Category: Alternative Football

It’s been 17,517 days since Birmingham played its first game in the World Football League.

And 17,369 days have passed since the city laid claim to its only professional football championship.

In just a few more days, the wait for another crown might finally come to an end.

Forty-eight years after the Magic City began its WFL odyssey – a season that ended with the Birmingham Americans edging the Florida Blazers, 22-21, in the World Bowl – another play-for-pay team hailing from Central Alabama will seek a championship.

The Birmingham Stallions (10-1) punched their ticket to the USFL Championship Game with a 31-17 victory over the New Orleans Breakers (6-5) tonight in a semifinal game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. They’ll tangle with the Philadelphia Stars (7-4) next Sunday at the same locale, with the inaugural United States Football League title on the line.

Philadelphia upset New Jersey, 19-14, in the other semifinal, setting the stage for the city’s first opportunity to reach a gridiron summit since 1974’s World Football League triumph.

The WFL tried to compete with the National Football League by raiding it for established stars. The USFL, on the other hand, hopes to give mostly younger players a lifeline to the NFL.

Regardless of the different eras and different levels, hoisting a trophy would be quite an achievement for Skip Holtz and his charges. Birmingham rolled to an 8-0 start, had a hiccup against the Houston Gamblers after already wrapping up the USFL South Division, and now have a two-game winning streak and are just one victory away from being alone at the top.

Aside from the 1974 Americans, no Birmingham team has ever played for a league championship until now. That squad started off 10-0 before finishing 17-5 and winning the World Bowl in front of 32,376 fans at Legion Field.

The Ams were unbeaten in games played in Birmingham, finishing 13-0 at home.

The 1975 Vulcans, competing in the rebooted WFL (the 1974 organization folded and was officially reborn as New League Inc.) finished with a league-best 9-3 record. However, the circuit closed up shop after 12 weeks.

The original Stallions (1983-85) of the big budget, big league USFL, had a 2-2 postseason record. They won in the divisional round in 1984 before losing in the conference championship game, and had a quarterfinal victory followed by a semifinal defeat in 1985.

The World League of American Football Fire (1991-92) was 0-2 in the playoffs; the CFL Barracudas (1995) were 0-1; the XFL Thunderbolts (2001) finished 2-8 and failed to make the playoffs; and the Alliance of American Football Iron (2019) was 5-3 and had secured a postseason berth before the league folded after eight weeks.

The 2022 Stallions are also the first Birmingham pro football team to win a division title since the 1991 Fire topped the WLAF North American West with a 5-5 mark.

The new version of the USFL, which held its entire regular season in a Birmingham hub, breaks a dubious streak in alternative football. Until this year, a domestic outdoor pro spring league hadn’t completed a full season since the 2001 XFL. (The Spring League, which lasted from 2017 to 2021, did not pay its players).

Birmingham hosted all of the league’s regular season games at either Protective Stadium or Legion Field, and its lone home team showed this evening it could win on a neutral field. In defeating the Breakers for the third time this season, the Stallions had a pick-six courtesy of DeMarquis Gates and a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Victor Bolden to spark the victory.

The championship game is set for 6:30 p.m. on July 3 with FOX providing TV coverage.

If you just shook me from a Rip Van Winkle slumber and told me the Alabama Airborne was the newest franchise in Major League Football, I’d assume that franchise would be placed in Birmingham.

It would be a solid guess.

When MLFB was in its infancy back in 2014, “Alabama Airborne” had been trademarked by the league and officials had already stated that the Magic City was being eyed for a team.

But since MLFB originally announced its intentions we’ve had the Alliance of American Football, XFL 2.0, a minor league version of the United States Football League and – coming soon – XFL 3.0.

And considering the USFL has a team in Birmingham and the made-for-TV league looks like it’ll return for a second season, there is no room for an MLFB club in the town that has also been home to the World Football League, original USFL, World League of American Football, Canadian Football League, original XFL and AAF.

But there is room in Mobile, Alabama, where the Airborne – playing at Ladd-Peebles Stadium – hopes to take flight in a 2022 season that is scheduled to begin on August 9.

“Today I am delighted to announce Mobile as MLFB’s fourth host city,” MLFB CEO Frank Murtha said in a news release. “Mobile joins Canton (Ohio Force), Little Rock (Arkansas Attack), and Virginia Beach (Virginia Armada) as our “Core Four.” These four unbelievably supportive markets provide not only a tremendous base for this season but also a solid foundation for spring 2023 when we begin our quest to become America’s home for professional spring football.”

“While each community is unique, Mobile, Little Rock, Canton, and Virginia Beach all had what we felt were the essential ingredients for success – a tradition of supporting football, strong demographics, and suitable facilities. With the addition of Mobile to our league lineup, we genuinely believe we have found a “core” and are positioned for growth this season and beyond.”

While Birmingham certainly leads the state in the number of alternative football leagues it has been involved with, the Port City has been part of the outdoor pro gridiron party before, too.

The Mobile Tarpons played in the North American Football League in 1965 and 1966, with the Tarpons finishing as league runners-up in 1965.

The city’s most recent “major” minor league football team was the Mobile Admirals, who claimed the one and only Regional Football League championship in 1999.

Twenty-three years later, Alabama’s fourth most populous city is back in the football business.

Jerry Glanville is the biggest name in the league and will serve as Airborne head coach, with his staff consisting of Daniel Kuhn (assistant to the head coach); Jeff Reinebold (quarterback and wide receivers); Kris Cinkovich (offensive line); Robert Lyles (defensive line and linebackers); Kim McCloud (defensive backs); and Jesse Thompson (special teams).

Glanville was the first coach announced by the league back in March.

“Every MLFB player was an outstanding college player,” Glanville said after he was hired. “Our goal is to help them grow into a professional player and improve their skills and play, increasing their opportunities to join the NFL.

“Watching them grow and improve is the joy of teaching and coaching.”

Murtha said the 80-year-old Glanville was the perfect choice to help get the league up and running.

“We needed to find a coach that has the experience not only in football, but in league development,” Murtha said. “Jerry Glanville fills that criteria perfectly. Not only does he know football and coaching as well as anyone on the planet, but he has also been involved in the early life of start-up leagues.

“Having coached at all levels of football including the NFL, Coach Glanville brings a wealth of knowledge to MLFB.”

On Friday morning, Mobile was also tapped as the host city for MLFB training camp, which begins July 18.

“MLFB’s core mission is to provide personal and professional growth opportunities for football players, coaches, trainers, and front office personnel,” MLFB senior vice president of football operations Mike McCarthy said in a statement. “Today’s announcement of Mobile as MLFB’s initial training camp shows our determination to deliver on this. With a centralized training camp, savings are realized on travel costs, camp operations, administrative overhead, and more. Another advantage is that all four head coaches can perform player evaluations simultaneously, resulting in fewer talented players slipping through the cracks.”

Two facilities will be used, with Alabama and Ohio sharing one and Arkansas and Virginia the other.

Anyone familiar with my World Football League obsession knows that in 1974 I cheered for the Birmingham Americans because they were my hometown team.

I also had a soft spot for the Southern California Sun; any club that wears magenta jerseys and orange pants is worthy of my respect and admiration.

But I also had more than a passing interest in the New York Stars, because they had a few former New York Jets on their team and the Jets were my favorite NFL franchise.

But did you know that eight years earlier a different version of the New York Stars was supposed to debut in the Continental Football League?

Not only that, they were set to play at little Downing Stadium, which was the poorly-lit, Randalls Island home of the WFL Stars.

Here’s the scoop:

The Continental Football League was formed in 1965 with visions of becoming a third major league. But its inaugural season featured the Charleston (West Virginia) Rockets, Ft. Wayne Warriors, Hartford Charter Oaks, Newark Bears, Philadelphia Bulldogs, Providence (Rhode Island) Indians, Richmond Rebels, Springfield (Massachusetts) Acorns, Toronto Rifles and Wheeling (West Virginia) Ironmen. Aside from Philadelphia and Toronto, the COFL wasn’t located in major North American media markets.

A New York franchise would be a game changer, and on February 11, 1966, the league granted one to theater and television producer Fred Finklehoffe.

“I consider pro football one of the most interesting aspects of show business,” Finklehoffe told the Associated Press. “I consider this an off-Broadway football team. I hope to make Broadway soon.”

The stadium at Randalls Island was chosen because it seated 21,000 and there were plans to add an additional 4,000 seats.

Considering his industry ties, giving the team the nickname “Stars” made perfect sense. Finklehoffe, along with writing partner Irving Brecher, had been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Meet Me in St. Louis, and he’d also penned a pair of scripts for Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis comedies.

He was a big name who owned a team representing the Big Apple, and he started making news almost immediately. In March he signed coach Perry Moss away from Charleston, reportedly inking him to a 10-year, $500,000 contract that included the role of general manager. Moss led the Rockets to 14 consecutive victories and the inaugural COFL title in 1965.

In an interview with The Gazette (Montreal) on April 2, 1966, Moss predicted the Continental Football League would soon threaten the Canadian Football League.

“Our league is not only going to become the main football attraction in Montreal and Toronto, but it won’t be long before Vancouver joins us,” Moss told the paper. “Make no mistake about it … the Continental League will become the third major professional league in America. There’s an untapped television market and we’re going to share it. A dozen or more cities, with big area populations, are potential team outlets.

“There’s no shortage of good players coming out of U.S. colleges each year. The AFL and NFL can absorb only a limited number.”

Apparently unbeknownst to Moss, however, Finklehoffe exited the stage on the day he was interviewed by The Gazette.

After purchasing the franchise for $250,000, he sold it back to the league “because of motion picture commitments.”

Still, COFL officials announced that two other groups were bidding on the team and New York was sure to have a franchise by the start of the season, even if it wasn’t called the Stars.

That team came in the form of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who made their home on Randalls Island (a 40-minute subway ride from Brooklyn). And instead of Moss – who wound up in charge of the Orlando Panthers – the Dodgers named former New York Giants/Los Angeles Rams standout Andy Robustelli head coach.

Despite hiring baseball legend Jackie Robinson as a figurehead general manager, the team never developed a significant fan base and became a “road club” late in the season, finishing 5-9.

The Dodgers moved to Akron in 1967 and were rebranded the Vulcans, and the Continental League – which folded after the 1969 season – never became a major league and never again had a team in Gotham.

Thus, football fans in the City That Never Sleeps had to wait until 1974 before being able to cheer for the New York Stars.

But you wanna hear something weird?

The last game New York’s COFL team played at Downing Stadium was September 24, 1966, in front of 4,519 fans.

The last game its WFL team played there before moving to Charlotte was on September 24, 1974 – in front of 4,220 fans. That might not be good enough to qualify for a new edition of Strange But True Football Stories, but I think it’s a pretty good way to end this column.