967 to 2023		New York Bulldogs 1949		New York Giants 1925 to 2023		New York Jets 1970 to 2023
	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	New York Yankees 1927 to 1928		New York Yanks 1950 to 1951		Newark Tornadoes 1930		Oakland Raiders 1970 to 2019		Oorang Indians 1922 to 1923
	NEED LOGO						NEED LOGO
	Orange Tornadoes 1929		Philadelphia Eagles 1933 to 2023		Phoenix Cardinals 1988 to 1993		Pittsburgh Pirates 1933 to 1939		Pittsburgh Steelers 1940 to 2023
	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Portsmouth Spartans 1930 to 1933		Pottsville Maroons 1925 to 1928		Providence Steam Roller 1925 to 1931		Racine Legion 1922 to 1924		Racine Tornadoes 1926
	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Rochester Jeffersons 1922 to 1925		Rock Island Independents 1922 to 1925		San Diego Chargers 1970 to 2016		San Francisco 49ers 1950 to 2023		Seattle Seahawks 1976 to 2023
	NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	St. Louis All-Stars 1923		St. Louis Cardinals 1960 to 1987		St. Louis Gunners 1934		St. Louis Rams 1995 to 2015		Staten Island Stapletons 1929 to 1932
							NEED LOGO
	Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1976 to 2023		Tennessee Oilers 1997 to 1998		Tennessee Titans 1999 to 2023		Toledo Maroons 1922 to 1923		Washington Commanders 2022 to 2023
	Washington Football Team 2020 to 2021		Washington Redskins 1937 to 2019

National Football League ball

01/9/1977 Minnesota Vikings vs Oakland Raiders SUPER BOWL XI

Contact Gene Crowley
Last update: January 23, 2024