Category: Alternative Football

One of my biggest fanboy moments came on July 15, 1995, when I got to see the Birmingham Barracudas take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a Week Three contest at Legion Field. It was a bit surreal … not only was I watching my longtime favorite Canadian Football League team play in America – in person – they were playing a new CFL franchise located in my hometown.

Of course, Hamilton had been crossing the border to play regular season games since 1993 as part of the “CFL in America” experiment. But 37 years earlier, the Ti-Cats made American football history by playing another Canadian team on U.S. soil in a regular season matchup. That was a first for the newly minted CFL.

On September 14, 1958, Hamilton and the Ottawa Rough Riders met at Philadelphia’s Municipal Stadium in a Big Four (East Division) clash. It was the fifth game of the season for both clubs and was something of a test drive for the league in the United States. Canadian football teams had played several exhibitions in front of American audiences, but this showdown had real stakes.

Hamilton, which agreed to move the game from Ivor Wynne Stadium, was coached by former Philadelphia Eagles boss Jim Trimble and featured four former Eagles: Skippy Giancanelli, Ralph Goldston, Bob Kelley and Hubert Bobo. The hope was a bit of “home cooking” might result in a record crowd. The stadium seated 102,000, and with the start of the NFL season still two weeks away, organizer Bud Dudley expected 40,000 fans to show up for the gridiron novelty.

“We hope to draw in a crowd that will break the Canadian record of 39,000 odd,” Dudley told the Canadian Press.

He added that advance ticket sales were already in the 20,000 range and with prices set at $10, $5 and $3, 17,000 patrons were enough for the event to break even.

Proceeds from the game would benefit both the children’s hospital and rehabilitation center in Philly, and it would come on what had been declared “Canadian-American Day” by the city’s mayor, Richardson Dilworth.

Leading up to the contest a few local papers took the time to give fans a quick tutorial on the Canadian game, emphasizing the extra player per side, three downs to make a first down, and longer, wider playing field (although the configuration of Municipal Stadium meant the field could be only 100 yards long instead of the 110-yard length used in the CFL).

So, was the game a success?

From a strictly football standpoint it certainly was for the Tiger-Cats, who won, 24-18, and improved to 5-0 on the year.

But the large crowd didn’t materialize, with only 15,110 showing up and 3,000 of them coming down from Canada.

The Canadian Press asked a few American sports writers for their take on the game and the reviews they gave were hardly raving.

“If you’ll forgive me, I’d agitate for four downs on your game,” Jack Walsh of the Washington Post said.

“There is more ball control and, consequently, more sustained scoring drives in the American variety of the game,” added Philadelphia Bulletin writer John Fraser.

And Bulletin sports editor Ed Pollock opined, “As the game progresses, it becomes apparent that the Canadian attack is handicapped by limited number of downs, thus there are fewer drives of good length.”

The American fans who showed up were likely put off by the 31 punts in the contest, and if they weren’t familiar with the rules (Hamilton scored four singles) they probably spent much of the afternoon scratching their heads.

Whether that meeting was the reason or not, the CFL never attempted an all-Canadian regular season game in the United States again.

The next time the CFL did play a game in the Lower 48 that counted in the standings came on July 17, 1993, when the Sacramento Gold Miners hosted the Calgary Stampeders.

Football history is interesting, ain’t it?

Seeing a final score that reads Birmingham Stallions 33, Philadelphia Stars 30, brings a smile to my face.

I mean sure, I’m glad Birmingham won the United States Football League Championship Game; I live here and the team reps the city, so it’s a result certainly worthy of a smile. But the grin is triggered more by an old memory than an instant one.

My dad and I watched the 1974 World Bowl at my brother’s house, and after the Birmingham Americans clinched the WFL title with a 22-21 victory over the Florida Blazers, we made the short drive back home.

I spent the 10-minute trip reveling in the glory of it all – it was exciting to think a team from my hometown had just claimed a “world” championship in football – and fought off sleep when I crawled into bed so I could replay the game in my head.

Then came the next morning.

The good news of Birmingham’s victory was splashed across the newspaper, but it came with the bad news that sheriff’s deputies had seized the winners’ jerseys and equipment to help pay off $700,000 in debts.

It was a school day (the game was played on Thursday, December 5) and while Pop drank his coffee and I wolfed down toast, my joy was replaced by worry and I felt the need to share my angst.

“I’m glad the Americans are champions, but I wonder if I’ll ever get to see them play again,” I said. “It’s gonna be sad if this was it.”

(For reference purposes, the WFL limped to the finish line in an unstable inaugural 1974 season. Birmingham and Florida players hadn’t been paid in weeks; the Detroit and Jacksonville franchises folded; and the New York Stars relocated to Charlotte and the Houston Texans moved to Shreveport. The WFL was, at the time, considered one of the greatest financial disasters in sports history, so coming back for a second year appeared to be a longshot).

Pop and I talked a lot, and many of our conversations were focused on football. When it came to the pro game, he was a Green Bay Packers fan and I cheered for the New York Jets, but we bonded over the Americans. And considering how much I valued his opinion, I wanted him to weigh in on the chances of our WFL champs playing on past a cold December night.

“Well, bud,” he said, looking down at his pocket and reaching for a Lucky Strike, “nobody can predict the future.”

“I know,” I said, “But still … what do you think?”

Pop shot a quick glance in my direction.

“I think that’s not something you should worry about today,” he said. “Birmingham won a championship. If you win a championship, that’s a big deal. Just enjoy it.”

That was exactly what I needed to hear. And he was absolutely right – it was such a big deal that nearly a half century later I not only haven’t forgotten it, but still talk (and write) about it.

The Americans were the first pro team I ever saw in person, and the Stallions hold that distinction for young ‘uns who made their way to Protective Stadium or Legion Field this year.

Such occasions are ones that stick … mental souvenirs that represent a moment in time you find yourself going back to over and over throughout the years.

Perhaps a kid got a smile from J’Mar Smith or Alex McGough, a high-five from Bo Scarbrough, or simply sat in front of a TV and cheered a Victor Bolden catch or Scooby Wright pick-six.

Doesn’t matter the player, doesn’t matter the reason … if you watched the games and made these guys your hometown heroes, you made an investment.

And while an adult investment often comes from a wallet, a kids’ investment almost always comes from the heart.

Certainly, it’s a proud moment for any football fan who calls Birmingham home. There’s no age limit on supporting your town and your team.

But I’m especially happy for the young fans tonight.

Some celebrated with their mother or father or sister or brother, making it a family affair.

Others got together with friends to watch the Stallions make some fresh gridiron history.

And they might already have started dreaming about a repeat; while I never saw the Americans again (World Bowl One was World Bowl Only, and the Birmingham Americans were replaced by the Birmingham Vulcans in 1975), this version of the USFL – and Stallions – seems stable enough to make it through next year and possibly beyond.

Yet regardless of whether or not the league is built to last, it provided a lasting memory for kids who got their first taste of a homegrown title.

“Birmingham won a championship. If you win a championship, that’s a big deal. Just enjoy it.”

It’s been almost 48 years since Pop told me that.

I’m sad I can’t hear him say it anymore, but I’m happy I remember what it felt like when he did.

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.