World Football League
Encyclopedia
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football
league that played in 1974
and part of 1975
. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians
– in Honolulu, Hawaii
. The league folded midway through its second season, in 1975. A new minor football league began play as the World Football League in 2008 after acquiring the rights to its trademarks and intellectual property.
Gary L. Davidson was the driving force behind the WFL. He had helped start the successful American Basketball Association and World Hockey Association
, some of whose teams survived long enough to enter the established basketball
and hockey
leagues. His World Football League did not bring any surviving teams into the NFL
, much less survive as a whole league.
To get the league off the ground, Davidson knew he needed investors. At a press conference held in Chicago, Davidson announced his core of investors, a group of men he called the "founding fathers". These men were Robert Schmertz, who owned the WHA's New England Whalers and NBA's Boston Celtics
; a former hockey prospect named Howard Baldwin, who ran the Boston Bulls charter; Ben Hatskin, who owned the WHA's Winnipeg Jets
; and R. Steve Arnold, another WHA associate.
Perhaps one of the biggest of the "founding fathers" was a Canadian movie producer named John F. Bassett. A former tennis prodigy and owner of the WHA's Toronto Toros
, Bassett came from a wealthy Canadian family. The family owned, among other entities, two Toronto newspapers and interests in television stations. The younger Bassett himself had been mulling starting his own professional football league when he happened to meet Davidson and was given a franchise for Toronto.
Along with the original founding fathers, the rest of the owners would soon fall into place, including a man whose own dreams of playing football were ended by a heart ailment, Thomas Origer, who would run the Chicago Fire.
Several prospective owners were forced to drop out. Davidson was willing to sell his Philadelphia team to investor Harry Jay Katz. Alas, Davidson would learn that Katz didn't have the strong resources that he claimed, and was in fact the target of several lawsuits. Davidson pulled back his offer to sell the rights to Philadelphia. Additionally, rumors of another upstart league, along with the opportunity of a labor strike in the NFL, forced Davidson to advance the new league's planned debut to 1974, rather than 1975.
One team went through several identities. The team slated to play in Maryland was to be called the Washington Capitals, but the expansion NHL team had already trademarked the rights to the nickname. A contest held to name the team came up with the name Ambassadors. The team then became the Baltimore-Washington Ambassadors, and then the Baltimore name was dropped, and the team simply became known as the Washington Ambassadors.
In order to boost ticket sales, Washington owner Joe Wheeler offered former Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas
a contract as head coach and general manager of the team. Unitas declined, stating that he was already under contract to the San Diego Chargers. Spurned by Unitas, Wheeler reached out to Redskins linebacker Jack Pardee with the same offer. Pardee jumped at the chance, and quickly signed with the new league.
Wheeler in the meantime had engaged in a war for territory with Pardee's old boss, Redskins owner Edward Bennett Williams
. Wheeler wanted the Ambassadors to play at RFK Stadium, but Williams refused to allow it. Williams won the war, and the Ambassadors were on the move. Without ever stepping on the field, the team went through their third relocation, starting off as the Baltimore-Washington Ambassadors, to the Washington Ambassadors, and finally the Virginia Ambassadors.
The fledgling WFL did succeed in raising stagnant salaries in the NFL. Average salaries of NFL players were among the lowest in the four major North American sports, and the National Football League Players Association had gone on strike in July 1974 in an effort to lift many of the rules suppressing free agency and player salaries. With the uncertain labor situation, the WFL had the opportunity to provide players with a better deal than the NFL would give them, along with the promise of employment. Davidson's league garnered major publicity when the Toronto Northmen, led by John F. Bassett, signed three Miami Dolphins players, fullback Larry Csonka
, halfback Jim Kiick
, and wide receiver Paul Warfield
to what was then the richest three-player deal in sports, an astounding US$3.5 million to start in 1975. The pact was a guaranteed, personal-services contract, so the trio would be paid even if the WFL did not survive its first season.
The NFL took notice, as did their players when they were approached to jump leagues. The Oakland Raiders
lost both their quarterbacks; Ken Stabler
, who signed with the Birmingham Americans
and Daryle Lamonica
, who penned a contract to play for the Southern California Sun
starting in 1975. The Dallas Cowboys
also took roster hits when WFL teams in Hawaii and Houston signed running back Calvin Hill
and quarterback Craig Morton
respectively. The Hawaiians also signed Minnesota Vikings
Pro Bowl WR John Gilliam
and San Francisco 49ers
All-Pro TE Ted Kwalick
. However, Gilliam ended up with the Chicago Winds
and Kwalick signed with the Philadelphia Bell
prior to the 1975 season. By early June 1974, the WFL claimed they had some 60 NFL players under contract.
The top minor leagues in the United States at the time, the Atlantic Coast Football League
and Seaboard Football League
, were also tremendously affected. The ACFL had survived a suspension of operations in 1972 to return to play in 1973, only to have the WFL lure away most of the ACFL's and SFL's players with the prospect of playing in a "major" league. Both leagues were forced to fold; the ACFL and half the SFL folded immediately, with two teams joining the four remaining SFL teams to play in 1974. The SFL folded after an abbreviated 1974 season.
As was common with many upstart leagues, the WFL's intended lineup of teams changed several times before they even played a down. Most notably, Bassett's Toronto Northmen were forced to find a new home after the Canadian government threatened to ban any American football team from competing with the Canadian Football League
(this despite the fact that the Toronto Rifles of the Continental Football League
had played in Toronto just seven years prior); though the Canadian Football Act
never passed, the mere threat of it prompted Bassett to move the team to Memphis, where they became the Memphis Southmen
.
The original schedule called for a four-team playoff, with semifinal games held on Wednesday-Thursday November 20-November 21, and the World Bowl
on Friday, November 29 (the night after Thanksgiving). League officials boldly discussed plans for expansion teams in Europe and Asia.
In the first few weeks, the WFL looked to be a resounding success. Attendance outpaced the first week of the American Football League
in 1960, averaging just under 43,000 a game. The box office numbers proved to be the beginning of the WFL's undoing. In Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Sharks admitted that anywhere from 14,000 to 44,000 people had attended their first two games for free or at significantly reduced prices. The Philadelphia Bell
, whose first two home games totaled 120,000 fans, admitted that over 100,000 had been sold for almost nothing. Presumably the giveaways were intended in part to pique the public's curiosity and interest, but they ended up seriously eroding the league's credibility. Six games into the first season, WFL franchises were in serious trouble. The Detroit Wheels
were looking to move to Charlotte, North Carolina
and the Florida Blazers made overtures of bringing the first place club to Atlanta
.
Reports of financial hardship abounded. Several teams paid less than the original $120,000 franchise fee in order to meet Davidson's target of 12 teams. League officials conducted little to no due diligence
. As a result, most of the teams were badly under-capitalized (notable exceptions being Birmingham, Memphis, Philadelphia, Southern California and the Hawaiians). For instance, the Portland Storm's players were reportedly being fed by sympathetic local fans. The Charlotte Hornets had their uniforms impounded for not paying a laundry bill from the time the team was located in New York. The Birmingham Americans weren't paid for their last five games. The Florida Blazers weren't paid for the last three months of the season, and reportedly survived on McDonald's
meal vouchers. The Sharks weren't paid for what turned out to be their last six games. Ultimately, Memphis, Philadelphia and the Hawaiians were the only teams that met payroll for all of their games; those teams were thought to be the only ones capable of taking the field for the league's second season.
However, arguably the most dire situation was that of the Detroit Wheels. The team's original 33 owners appeared to pay for team expenses out of pocket as they arose, resulting in what amounted to a club football team playing at the professional level. On several occasions, the team was left without uniforms when they didn't pay the cleaning bill, forcing them to cancel practice. After several hotels and airlines went unpaid, the Wheels were unable to fly to games or get a place for the players to stay without paying in advance. They were nearly forced to forfeit one game when they didn't have medical supplies or tape. The league was forced to take over the team after complaints from the players.
Perhaps one of the most bizarre incidents for the WFL in 1974 involved former Raiders defensive end John Matuszak
, who had left the NFL's Houston Oilers to play for the WFL's Houston Texans. While Matuszak worked out on the field, attorneys for the Oilers and federal marshals arrived at the stadium. Shorty after sacking New York Stars quarterback Tom Sherman, Matuszak was lifted from the game. The team had been handed a restraining order, and Matuszak could not play another down for the Texans. Matuszak waved the document for the home crowd to see, as to indicate why he was sitting on the bench. A federal judge ruled that Matuszak could not play for the Texans, since he was still under contract to the Oilers. The judge ruled that Matuszak could play for the Texans only when his NFL contract was up, meaning that Matuszak could not play for the Texans until the 1978 season.
By September, the barely one-year old league had bottomed out when two franchises relocated. The Houston Texans, the first WFL team to relocate in mid-season, moved to Shreveport, Louisiana
as the Shreveport Steamer
. They were followed a week later by the New York Stars, who relocated to Charlotte as the Charlotte Hornets
. On top of this, the Wheels briefly moved one game to London, Ontario
(this time with nary a complaint from Canadian officials). In October, the league pulled the plug on the Wheels and the Sharks after 14 games. The folding of the Jacksonville franchise meant that the Gator Bowl
would not host World Bowl I. (Coincidentally, Jacksonville was also slated to be the host of the 1986 USFL
Championship Game, but that game was never played. It would not be until February 2005 that the city would host its first championship pro football game, Super Bowl XXXIX
.)
Davidson resigned as commissioner by the end of October 1974, and Hawaiians owner Christopher Hemmeter
was named the new commissioner a month later.
Late in the year, the league announced that it would award its Most Valuable Player a cash prize at the World Bowl. It was literally a cash prize; rather than endure the embarrassment of media sneers about whether a WFL check would clear, the league neatly stacked cash high upon a table in the middle of the field. The MVP award was a three-way split, and the players involved split the cash. The playoff format itself was also chaotic; numerous playoff formats were tossed around, including brackets ranging from three to eight teams, and one owner who even suggested that the World Bowl be canceled and the championship handed to the regular-season champion Memphis Southmen. Eventually, six teams were chosen for the tournament: all three division winners, and three wild cards. In an oddity, the 9-11 Philadelphia Bell were awarded a wild card despite finishing one game behind the 10-10 Charlotte Hornets in the Eastern Division. However, the Hornets could not afford to travel to Orlando for the first round, so the Bell went in their place.
Despite the disasters, many thought the WFL performed fairly well, though below NFL standards. Many games were tight, decided by seven points or less, and the Action Point, the one-point conversion run or pass attempt after a touchdown, was favored among WFL coaches and critics. The league championship – the World Bowl
, or "World Bowl I" – was staged in Birmingham
between the hometown Birmingham Americans and the Florida Blazers. The Action Point proved to be the decider as the Americans won the championship by a single point, 22-21. The day after the World Bowl, the champions' uniforms were confiscated by sheriff's deputies. (Sports Illustrated
referred to the game, prophetically, as "The first, and possibly only World Bowl".)
Not even the World Bowl could go off without a hitch. Both teams were owed several weeks' back pay; the Americans only agreed to play when their owner promised them championship rings if they won. Aside from the money woes the league was having, the players did not hold back in complaining about the officiating during the game. Florida Blazers running back Tommy Reamon scored what he thought was a touchdown. However, the officials on the field ruled that he fumbled the ball out of the end zone before he hit the ground, resulting in a touchback that gave the ball to Birmingham. Replays clearly showed that Reamon lost the ball after breaking the plane. While the phantom turnover did not account for any Birmingham points, it did serve to break the spirits of the Blazers. Birmingham led 15-0, with Birmingham quarterback Matthew Reed scoring an action point. Birmingham led 22-0, and thought they had the game wrapped up. However, Florida managed a small come back, trailing 22-21 as the gun went off in the fourth quarter.
As if losing a championship game in a squeaker wasn't bad enough, things got much worse. Florida head coach Jack Pardee bolted back to the NFL to take over the Chicago Bears. Many of the Birmingham players and coaches had not been paid in months. To make matters worse, only days after their championship win, the Birmingham Americans jerseys were repossessed, along with every single piece of office furniture. The Florida Blazers suffered a similar fate, with pieces of their franchise sold off at a court-ordered auction.
The financial losses were mind-blowing. The Hawaiians had lost roughly $3.2 million. The New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets had over $2 million of debt, and around $94,000 in assets. Jacksonville and Detroit had lost nearly $4 million. Detroit had well over a hundred creditors looking to recoup losses. Many NFL stars who had been attracted to the league quickly sought to get out of their contracts. Quarterback Ken Stabler (Raiders), defensive end L.C. Greenwood (Steelers), and quarterback Craig Morton (Giants) all were able to get courts to nullify their contracts with WFL teams. Former NFL veterans like George Sauer, Charley Harraway, Leroy Kelly, and Don Maynard all limped off into retirement. Home-grown talent, like quarterbacks Tony Adams and Danny White, quickly bolted for the NFL, with Adams landing with the Kansas City Chiefs and White with the Dallas Cowboys. Florida head coach Jack Pardee got star Blazers' tight end Greg Latta to jump ship with him to the NFL's Bears.
, former co-owner of the 1974 Hawaiians franchise. Hemmeter had developed a plan to restore a measure of financial sanity to the league by paying players and coaches based on a percentage of revenues. Several old teams returned under new names and new ownership. The deceased Sharks of Jacksonville
came back as the 'Express.' The Portland Storm became the Portland Thunder, the Birmingham Americans were replaced by the Vulcans
, and the Chicago Fire
became the Winds
. The World Bowl runner-up Florida Blazers folded; their franchise rights were relocated to San Antonio, Texas
, as the San Antonio Wings
. Only two teams, Memphis and Philadelphia, returned with the same ownership from the prior season. Sports Illustrated, in its postmortem, noted the drastic change between 1974 and 1975 as if the two seasons were played by totally different leagues: one (1974), a bombastic credit risk, and the other (1975), a safer but much quieter, and much less noticed, entity that failed because it was ignored.
An idea produced by the league was to have players wear different colors of pants based on their position. Offensive linemen were to wear purple pants, running backs green pants, receivers blue pants, linebackers red, and defensive backs yellow. Quarterbacks and kickers were to wear white pants. In addition to the colors, the pants were also adorned with items such as pinstripes (for the offensive linemen) or large stars (for quarterbacks) for those not watching on color television. After a test run in preseason games.
The league changed their scheduling format from 20 games without exhibitions to 18 games (played in 20 weeks due to the odd number of teams) with exhibitions. Gone were weeknight games; the new schedule had games on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. But the league still was snake-bit. Although the original plan called for a July 5 preseason opener and August 2 regular season openers, the regular season had to open a week earlier, with a single game on Saturday, July 26, due to a stadium conflict. This meant that a single regular season game was played in the midst of the last weekend of preseason play (with some preseason games being played the next night).
Several more NFL free agents including Calvin Hill
and Ted Kwalick
signed on with the struggling WFL. Memphis had secured three top-line, but fading Dolphins stars in Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield. The Southern California Sun secured the services of former AFL and NFL quarterback Daryle Lamonica. The Chicago Winds
made an offer to aging Super Bowl III
MVP
Joe Namath
, who seriously considered the offer before refusing and re-signing with the New York Jets
. The embarrassing rejection by Namath, after investing so much in the effort to sign him (the team even designed its uniform to emulate the Jets'), seriously hurt the Winds, who folded five weeks into the season. It also resulted in the loss of the WFL's national television deal (see below), rendering the league all but invisible.
Despite Hemmeter's efforts, several teams soon ran into financial difficulties, in part due to alarmingly low attendance figures. The Winds folded after five weeks, leaving the league with ten teams (which itself was a convenience, because it eliminated the mandatory bye week). On October 23, amid reports that four of its remaining ten teams were on the verge of folding, the entire league shut down and the Birmingham Vulcans
, with a league-best record of 9-3, were proclaimed league champions.
With the relative financial stability of the Birmingham and Memphis clubs, both attempted to join the NFL but were refused. In 1979, the Memphis club owners filed an anti-trust suit
against the NFL. Their case was ultimately dismissed on May 30, 1984, by which time the owners had already established the Tampa Bay Bandits
in the next professional league, the United States Football League
(which incidentally filed their own, more famous antitrust suit against the NFL in 1986). Although the NFL expanded by two teams in 1976, that expansion had been planned before the WFL's first season.
One of the issues facing the WFL going into 1975 was how to hold a draft. The owners of the WFL teams collectively agreed they did not have the money to seek out the top college prospects. Instead, the league came up with a different plan. Instead of drafting a certain player, a WFL team would draft an entire NFL or CFL team. This gave that team the rights to negotiate with players under contract for that team. For example, only the Charlotte Hornets had the right to offer contracts to players from the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Colts, and Detroit Lions, and only the Chicago Winds could offer contracts to players from the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.
"). Chicago Fire offensive lineman Steve Wright
quipped bitterly that he had been offered a million dollar contract: "A dollar a year for a million years!"
The WFL, for all its embarrassing miscues, produced a number of coaches who found success in the NFL: notably Jack Pardee
, Lindy Infante
, and Marty Schottenheimer
. Jim Fassel
, a quarterback for the Hawaiians, became a head coach in the NFL and UFL, taking the New York Giants
to Super Bowl XXXV
in 2001 and the Las Vegas Locomotives
to a win in the 2009 UFL Championship Game
. Memphis head coach John McVay
went on to become head coach of the New York Giants
, but had more success as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers
during the 1980s dynasty
years. Several players, most notably Pat Haden
, Danny White
, Alfred Jenkins
, Greg Latta
and Vince Papale
, later found success in the NFL as well.
Two WFL alumni made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
: Larry Csonka
and Paul Warfield
(although both were already established stars in the NFL before joining the WFL.)
The league's most severe impact was on the Miami Dolphins
, who had just won consecutive Super Bowl
s before the WFL's snagging of three of their star players. This changed the course of NFL history, by opening the door to dominance by two other AFC teams, the Steelers and the Raiders, during the second half of the 1970s.
While by no means the pioneer of "singular" team nicknames, which had been used by some college and professional sports teams since the 19th century, the quantity of them in a single league ("Fire", "Sun", "Bell", "Storm", "Steamer", "Thunder", "Express") was rare in professional sports at the time, and was a distinguishing mark of the league.
The WFL also had an impact on locations of other professional football teams: from the NFL, Hawaii hosted the Pro Bowl
from 1980 through 2009, Jacksonville got the Jacksonville Jaguars
in 1995, Charlotte received the Carolina Panthers
in the same year, and Houston's expansion franchise, the Texans
, revived the name of the WFL team in 2002. Though the WFL's Toronto establishment failed due to Canadian resistance, the Buffalo Bills
(with Canadian backing and special conditions) are playing occasional home games in Toronto
as of 2008. Other cities became regular stops for franchises in other leagues:
The NFL's Houston Texans
revived the name of the WFL's franchise for that city; "Texans" has also been used by an NFL Dallas team
in 1952 – the remnants of which became the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts
, by an AFL Dallas team in the early 1960s – who became the Kansas City Chiefs
, an arena football team in Dallas
in the early 1990s, and by a CFL San Antonio team for one year in the 1990s. There is also a Major League Soccer
team called the Chicago Fire
, and there are/were also NBA
teams called the Memphis Grizzlies
(2001–present) and Charlotte Hornets (1988–2002) (although the nickname "Hornets" for minor league baseball teams in Charlotte long precedes the WFL entry, and the "Grizzlies" name for the Memphis NBA team was selected when the franchise was still in Vancouver
). The Jacksonville Sharks
name was later revived for a team in the 2010 revival of the Arena Football League.
The American Football Association was conceived as a successor to the WFL, and in some newspapers was even referred to as the "New WFL." Many of the AFA teams revived, with slight alterations, the names of WFL teams that had resided in respective cities, and several of the AFA's key personnel had previously served in similar capacities with WFL teams.
The league also had some significantly negative long-term impacts for the lower levels of professional football. Its arrival resulted in the end of the ACFL and SFL, effectively killing minor-league professional football in the United States until AFA's formation in 1979.
Birmingham
Chicago
Detroit
Florida
Hawaiians
Houston
Jacksonville
Memphis
New York
Philadelphia
Portland
Southern California
Many other players jumped as well. Dallas running back Duane Thomas signed with the Hawaiians in 1975 after being released by the Washington Redskins. Longtime Cleveland Browns running back Leroy Kelly signed with Chicago. Other players joined the WFL despite being drafted by NFL squads, such as quarterback Danny White, who signed with Memphis before eventually joining the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.
, a syndicator of American sports programming. Merle Harmon
and Alex Hawkins
served as the announcers TVS' Thursday Night Game. Guest announcers were often brought into the booth including Paul Hornung
, George Plimpton
, Alex Karras
, and McLean Stevenson
.
According to TVS president Eddie Einhorn
, the games actually got decent ratings at first. However, affiliates started bailing out after the Philadelphia and Jacksonville free-ticket scandals, a trickle that became a flood after two teams moved in the middle of the season and two more folded altogether. By the time of the World Bowl, the games were struggling to achieve Nielsen ratings above 2.0, and TVS found it nearly impossible to sell advertising. Despite the losses, Einhorn was actually willing to stick it out until Hemmeter announced the Winds were going to try to sign Namath. Einhorn told Hemmeter that the league had effectively bet its whole credibility on Namath coming to Chicago. None of TVS' affiliates would commit to broadcasting the 1975 season unless Namath signed with the Winds. When he didn't, the WFL was left without a national television contract.
Local affiliates provided most of the television and radio coverage throughout the WFL existence. Notable local announcers include John Sterling
(New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets
television), Spencer Ross
(New York Stars radio), Bob Sheppard
(New York Stars PA), Mike Patrick
(Jacksonville Sharks), Larry King
(Shreveport Steamer
), Larry Matson
(Birmingham Americans
/Birmingham Vulcans
), Fred Sington
(Birmingham Americans
/Birmingham Vulcans
) and Eddie Doucette
and Vince Lloyd
(Chicago Fire
radio and TV respectively).
Had the WFL come into existence a few years later, the league might have succeeded, but the league predated the vast expansion of cable television and sports networks spearheaded by the birth of ESPN
in 1979. The money infused by a national television contract with a major network and the national interest that game telecasts would probably have generated might have made all the difference for the fledgling league.
Notes: (1) Jacksonville and Detroit folded after 14 games; each week thereafter, the teams that had games against those teams played each other. (2) Shreveport Steamer began the season as Houston Texans. (3) Charlotte Hornets began season as New York Stars; upon moving to Charlotte, played one game as Charlotte Stars, and remaining games as Hornets. (4) Chicago forfeited its 20th game to Philadelphia, 2-0.
defeated the Southern California Sun
, 32-14 (@ Anaheim, California
on Wednesday, November 20, 1974)
Florida Blazers defeated Philadelphia Bell
, 18-3 (@ Orlando, Florida
on Thursday, November 21, 1974)
defeated The Hawaiians
, 22-19 (@ Birmingham, Alabama
on Wednesday, November 27, 1974)
Florida Blazers defeated Memphis Southmen
, 18-15 (@ Memphis, Tennessee
on Friday, November 29, 1974)
22, Florida Blazers 21 (@ Birmingham, Alabama
on Thursday, December 5, 1974)
WR–Tim Delaney, Hawaiians (TSN, P&C)
WR–Alfred Jenkins
, Birmingham Americans (TSN, P&C)
TE–Ed Marshall, Memphis Southmen (TSN)
TE–Greg Latta
, Florida Blazers (P&C)
OT–Bob Wolfe, Birmingham Americans (TSN)
OT–Wally Highsmith
, Memphis Southmen (P&C)
OT–Ron Mikolajczyk
, Memphis Southmen (P&C)
OG–Rick Anthony , Florida Blazers P&C (P&C)
OG–Dave Bradley, Chicago Fire (TSN)
OG–Buddy Brown, Birmingham Americans (TSN, P&C)
C–Bob Kuziel
, New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets (TSN)
C–Ralph Hill, Memphis Southmen (P&C)
QB–Tony Adams
, Southern California Sun (TSN)
QB–Randy Johnson
, Hawaiians (P&C)
RB–Tommy Reamon
, Florida Blazers (TSN, P&C)
RB–J.J. Jennings, Memphis Southmen (TSN, P&C)
K–Grant Guthrie, Jacksonville Sharks/Birmingham Americans (TSN, P&C)
Defense
DE–Gerry Philbin
, New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets (TSN, P&C)
DE–Louis Ross, Florida Blazers (TSN)
DE–John Ricca, Florida Blazers (P&C)
DT–Mike McBath
, Florida Blazers (TSN, P&C)
DT–John Elliott
, New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets (TSN)
DT–Dave Roller
, Southern California Sun (TSN, P&C)
LB–Ross Brupbacher
, Birmingham Americans (TSN, P&C)
LB–Rudy Kuechenberg
, Chicago Fire (TSN, P&C)
LB–John Villapiano, Houston Texans/Shreveport (TSN, P&C)
CB–Miller Farr
, Florida Blazers (TSN, P&C)
CB–Ron Mabra, Philadelphia Bell (TSN, P&C)
S–Dave Thomas, Memphis Southmen (TSN, P&C)
S–Jeff Woodcock, New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets (TSN, P&C)
P–Ken Clark
, Portland Storm (TSN, P&C)
Head Coach: Jack Pardee
, Florida Blazers (TSN, P&C)
Tri-MVPs: Tony Adams, Southern California, J.J. Jennings, Memphis, and Tommy Reamon, Florida.
Key: PC = voted on by players and coaches of the WFL; TSN = selection by The Sporting News
----
----
of that era, and many were eventually adopted by the older league:
who have exited the NFL but have aspirations of returning and players like Kejuan Jones or Prentiss Elliot who are looking to get a shot to make in the NFL. At the end of the season SiteInDeX, Inc. CEO negotiated to purchase the WFL from Mr. Pierce. The World Football League has been operating as a minor league system since 2008.
This inaugural rebirth season of the WFL as a minor league system had 6 teams in Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. World Bowl II (continuing the number from the original league) was held at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, LA. The World Bowl matched the Oklahoma Thunder
against the Austin Gamebreakers. The Thunder prevailed making them the first champion of the WFL in the minor league era. The Thunder also won WFL's World Bowl III (vs. Dallas Diesel
) in 2009 and defeated the Des Moines Blaze in the World Bowl IV on July 31, 2010, in Tulsa. The Thunder won all 40 of their games in WFL history.
Before the 2011 season, most of the teams in the new WFL either folded or left for other leagues. In a key defection, three-time World Bowl winner Oklahoma Thunder left for the much larger Gridiron Developmental Football League. The new WFL merged with another league to become the Alliance Football League. The merged league began the 2011 season with just six teams: the Texas Bulldogs, Dallas-Fort Worth Heat, Dallas Diesel, Central Texas Gorillas, Houston Pride of Texas, and Oklahoma City Wolverines. World Bowl V, scheduled for Tulsa, has been moved to Shreveport, Louisiana
, and renamed the National Championship. This merger and renaming ends the minor league reboot of the WFL.
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
league that played in 1974
1974 in sports
1974 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Piero Gros, Italy** Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria-American football:...
and part of 1975
1975 in sports
1975 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Gustav Thöni, Italy** Women's overall season champion: Annemarie Pröll, Austria-American football:...
. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians
The Hawaiians
The Hawaiians were a professional American football team based out of Honolulu that played in the World Football League. They played two seasons, 1974 and 1975. Their records were 9-11 in 1974 and 4-7-1 in 1975. Their home stadium was Honolulu Stadium in 1974 and Aloha Stadium in 1975...
– in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
. The league folded midway through its second season, in 1975. A new minor football league began play as the World Football League in 2008 after acquiring the rights to its trademarks and intellectual property.
History
The idea behind the World Football League originated with Tony Rizzano and Louis Goldman, who in 1973 proposed a Universal Football League that would include teams in Toronto, Mexico City, New York City, Anaheim, Chicago, Phoenix, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Memphis, and Birmingham. All but Phoenix and Mexico City would eventually get a new NFL or WFL franchise by the end of the decade; Phoenix would have to wait for a USFL team to arrive in 1983, while Mexico City still has no professional American football team (though it has hosted several neutral-site NFL games).Gary L. Davidson was the driving force behind the WFL. He had helped start the successful American Basketball Association and World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
, some of whose teams survived long enough to enter the established basketball
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
and hockey
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
leagues. His World Football League did not bring any surviving teams into the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, much less survive as a whole league.
To get the league off the ground, Davidson knew he needed investors. At a press conference held in Chicago, Davidson announced his core of investors, a group of men he called the "founding fathers". These men were Robert Schmertz, who owned the WHA's New England Whalers and NBA's Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
; a former hockey prospect named Howard Baldwin, who ran the Boston Bulls charter; Ben Hatskin, who owned the WHA's Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They began play in the World Hockey Association in 1972, moving to the National Hockey League in 1979 following the collapse of the WHA...
; and R. Steve Arnold, another WHA associate.
Perhaps one of the biggest of the "founding fathers" was a Canadian movie producer named John F. Bassett. A former tennis prodigy and owner of the WHA's Toronto Toros
Toronto Toros
The Toronto Toros were an ice hockey team based in Toronto that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976.The franchise was awarded to Doug Michel in 1971 to play in the WHA's inaugural 1972–73 season...
, Bassett came from a wealthy Canadian family. The family owned, among other entities, two Toronto newspapers and interests in television stations. The younger Bassett himself had been mulling starting his own professional football league when he happened to meet Davidson and was given a franchise for Toronto.
Along with the original founding fathers, the rest of the owners would soon fall into place, including a man whose own dreams of playing football were ended by a heart ailment, Thomas Origer, who would run the Chicago Fire.
Several prospective owners were forced to drop out. Davidson was willing to sell his Philadelphia team to investor Harry Jay Katz. Alas, Davidson would learn that Katz didn't have the strong resources that he claimed, and was in fact the target of several lawsuits. Davidson pulled back his offer to sell the rights to Philadelphia. Additionally, rumors of another upstart league, along with the opportunity of a labor strike in the NFL, forced Davidson to advance the new league's planned debut to 1974, rather than 1975.
One team went through several identities. The team slated to play in Maryland was to be called the Washington Capitals, but the expansion NHL team had already trademarked the rights to the nickname. A contest held to name the team came up with the name Ambassadors. The team then became the Baltimore-Washington Ambassadors, and then the Baltimore name was dropped, and the team simply became known as the Washington Ambassadors.
In order to boost ticket sales, Washington owner Joe Wheeler offered former Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas
Johnny Unitas
John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...
a contract as head coach and general manager of the team. Unitas declined, stating that he was already under contract to the San Diego Chargers. Spurned by Unitas, Wheeler reached out to Redskins linebacker Jack Pardee with the same offer. Pardee jumped at the chance, and quickly signed with the new league.
Wheeler in the meantime had engaged in a war for territory with Pardee's old boss, Redskins owner Edward Bennett Williams
Edward Bennett Williams
Edward Bennett Williams was a Washington, D.C. trial attorney who founded the law firm of Williams & Connolly and owned several professional sports teams...
. Wheeler wanted the Ambassadors to play at RFK Stadium, but Williams refused to allow it. Williams won the war, and the Ambassadors were on the move. Without ever stepping on the field, the team went through their third relocation, starting off as the Baltimore-Washington Ambassadors, to the Washington Ambassadors, and finally the Virginia Ambassadors.
The fledgling WFL did succeed in raising stagnant salaries in the NFL. Average salaries of NFL players were among the lowest in the four major North American sports, and the National Football League Players Association had gone on strike in July 1974 in an effort to lift many of the rules suppressing free agency and player salaries. With the uncertain labor situation, the WFL had the opportunity to provide players with a better deal than the NFL would give them, along with the promise of employment. Davidson's league garnered major publicity when the Toronto Northmen, led by John F. Bassett, signed three Miami Dolphins players, fullback Larry Csonka
Larry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka is a former collegiate and professional American football fullback.-Childhood:One of six children, Csonka was born in Stow, Ohio where he was raised on a farm by his Hungarian family...
, halfback Jim Kiick
Jim Kiick
James Forrest Kiick is a former professional American football running back, who is best known for playing halfback for the Miami Dolphins in the American Football League from 1968 to 1969 and in the National Football League from 1970 through 1974...
, and wide receiver Paul Warfield
Paul Warfield
Paul Dryden Warfield is a former professional American football wide receiver in the 1960s and 1970s known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, jumping ability and hands.- Football career :...
to what was then the richest three-player deal in sports, an astounding US$3.5 million to start in 1975. The pact was a guaranteed, personal-services contract, so the trio would be paid even if the WFL did not survive its first season.
The NFL took notice, as did their players when they were approached to jump leagues. The Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
lost both their quarterbacks; Ken Stabler
Ken Stabler
Kenneth "Kenny" Michael Stabler , is a former American football quarterback in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders , the Houston Oilers , and the New Orleans Saints...
, who signed with the Birmingham Americans
Birmingham Americans
The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League . The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974...
and Daryle Lamonica
Daryle Lamonica
Daryle Pat Lamonica is a former American collegiate and professional football quarterback who played in the American Football League, and later in the NFL....
, who penned a contract to play for the Southern California Sun
Southern California Sun
The Southern California Sun were an American football team based out of Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium...
starting in 1975. The Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
also took roster hits when WFL teams in Hawaii and Houston signed running back Calvin Hill
Calvin Hill
Calvin G. Hill is a retired American football running back who had a 12-year NFL career from 1969 to 1981. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns...
and quarterback Craig Morton
Craig Morton
Larry Craig Morton is a former professional football player. He played quarterback in the National Football League for 18 seasons, 1965-82...
respectively. The Hawaiians also signed Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
Pro Bowl WR John Gilliam
John Gilliam
John Rally Gilliam was an American football wide receiver.Gilliam was a receiver out of South Carolina State University, and was drafted in the second round by the expansion New Orleans Saints. He played his first two seasons in New Orleans, and then had stints with the St...
and San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
All-Pro TE Ted Kwalick
Ted Kwalick
Thaddeus John Kwalick is a former American football tight end in the National Football League and World Football League. He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1969-1974 and the Oakland Raiders from 1975-1977. In 1975 he also played with the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League...
. However, Gilliam ended up with the Chicago Winds
Chicago Winds
The Chicago Winds was the World Football League's ill-fated 1975 successor to the Chicago Fire. The team was named the Winds because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and was assigned to the WFL's Western Division for 1975 .-Pursuit of Joe...
and Kwalick signed with the Philadelphia Bell
Philadelphia Bell
The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise in the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and a portion of a season in 1975. The Bell played their home games at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of the Liberty Bell....
prior to the 1975 season. By early June 1974, the WFL claimed they had some 60 NFL players under contract.
The top minor leagues in the United States at the time, the Atlantic Coast Football League
Atlantic Coast Football League
The Atlantic Coast Football League was a minor football league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with NFL and AFL teams to serve as farm clubs. The league paid a base salary of $100 per game and had 36 players on each active roster.For the...
and Seaboard Football League
Seaboard Football League
The Seaboard Football League was a minor American football league that operated from 1971 to 1974. It folded after the 1974 season as a result of the founding of the World Football League, which deprived the league of talent....
, were also tremendously affected. The ACFL had survived a suspension of operations in 1972 to return to play in 1973, only to have the WFL lure away most of the ACFL's and SFL's players with the prospect of playing in a "major" league. Both leagues were forced to fold; the ACFL and half the SFL folded immediately, with two teams joining the four remaining SFL teams to play in 1974. The SFL folded after an abbreviated 1974 season.
1974 season
Playing a 20-game regular season schedule in 1974 – six games longer than the NFL's then 14-game slate – the WFL staged no exhibition games (although their teams did participate in preseason scrimmages). The season was to begin on Wednesday, July 10 and end on Wednesday, November 13. This was a 20-game season in 19 weeks --- a schedule accomplished by having double games (primarily Monday and Friday) on Labor Day weekend. Some complained that the schedule was poorly drafted. For one thing, although most teams played on Wednesday nights with a national TV game slated for Thursday nights, the Hawaiians played their home games on Sunday afternoons. This meant that when the Hawaiians had a home game they played an opponent who flew to Honolulu after having played just four days earlier. In addition, back-to-back meetings between two teams were common.As was common with many upstart leagues, the WFL's intended lineup of teams changed several times before they even played a down. Most notably, Bassett's Toronto Northmen were forced to find a new home after the Canadian government threatened to ban any American football team from competing with the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
(this despite the fact that the Toronto Rifles of the Continental Football League
Continental Football League
The Continental Football League was a professional minor American football league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside of the...
had played in Toronto just seven years prior); though the Canadian Football Act
Canadian Football Act
The Canadian Football Act was a proposed Act by the Parliament of Canada in April 1974 designed to give a government-protected monopoly over professional gridiron football in Canada to the Canadian Football League...
never passed, the mere threat of it prompted Bassett to move the team to Memphis, where they became the Memphis Southmen
Memphis Southmen
The Memphis Southmen were a franchise in the World Football League which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.-From North to South:...
.
The original schedule called for a four-team playoff, with semifinal games held on Wednesday-Thursday November 20-November 21, and the World Bowl
World Bowl (WFL)
The World Bowl, also known as World Bowl 1, was the American football championship game of the short-lived World Football League. It was televised on TVS Television Network....
on Friday, November 29 (the night after Thanksgiving). League officials boldly discussed plans for expansion teams in Europe and Asia.
In the first few weeks, the WFL looked to be a resounding success. Attendance outpaced the first week of the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
in 1960, averaging just under 43,000 a game. The box office numbers proved to be the beginning of the WFL's undoing. In Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Sharks admitted that anywhere from 14,000 to 44,000 people had attended their first two games for free or at significantly reduced prices. The Philadelphia Bell
Philadelphia Bell
The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise in the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and a portion of a season in 1975. The Bell played their home games at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of the Liberty Bell....
, whose first two home games totaled 120,000 fans, admitted that over 100,000 had been sold for almost nothing. Presumably the giveaways were intended in part to pique the public's curiosity and interest, but they ended up seriously eroding the league's credibility. Six games into the first season, WFL franchises were in serious trouble. The Detroit Wheels
Detroit Wheels
The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the ill-fated World Football League.The Wheels were founded December 13, 1973 by ten investors, whose number eventually grew to 33, including singer Marvin Gaye, Motown Records vice-president Esther Edwards, and Little Caesars...
were looking to move to Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
and the Florida Blazers made overtures of bringing the first place club to Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
.
Reports of financial hardship abounded. Several teams paid less than the original $120,000 franchise fee in order to meet Davidson's target of 12 teams. League officials conducted little to no due diligence
Due diligence
"Due diligence" is a term used for a number of concepts involving either an investigation of a business or person prior to signing a contract, or an act with a certain standard of care. It can be a legal obligation, but the term will more commonly apply to voluntary investigations...
. As a result, most of the teams were badly under-capitalized (notable exceptions being Birmingham, Memphis, Philadelphia, Southern California and the Hawaiians). For instance, the Portland Storm's players were reportedly being fed by sympathetic local fans. The Charlotte Hornets had their uniforms impounded for not paying a laundry bill from the time the team was located in New York. The Birmingham Americans weren't paid for their last five games. The Florida Blazers weren't paid for the last three months of the season, and reportedly survived on McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
meal vouchers. The Sharks weren't paid for what turned out to be their last six games. Ultimately, Memphis, Philadelphia and the Hawaiians were the only teams that met payroll for all of their games; those teams were thought to be the only ones capable of taking the field for the league's second season.
However, arguably the most dire situation was that of the Detroit Wheels. The team's original 33 owners appeared to pay for team expenses out of pocket as they arose, resulting in what amounted to a club football team playing at the professional level. On several occasions, the team was left without uniforms when they didn't pay the cleaning bill, forcing them to cancel practice. After several hotels and airlines went unpaid, the Wheels were unable to fly to games or get a place for the players to stay without paying in advance. They were nearly forced to forfeit one game when they didn't have medical supplies or tape. The league was forced to take over the team after complaints from the players.
Perhaps one of the most bizarre incidents for the WFL in 1974 involved former Raiders defensive end John Matuszak
John Matuszak
John Daniel "Tooz" Matuszak was an American football defensive lineman in the National Football League who later became an actor. He was the first draft pick of 1973 and played most of his career with the Oakland Raiders until he retired after winning his second Super Bowl in 1981...
, who had left the NFL's Houston Oilers to play for the WFL's Houston Texans. While Matuszak worked out on the field, attorneys for the Oilers and federal marshals arrived at the stadium. Shorty after sacking New York Stars quarterback Tom Sherman, Matuszak was lifted from the game. The team had been handed a restraining order, and Matuszak could not play another down for the Texans. Matuszak waved the document for the home crowd to see, as to indicate why he was sitting on the bench. A federal judge ruled that Matuszak could not play for the Texans, since he was still under contract to the Oilers. The judge ruled that Matuszak could play for the Texans only when his NFL contract was up, meaning that Matuszak could not play for the Texans until the 1978 season.
By September, the barely one-year old league had bottomed out when two franchises relocated. The Houston Texans, the first WFL team to relocate in mid-season, moved to Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
as the Shreveport Steamer
Shreveport Steamer
The Shreveport Steamer were a professional American football team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans, who are in no way related to the current NFL team of the same name, playing their home games at the Houston Astrodome...
. They were followed a week later by the New York Stars, who relocated to Charlotte as the Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte Hornets (WFL)
The Charlotte Hornets were an American football team in the short-lived World Football League. They were relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, from New York City in the middle of the 1974 season.-History:...
. On top of this, the Wheels briefly moved one game to London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
(this time with nary a complaint from Canadian officials). In October, the league pulled the plug on the Wheels and the Sharks after 14 games. The folding of the Jacksonville franchise meant that the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl Stadium
Gator Bowl was an American football stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Originally built in 1927, it was radically reconstructed in 1994 in preparation for the Jacksonville Jaguars inaugural season and became Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, now EverBank Field. It is most notable for hosting the Gator...
would not host World Bowl I. (Coincidentally, Jacksonville was also slated to be the host of the 1986 USFL
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
Championship Game, but that game was never played. It would not be until February 2005 that the city would host its first championship pro football game, Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 2004 regular season...
.)
Davidson resigned as commissioner by the end of October 1974, and Hawaiians owner Christopher Hemmeter
Christopher Hemmeter
Christopher Hemmeter was a real estate developer who pioneered the concept of the destination resort in Hawaii and was involved in casino gaming development, primarily in New Orleans and Colorado.-Real estate development:...
was named the new commissioner a month later.
Late in the year, the league announced that it would award its Most Valuable Player a cash prize at the World Bowl. It was literally a cash prize; rather than endure the embarrassment of media sneers about whether a WFL check would clear, the league neatly stacked cash high upon a table in the middle of the field. The MVP award was a three-way split, and the players involved split the cash. The playoff format itself was also chaotic; numerous playoff formats were tossed around, including brackets ranging from three to eight teams, and one owner who even suggested that the World Bowl be canceled and the championship handed to the regular-season champion Memphis Southmen. Eventually, six teams were chosen for the tournament: all three division winners, and three wild cards. In an oddity, the 9-11 Philadelphia Bell were awarded a wild card despite finishing one game behind the 10-10 Charlotte Hornets in the Eastern Division. However, the Hornets could not afford to travel to Orlando for the first round, so the Bell went in their place.
Despite the disasters, many thought the WFL performed fairly well, though below NFL standards. Many games were tight, decided by seven points or less, and the Action Point, the one-point conversion run or pass attempt after a touchdown, was favored among WFL coaches and critics. The league championship – the World Bowl
World Bowl (WFL)
The World Bowl, also known as World Bowl 1, was the American football championship game of the short-lived World Football League. It was televised on TVS Television Network....
, or "World Bowl I" – was staged in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
between the hometown Birmingham Americans and the Florida Blazers. The Action Point proved to be the decider as the Americans won the championship by a single point, 22-21. The day after the World Bowl, the champions' uniforms were confiscated by sheriff's deputies. (Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
referred to the game, prophetically, as "The first, and possibly only World Bowl".)
Not even the World Bowl could go off without a hitch. Both teams were owed several weeks' back pay; the Americans only agreed to play when their owner promised them championship rings if they won. Aside from the money woes the league was having, the players did not hold back in complaining about the officiating during the game. Florida Blazers running back Tommy Reamon scored what he thought was a touchdown. However, the officials on the field ruled that he fumbled the ball out of the end zone before he hit the ground, resulting in a touchback that gave the ball to Birmingham. Replays clearly showed that Reamon lost the ball after breaking the plane. While the phantom turnover did not account for any Birmingham points, it did serve to break the spirits of the Blazers. Birmingham led 15-0, with Birmingham quarterback Matthew Reed scoring an action point. Birmingham led 22-0, and thought they had the game wrapped up. However, Florida managed a small come back, trailing 22-21 as the gun went off in the fourth quarter.
As if losing a championship game in a squeaker wasn't bad enough, things got much worse. Florida head coach Jack Pardee bolted back to the NFL to take over the Chicago Bears. Many of the Birmingham players and coaches had not been paid in months. To make matters worse, only days after their championship win, the Birmingham Americans jerseys were repossessed, along with every single piece of office furniture. The Florida Blazers suffered a similar fate, with pieces of their franchise sold off at a court-ordered auction.
The financial losses were mind-blowing. The Hawaiians had lost roughly $3.2 million. The New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets had over $2 million of debt, and around $94,000 in assets. Jacksonville and Detroit had lost nearly $4 million. Detroit had well over a hundred creditors looking to recoup losses. Many NFL stars who had been attracted to the league quickly sought to get out of their contracts. Quarterback Ken Stabler (Raiders), defensive end L.C. Greenwood (Steelers), and quarterback Craig Morton (Giants) all were able to get courts to nullify their contracts with WFL teams. Former NFL veterans like George Sauer, Charley Harraway, Leroy Kelly, and Don Maynard all limped off into retirement. Home-grown talent, like quarterbacks Tony Adams and Danny White, quickly bolted for the NFL, with Adams landing with the Kansas City Chiefs and White with the Dallas Cowboys. Florida head coach Jack Pardee got star Blazers' tight end Greg Latta to jump ship with him to the NFL's Bears.
1975 season
Though many predicted the WFL was dead, the league returned for the 1975 season with a new leader, commissioner Chris HemmeterChristopher Hemmeter
Christopher Hemmeter was a real estate developer who pioneered the concept of the destination resort in Hawaii and was involved in casino gaming development, primarily in New Orleans and Colorado.-Real estate development:...
, former co-owner of the 1974 Hawaiians franchise. Hemmeter had developed a plan to restore a measure of financial sanity to the league by paying players and coaches based on a percentage of revenues. Several old teams returned under new names and new ownership. The deceased Sharks of Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
came back as the 'Express.' The Portland Storm became the Portland Thunder, the Birmingham Americans were replaced by the Vulcans
Birmingham Vulcans
The Birmingham Vulcans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the five-team Eastern Division of the World Football League . The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart league's second and final season in 1975...
, and the Chicago Fire
Chicago Fire (football)
The Chicago Fire was an American football team in the short-lived World Football League for one season, 1974. Founded in late October 1973 by building magnate Thomas Origer, he was the first owner to purchase a franchise, for around $400,000...
became the Winds
Chicago Winds
The Chicago Winds was the World Football League's ill-fated 1975 successor to the Chicago Fire. The team was named the Winds because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and was assigned to the WFL's Western Division for 1975 .-Pursuit of Joe...
. The World Bowl runner-up Florida Blazers folded; their franchise rights were relocated to San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, as the San Antonio Wings
San Antonio Wings
The San Antonio Wings was an American Football team that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. The team started as the Florida Blazers in 1974, then moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings.-Florida Blazers :...
. Only two teams, Memphis and Philadelphia, returned with the same ownership from the prior season. Sports Illustrated, in its postmortem, noted the drastic change between 1974 and 1975 as if the two seasons were played by totally different leagues: one (1974), a bombastic credit risk, and the other (1975), a safer but much quieter, and much less noticed, entity that failed because it was ignored.
An idea produced by the league was to have players wear different colors of pants based on their position. Offensive linemen were to wear purple pants, running backs green pants, receivers blue pants, linebackers red, and defensive backs yellow. Quarterbacks and kickers were to wear white pants. In addition to the colors, the pants were also adorned with items such as pinstripes (for the offensive linemen) or large stars (for quarterbacks) for those not watching on color television. After a test run in preseason games.
The league changed their scheduling format from 20 games without exhibitions to 18 games (played in 20 weeks due to the odd number of teams) with exhibitions. Gone were weeknight games; the new schedule had games on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. But the league still was snake-bit. Although the original plan called for a July 5 preseason opener and August 2 regular season openers, the regular season had to open a week earlier, with a single game on Saturday, July 26, due to a stadium conflict. This meant that a single regular season game was played in the midst of the last weekend of preseason play (with some preseason games being played the next night).
Several more NFL free agents including Calvin Hill
Calvin Hill
Calvin G. Hill is a retired American football running back who had a 12-year NFL career from 1969 to 1981. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns...
and Ted Kwalick
Ted Kwalick
Thaddeus John Kwalick is a former American football tight end in the National Football League and World Football League. He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1969-1974 and the Oakland Raiders from 1975-1977. In 1975 he also played with the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League...
signed on with the struggling WFL. Memphis had secured three top-line, but fading Dolphins stars in Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield. The Southern California Sun secured the services of former AFL and NFL quarterback Daryle Lamonica. The Chicago Winds
Chicago Winds
The Chicago Winds was the World Football League's ill-fated 1975 successor to the Chicago Fire. The team was named the Winds because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and was assigned to the WFL's Western Division for 1975 .-Pursuit of Joe...
made an offer to aging Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
MVP
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
Joe Namath
Joe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
, who seriously considered the offer before refusing and re-signing with the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The embarrassing rejection by Namath, after investing so much in the effort to sign him (the team even designed its uniform to emulate the Jets'), seriously hurt the Winds, who folded five weeks into the season. It also resulted in the loss of the WFL's national television deal (see below), rendering the league all but invisible.
Despite Hemmeter's efforts, several teams soon ran into financial difficulties, in part due to alarmingly low attendance figures. The Winds folded after five weeks, leaving the league with ten teams (which itself was a convenience, because it eliminated the mandatory bye week). On October 23, amid reports that four of its remaining ten teams were on the verge of folding, the entire league shut down and the Birmingham Vulcans
Birmingham Vulcans
The Birmingham Vulcans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the five-team Eastern Division of the World Football League . The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart league's second and final season in 1975...
, with a league-best record of 9-3, were proclaimed league champions.
With the relative financial stability of the Birmingham and Memphis clubs, both attempted to join the NFL but were refused. In 1979, the Memphis club owners filed an anti-trust suit
Mid-South Grizzlies v. NFL
Mid-South Grizzlies v. NFL 550 F.Supp. 558 , 720 F. 2d 772 , was a lawsuit filed by John F. Bassett, the owner of the World Football League's Memphis Grizzlies against the National Football League claiming that the NFL violated the antitrust laws by refusing to admit his club to their league.The...
against the NFL. Their case was ultimately dismissed on May 30, 1984, by which time the owners had already established the Tampa Bay Bandits
Tampa Bay Bandits
The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. They were members of the United States Football League . They were a charter member of the USFL and folded along with the league after the 1985 season....
in the next professional league, the United States Football League
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
(which incidentally filed their own, more famous antitrust suit against the NFL in 1986). Although the NFL expanded by two teams in 1976, that expansion had been planned before the WFL's first season.
One of the issues facing the WFL going into 1975 was how to hold a draft. The owners of the WFL teams collectively agreed they did not have the money to seek out the top college prospects. Instead, the league came up with a different plan. Instead of drafting a certain player, a WFL team would draft an entire NFL or CFL team. This gave that team the rights to negotiate with players under contract for that team. For example, only the Charlotte Hornets had the right to offer contracts to players from the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Colts, and Detroit Lions, and only the Chicago Winds could offer contracts to players from the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.
Legacy
The league's struggles led to endless sarcastic comments (starting with the league's own abbreviation, which was often pronounced "WiffleWiffleball
Wiffle ball or wiffleball is a variation of the sport of baseball designed for indoor or outdoor play in confined areas. The game is played using a perforated, light-weight, rubbery plastic ball and a long, plastic bat.- History :...
"). Chicago Fire offensive lineman Steve Wright
Steve Wright (American football)
Stephen Thomas Wright is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for five different teams. He also played for the Chicago Fire of the World Football League in 1974. He played college football at the University of Alabama....
quipped bitterly that he had been offered a million dollar contract: "A dollar a year for a million years!"
The WFL, for all its embarrassing miscues, produced a number of coaches who found success in the NFL: notably Jack Pardee
Jack Pardee
-NFL:-External links:...
, Lindy Infante
Lindy Infante
Gelindo "Lindy" Infante is a former American college football player and assistant coach, who became an offensive coordinator and head coach in both the National Football League and the United States Football League...
, and Marty Schottenheimer
Marty Schottenheimer
Martin Edward "Marty" Schottenheimer is the current head coach of the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. Over his career, he has served as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. He has the most wins of any NFL coach...
. Jim Fassel
Jim Fassel
-Professional:-Personal life:Before the 2003 NFL season, Fassel was reunited with a son, John Mathieson, whom he and his wife Kitty gave up for adoption in 1969. The couple was unmarried when he was born....
, a quarterback for the Hawaiians, became a head coach in the NFL and UFL, taking the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
to Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 2000 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens defeated the National Football Conference champion New York...
in 2001 and the Las Vegas Locomotives
Las Vegas Locomotives
The Las Vegas Locomotives are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada who play in the United Football League. The team plays its home games in Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jim Fassel is the franchise's head coach, president, and...
to a win in the 2009 UFL Championship Game
2009 UFL Championship Game
The 2009 UFL Championship Game was the concluding game of the United Football League's Premiere Season. The game was staged at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas on Friday, November 27, 2009 , and was won by the Las Vegas Locomotives, who defeated the previously unbeaten Florida Tuskers 20–17 on a...
. Memphis head coach John McVay
John McVay
John McVay is a former American football coach who rose through the coaching ranks from high school, through the college level, and to the NFL...
went on to become head coach of the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, but had more success as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
during the 1980s dynasty
Dynasty (sports)
A sports dynasty is a team that dominates their sport or league for multiple seasons or years. Such dominance is often only realized in retrospect...
years. Several players, most notably Pat Haden
Pat Haden
Patrick Capper "Pat" Haden is the athletic director at the University of Southern California. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981...
, Danny White
Danny White
Wilford Daniel "Danny" White is a former quarterback and punter for the Dallas Cowboys, an American football coach in the Arena Football League and also occasionally appears as an analyst on broadcasts of college football games. He was named the head coach of the Arena Football League expansion...
, Alfred Jenkins
Alfred Jenkins
Alfred Donnell Jenkins , is a former professional American football wide receiver who played for the Birmingham Americans in 1974 and nine seasons for the Atlanta Falcons from 1975 through 1983...
, Greg Latta
Greg Latta
Greg Latta was an American football player. As tight end, he was drafted by the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League, but played instead for the Florida Blazers of the World Football League in 1974. He left for the Chicago Bears in 1975 along with the head coach of the Blazers, Jack...
and Vince Papale
Vince Papale
Vincent Francis Papale is a former professional American football player. He played three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League following two seasons with the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League...
, later found success in the NFL as well.
Two WFL alumni made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
: Larry Csonka
Larry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka is a former collegiate and professional American football fullback.-Childhood:One of six children, Csonka was born in Stow, Ohio where he was raised on a farm by his Hungarian family...
and Paul Warfield
Paul Warfield
Paul Dryden Warfield is a former professional American football wide receiver in the 1960s and 1970s known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, jumping ability and hands.- Football career :...
(although both were already established stars in the NFL before joining the WFL.)
The league's most severe impact was on the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, who had just won consecutive Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s before the WFL's snagging of three of their star players. This changed the course of NFL history, by opening the door to dominance by two other AFC teams, the Steelers and the Raiders, during the second half of the 1970s.
While by no means the pioneer of "singular" team nicknames, which had been used by some college and professional sports teams since the 19th century, the quantity of them in a single league ("Fire", "Sun", "Bell", "Storm", "Steamer", "Thunder", "Express") was rare in professional sports at the time, and was a distinguishing mark of the league.
The WFL also had an impact on locations of other professional football teams: from the NFL, Hawaii hosted the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
from 1980 through 2009, Jacksonville got the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1995, Charlotte received the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
in the same year, and Houston's expansion franchise, the Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, revived the name of the WFL team in 2002. Though the WFL's Toronto establishment failed due to Canadian resistance, the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(with Canadian backing and special conditions) are playing occasional home games in Toronto
Bills Toronto Series
The Bills Toronto Series is a five-year deal consisting of a series of National Football League games featuring the Buffalo Bills played at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The series began in the 2008 NFL season and will end during the 2012 NFL season...
as of 2008. Other cities became regular stops for franchises in other leagues:
- Memphis hosted the ShowboatsMemphis ShowboatsThe Memphis Showboats were a franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders...
of the USFL from 1983 to 1985, the Mad DogsMemphis Mad DogsThe Memphis Mad Dogs were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Mad Dogs were part of a failed attempt to expand the CFL into the United States....
of the CFL in 1995, and the XFL's ManiaxMemphis ManiaxThe Memphis Maniax was an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The team was part of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States...
in 2001. The NFL also used Memphis as a temporary home for the Tennessee OilersTennessee TitansThe Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
in 1997 before their stadium in Nashville was completed. - Birmingham hosted the Vulcans and MagicAlabama VulcansThe Alabama Vulcans were a professional football team which were a part of the American Football Association in 1979. Though the Vulcans used a different color scheme than its predecessors in the World Football League, the team's name was borrowed from the WFL's Birmingham Vulcans and the logo was...
of the AFA, StallionsBirmingham StallionsThe Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their home games at Birmingham, Alabama's Legion Field...
of the USFL, the FireBirmingham FireThe Birmingham Fire was a professional American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama that played in the World League of American Football in 1991 and 1992. The team played at Legion Field, and it made the playoffs in both seasons....
of the WLAF from 1991 to 1992, BarracudasBirmingham BarracudasThe Birmingham Barracudas were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Barracudas were part of a failed attempt to expand the CFL into the United States.-In the beginning:...
of the CFL in 1995, and the ThunderboltsBirmingham ThunderboltsThe Birmingham Thunderbolts were a short-lived springtime American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States.-The only season:The Thunderbolts...
of the XFL in 2001. - Orlando hosted the Americans of the AFA, RenegadesOrlando RenegadesThe Orlando Renegades were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s.-In Washington:-1983 season:...
of the USFL, ThunderOrlando ThunderThe Orlando Thunder was a member of the World League of American Football from 1991 to 1992 . The team played their games in the 70,000 seat Citrus Bowl, and was coached by Don Matthews in 1991 and Galen Hall in 1992...
of the WLAF, RageOrlando Rage-Statistical leaders:* Rushing yards: 387, Derrick Clark* Receiving yards: 659, Dialleo Burks* Passing yards: 998, Brian Kuklick-Awards:-Honors:...
of the XFL and the Tuskers of the UFL. - Shreveport later hosted the Steamers of the AFA and the PiratesShreveport PiratesThe Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA, in 1994 and 1995....
of the CFL. - Jacksonville hosted the Firebirds of the AFA and the BullsJacksonville BullsThe Jacksonville Bulls were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were members of the United States Football League during its final two seasons, 1984 and 1985...
of the USFL before the Jaguars franchise was awarded. In 2010, Jacksonville received an Arena Football LeagueArena Football LeagueThe Arena Football League is the highest level of professional indoor American football in the United States. It is currently the second longest running professional football league in the United States, after the National Football League. It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster...
expansion franchise, which revived the Sharks name. - Charlotte later hosted the Chargers of the AFA before the Panthers' NFL franchise was awarded.
- Baltimore had an NFL team (the Colts) at the time of the WFL, but after their departure the Stars of the USFL and the StallionsBaltimore StallionsThe Baltimore Stallions were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, which played the 1994 and 1995 seasons. They were the most successful American team in the Canadian Football League, having two winning seasons and a division title. In 1995 they became the only American team...
of the CFL played in the city. - San Antonio later hosted the Charros of the AFA, GunslingersSan Antonio GunslingersThe San Antonio Gunslingers were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas that played in the USFL in 1984 and 1985. Rick Neuheisel was the team's quarterback and only recognizable name. The team played in Alamo Stadium...
of the USFL, the RidersSan Antonio RidersThe San Antonio Riders were a professional American football team that played in the WLAF in 1991 and 1992. The team played in the Alamo Stadium in 1991 and then were forced to move to Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, 45 miles northeast of San...
of the WLAF, the TexansSan Antonio TexansThe San Antonio Texans were a Canadian Football League team that played in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1995 CFL season. They had relocated from Sacramento, California, where the team had been called the Sacramento Gold Miners...
of the CFL, the MatadorsSan Antonio MatadorsThe San Antonio Matadors were a professional football team that played in the Spring Football League in 2000. The Matadors were undefeated before the league decided to cease operations. The Matadors were named co-SFL Champions along with the Houston Marshals. The Head Coach for the Matadors was...
of the SFL, and four home games for the New Orleans SaintsNew Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
during their 2005 "road season"2005 New Orleans Saints seasonThe 2005 New Orleans Saints season began with the team trying to improve from their 8–8 record from 2004. The Saints played two preseason games in the Louisiana Superdome before being forced to evacuate New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina...
, in which the Saints had to abandon their usual stadium, the Louisiana SuperdomeLouisiana SuperdomeThe Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
, due to damage from Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. (San Antonio has also hosted NFL exhibition games.) - Southern California hosted the Express of the USFL, the XtremeLos Angeles XtremeThe Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. The team played its home games in the Los Angeles...
of the XFL, the DragonsLos Angeles DragonsThe Los Angeles Dragons were a professional football team based in Los Angeles, California that played in the Spring Football League in 2000. They would be coached by former Dallas Cowboys Doug Cosbie. The Dragons would play their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum....
of the SFL and was expected to host an as-yet-unnamed franchise in the UFL, a promise that has yet to be fulfilled in the league's third season. - New York–New Jersey hosted the GeneralsNew Jersey GeneralsThe New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983-85, winning 31 regular-season games and losing 25 while going 0-2 in postseason competition...
of the USFL, the KnightsNew York/New Jersey KnightsNew York/New Jersey Knights was a franchise in the World League of American Football for the 1991 and 1992 seasons. They played in the North American East division, which they won in the 1991 season. They were coached by Mouse Davis, an architect of the Run & Shoot offense.After 1992 the NFL ...
of the WLAF, the HitmenNew York/New Jersey HitmenThe New York/New Jersey Hitmen were a short-lived American football team based in Giants Stadium of the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey....
of the XFL, and the SentinelsNew York SentinelsThe New York Sentinels and Hartford Colonials are a currently inactive professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons...
in the UFL. - Chicago hosted the Fire of the AFA, BlitzChicago BlitzThe Chicago Blitz were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.- Team history :...
of the USFL and the EnforcersChicago EnforcersThe Chicago Enforcers were a short-lived American football team based in Chicago, Illinois at Soldier Field. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States...
of the XFL. - Detroit later hosted the Michigan PanthersMichigan PanthersThe Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s.-Team history:The Michigan Panthers were named as a charter member of the United States Football League on May 11, 1982....
of the USFL, and was targeted as a possibility for XFL expansion before the XFL folded. - Portland later hosted the BreakersPortland BreakersThe Portland Breakers were a professional American Football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. Before moving to Portland, Oregon, the franchise was previously in Boston, Massachusetts as the Boston Breakers and New Orleans, Louisiana as the New Orleans...
of the USFL and served as the launching point for the CFL USACFL USAThe term CFL USA refers to the abortive expansion of the Canadian Football League into the United States in the early-to-mid 1990s. The 1993 CFL season saw the addition of the first American team to the league, the Sacramento Gold Miners...
initiative with an exhibition game in June 1992, though it never received a CFL team.
The NFL's Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
revived the name of the WFL's franchise for that city; "Texans" has also been used by an NFL Dallas team
Dallas Texans (NFL)
The Dallas Texans played in the National Football League for one season, 1952, with a record of 1–11.-History:After the 1951 NFL season, the financially troubled New York Yanks franchise were put on the market. Ted Collins had founded that franchise in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, moved it to New...
in 1952 – the remnants of which became the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, by an AFL Dallas team in the early 1960s – who became the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
, an arena football team in Dallas
Dallas Texans (Arena)
The Dallas Texans was an Arena Football League team that played from 1990 to 1993.-History:The team was based in Dallas, Texas. They played their home games in the Reunion Arena, which they shared with the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. The team made the ArenaBowl their...
in the early 1990s, and by a CFL San Antonio team for one year in the 1990s. There is also a Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
team called the Chicago Fire
Chicago Fire (soccer)
Chicago Fire Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois. The team competes in Major League Soccer , the top soccer league in the United States and Canada...
, and there are/were also NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
teams called the Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
(2001–present) and Charlotte Hornets (1988–2002) (although the nickname "Hornets" for minor league baseball teams in Charlotte long precedes the WFL entry, and the "Grizzlies" name for the Memphis NBA team was selected when the franchise was still in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
). The Jacksonville Sharks
Jacksonville Sharks
The Jacksonville Sharks were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They competed for part of the 1974 season in the World Football League, a failed attempt to launch a major professional football league in the United States in competition with the National Football...
name was later revived for a team in the 2010 revival of the Arena Football League.
The American Football Association was conceived as a successor to the WFL, and in some newspapers was even referred to as the "New WFL." Many of the AFA teams revived, with slight alterations, the names of WFL teams that had resided in respective cities, and several of the AFA's key personnel had previously served in similar capacities with WFL teams.
The league also had some significantly negative long-term impacts for the lower levels of professional football. Its arrival resulted in the end of the ACFL and SFL, effectively killing minor-league professional football in the United States until AFA's formation in 1979.
NFL Jumpers
Several NFL players signed contracts, or in some cases, future contracts with teams in the World Football League. In the case of a future contract, this was when a player entering the final years of a contract with an NFL team would sign a contract with a WFL team that goes into effect the moment the player's obligation with his NFL club is finished. Each signing is broken down by team, said players previous NFL club, and year player signed a contract. Just because a player signed doesn't mean he ever played for that team. L.C. Greenwood, for instance, never played a down of football for Birmingham. Note that the two Mike Taylors listed below are different players.Birmingham
- Ross BrupbacherRoss BrupbacherRoss Alan Brupbacher is a former professional American football linebacker who played in the National Football League.-Career:...
, LB (Chicago Bears) 1974 - L. C. GreenwoodL. C. GreenwoodL.C. Henderson Greenwood is a former American football defensive end for the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers.-College career:...
, DE (Pittsburgh Steelers) 1975 - Charley Harraway, RB (Washington Redskins) 1974
- Ron JessieRon JessieRon Ray Jessie was a professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League from 1971 through 1981. His best season came in 1976 with the Los Angeles Rams, when he was named to the Pro Bowl. Jessie died after suffering a heart attack in his Huntington Beach home.-External...
, WR (Detroit Lions) 1975 - George MiraGeorge MiraGeorge Ignacio Mira is a former professional American football player. A quarterback drafted in the second round of the 1964 NFL Draft from the University of Miami, Mira played in eight NFL seasons from 1964-1971 for three different teams...
, QB (Montreal CFL) 1974 - Jim Mitchell, TE (Atlanta Falcons) 1975
- Mike MontgomeryMike Montgomery (American football)James Michael Montgomery is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League. He was a 3rd round selection out of Kansas State by the San Diego Chargers in the 1971 NFL Draft...
, RB (Dallas Cowboys) 1975 - Jethro PughJethro PughJethro Pugh, Jr. is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys.-College career:...
, DT (Dallas Cowboys) 1976 - Paul RobinsonPaul Robinson (American football)Paul Harvey Robinson is a former professional American football running back for two seasons in the American Football League and five seasons in the National Football League. Paul Robinson played only one year at the University of Arizona, but in his first year as a professional, he gained 1,023...
, RB (Houston Oilers) 1975 - Ken StablerKen StablerKenneth "Kenny" Michael Stabler , is a former American football quarterback in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders , the Houston Oilers , and the New Orleans Saints...
, QB (Oakland Raiders) 1976 - Larry WillinghamLarry WillinghamLarry Levi Willingham is a retired professional American football player. He played in the National Football League for the St. Louis Cardinals and in the World Football League for both the Birmingham Americans and Birmingham Vulcans...
, DB (St. Louis Cardinals) 1974 - Rayfield WrightRayfield WrightLarry Rayfield Wright is a former American football offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-High school and college years:...
, T (Dallas Cowboys) 1977
Chicago
- Virgil CarterVirgil CarterVirgil R. Carter is a former professional American football quarterback who played in the National Football League and the World Football League from 1967 through 1976. He was the first great quarterback from Brigham Young University.While at BYU Carter set six national, 19 conference, and 24...
, QB (San Diego Chargers) 1974 - Bob McKayBob McKayRobert Charles McKay was a National Football League offensive lineman from 1970 through 1978, playing with the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots....
, T (Cleveland Browns) 1975
Detroit
- Warren McVeaWarren McVeaWarren McVea was a football player who made civil rights history by becoming the first African-American to play the sport for the University of Houston....
, RB (Kansas City Chiefs) 1974 - Mike TaylorMike Taylor (linebacker)Michael Taylor is a former All-American linebacker who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1969–1971 and for the New York Jets from 1972-1973.-College career:...
, LB (New York Jets) 1974
Florida
- Bill BergeyBill BergeyWilliam Earl Bergey is a former American collegiate and Professional Football player. He played collegiately for Arkansas State University and for the American Football League's Cincinnati Bengals and the NFL Philadelphia Eagles....
, LB (Cincinnati Bengals) 1976 - Bob DavisBob Davis (quarterback)Robert Ellersie Davis, Jr. is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback. He played at the University of Virginia...
, QB (New Orleans Saints) 1974 - Fred HoaglinFred HoaglinFred Hoaglin, was a center in the NFL from 1966 to 1976. He was a member of the first Seattle Seahawks team after being acquired from Houston in the expansion draft....
, C (Baltimore Colts) 1975 - Cecil TurnerCecil TurnerCecil Turner, born April 2, 1944 in Washington, D.C., is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for six seasons for the Chicago Bears. He went to the Pro Bowl after the 1970 season, when he tied a record by returning four kickoffs for touchdowns, a record that still...
, WR (Chicago Bears) 1975 - Perry WilliamsPerry Williams (running back)Perry Andrew Williams is a former American football running back in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 1974 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue.Williams also played for the Chicago Bears.-External links:*...
, RB (Green Bay Packers) 1975
Hawaiians
- Vince Clements, RB (New York Giants) 1975
- John DouglasJohn DouglasJohn Douglas may refer to:Politics and war:*John Douglas , Governor of Ceylon*John Douglas , senator 1954–7*John Douglas , Premier of Queensland...
, LB (New York Giants) 1975 - Ron EastRon EastRonald Allan East is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League from 1967 to 1977. He played for Oregon State University and Montana State University in college following his completion of service to the United States Marine Corps.Ron East was the fifth defensive...
, DT (San Diego Chargers) 1974 - Ed Flanagan, C (Detroit Lions) 1975
- John GilliamJohn GilliamJohn Rally Gilliam was an American football wide receiver.Gilliam was a receiver out of South Carolina State University, and was drafted in the second round by the expansion New Orleans Saints. He played his first two seasons in New Orleans, and then had stints with the St...
, WR (Minnesota Vikings) 1975 - Edd HargettEdd HargettEdward Eugene Hargett is a former American football quarterback for Texas A&M University who went on to play professionally for the NFL's New Orleans Saints and Houston Oilers. He later played for the Shreveport Steamer of the World Football League.Edd passed for 5379 yards in his 3 year career ...
, QB (Houston Oilers) 1975 - Calvin HillCalvin HillCalvin G. Hill is a retired American football running back who had a 12-year NFL career from 1969 to 1981. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns...
, RB (Dallas Cowboys) - John IsenbargerJohn IsenbargerJohn Phillips Isenbarger is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League. He played four seasons for the San Francisco 49ers....
, WR (San Francisco 49ers) 1975 - Randy JohnsonRandy Johnson (American football)Randolph Klaus "Randy" Johnson was an American football player. He was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in their inaugural season of 1966. In 1974 he played with The Hawaiians of the World Football League.Johnson graduated from Sam Houston High School in San Antonio, Texas in 1962...
, QB (New York Giants) 1975 - Ted KwalickTed KwalickThaddeus John Kwalick is a former American football tight end in the National Football League and World Football League. He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1969-1974 and the Oakland Raiders from 1975-1977. In 1975 he also played with the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League...
, TE (San Francisco 49ers) 1975 - Jim SniadeckiJim SniadeckiJames Bert "Jim" Sniadecki is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played five seasons for the San Francisco 49ers....
, LB (San Francisco 49ers) 1975 - John Wilbur, G (Washington Redskins) 1975
- Greg Wojcik:, DT (San Diego Chargers) 1974
Houston
- Bob Creech, LB (Philadelphia Eagles) 1974
- Richmond Flowers, DB (New York Giants) 1975
- Craig MortonCraig MortonLarry Craig Morton is a former professional football player. He played quarterback in the National Football League for 18 seasons, 1965-82...
, QB (Dallas Cowboys) 1975
Jacksonville
- Guy DennisGuy DennisGuy Durell Dennis, Jr. is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League for seven seasons in the 1960s and 1970s...
, OG (Detroit Lions) 1975 - Chip GlassChip Glass (American football)Charles Ferdinand "Chip" Glass is a former professional American football player who played tight end for six seasons for the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants.-References:...
, TE (Cleveland Browns) 1975 - Fair HookerFair HookerFair Hooker is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 1969 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona State....
, WR (Cleveland Browns) 1975 - Ray NettlesRay NettlesRay Nettles was a football linebacker at the University of Tennessee who played professional Canadian football from 1972-1980. He was a five-time Canadian Football League All-Star and Hall of Famer.-Early years:...
, LB (British Columbia Lions CFL) 1975 - Bob Parrish, DE (New York Jets) 1975
- Larry SmithLarry Smith (running back)William Lawrence "Larry" Smith is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for six seasons during the 1960s and 1970s...
, RB (Los Angeles Rams) 1975 - Harmon WagesHarmon WagesHarmon Leon Wages is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for five seasons during the 1960s and 1970s...
, RB (Atlanta Falcons) 1975
Memphis
- Larry CsonkaLarry CsonkaLarry Richard Csonka is a former collegiate and professional American football fullback.-Childhood:One of six children, Csonka was born in Stow, Ohio where he was raised on a farm by his Hungarian family...
, RB (Miami Dolphins) 1975 - John HarveyJohn Harvey (Canadian football)John Harvey is a former award winning Canadian Football League running back.In 1970, he was a junior college 1st team All-American at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. He burst into the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes in 1973...
, RB (Montreal CFL) 1975 - Jim KiickJim KiickJames Forrest Kiick is a former professional American football running back, who is best known for playing halfback for the Miami Dolphins in the American Football League from 1968 to 1969 and in the National Football League from 1970 through 1974...
, RB (Miami Dolphins) 1975 - D. D. Lewis, LB (Dallas Cowboys) 1975
- Paul WarfieldPaul WarfieldPaul Dryden Warfield is a former professional American football wide receiver in the 1960s and 1970s known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, jumping ability and hands.- Football career :...
, WR (Miami Dolphins) 1975
New York
- Al Barnes, WR (Detroit Lions) 1975
- Carter Campbell, DE (New York Giants) 1975
- Brian Dowling, QB (New England Patriots) 1976
- John ElliottJohn Elliott (defensive lineman)John Elliott was an American college and Professional Football defensive tackle. He played collegiately for the University of Texas, and in 1967 was drafted by the American Football League's New York Jets...
, DT (New York Jets) 1974 - John Fuqua, RB (Pittsbugh Steelers) 1976
- Gerry PhilbinGerry PhilbinGerald John Philbin is a former American collegiate football defensive tackle and four year starter from the University at Buffalo where he earned several honors including Second- team All-American, Little All-America, and All-American Academic team...
, DT (New York Jets) 1974
Philadelphia
- Steve ChomyszakSteve ChomyszakStephen John Chomyszak was an American football defensive lineman in the American Football League and the National Football League...
, DT (Cincinnati Bengals) 1975 - Ron Holliday, WR (San Diego Chargers) 1975
Portland
- Hise AustinHise AustinHise Austin is a former defensive back and wide receiver in the National Football League.-Career:Austin was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the eighth round of the 1973 NFL Draft and played that season with the team...
, DB (Green Bay Packers) 1975 - Ron BillingsleyRon BillingsleyRon Billingsley is a retired American football player. He attended high school at Gadsden High School in Gadsden, Alabama from 1959 to 1962. He attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie from 1963 to 1966, where he played on defense and special teams for the Cowboys football team under Coach...
, DT (New Orleans Saints) 1975 - Levert Carr, T (Houston Oilers) 1975
- Tom DrougasTom DrougasThomas Christopher Drougas, Jr. is a former American football player who played offensive tackle in the National Football League in the 1970s....
, T (Baltimore Colts) 1976 - Rocky RasleyRocky RasleyRocky Rasley is a former American football guard in the National Football League from 1969–1970, 1972-1976. He attended Bakersfield's South High School and Bakersfield College before enrolling at Oregon State University where he played college football under Dee Andros during the "Giant Killers"...
, G (Detroit Lions) 1976 - Mike Taylor, T (St. Louis Cardinals) 1974
- Steve Thompson, DT (New York Jets) 1975
- Clancy WilliamsClancy WilliamsClarence "Clancy" Williams is a former American football defensive back who played eight seasons in the NFL....
, DB (Washington Redskins) 1974
Southern California
- Curley CulpCurley CulpCurley Culp is a former professional American football player. An offensive and defensive lineman, he played college football at Arizona State University, was the NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion while at ASU, and played professionally in the American Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs...
, DT (Houston Oilers) 1975 - Daryle LamonicaDaryle LamonicaDaryle Pat Lamonica is a former American collegiate and professional football quarterback who played in the American Football League, and later in the NFL....
, QB (Oakland Raiders) 1975 - Bob NewtonBob NewtonBob Newton is a former American football guard in the NFL from 1971 to 1981....
, T (Chicago Bears) 1976 - Dave Williams, WR (Pittsburgh Steelers) 1974
- Dick WitcherDick WitcherDick Vernon Witcher was a former professional American football player. Witcher was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 8th round of the 1966 NFL Draft. At 6'3" Witcher was a wide receiver who first played two years at Bakersfield College, then graduated from UCLA...
, TE (San Francisco 49ers) 1975
Many other players jumped as well. Dallas running back Duane Thomas signed with the Hawaiians in 1975 after being released by the Washington Redskins. Longtime Cleveland Browns running back Leroy Kelly signed with Chicago. Other players joined the WFL despite being drafted by NFL squads, such as quarterback Danny White, who signed with Memphis before eventually joining the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.
Television and radio
The league's only national television contract was with the TVS Television NetworkTVS Television Network
The TVS Television Network, or TVS for short, was a syndicator of American sports programming. It was one of several "occasional" national television networks that sprang up in the early 1960s to take advantage of the establishment of independent television stations and relaxation of the AT&T...
, a syndicator of American sports programming. Merle Harmon
Merle Harmon
Merle Reid Harmon was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play voice for five Major League Baseball teams, two in the American Football League and the World Football League's only full season of nationally syndicated telecasts.-Early life and career:Born and raised in Salem, Illinois,...
and Alex Hawkins
Alex Hawkins
Clifton Alexander "Alex" Hawkins is a retired American football player who played running back for the Baltimore Colts and Atlanta Falcons. He excelled as a special teams player...
served as the announcers TVS' Thursday Night Game. Guest announcers were often brought into the booth including Paul Hornung
Paul Hornung
Paul Vernon Hornung is a retired Hall of Fame professional football player who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1957-66...
, George Plimpton
George Plimpton
George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
, Alex Karras
Alex Karras
Alexander George "Alex" Karras , nicknamed "The Mad Duck", is a former football player, professional wrestler, and actor, best known for his stint with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1958–1962 and 1964-1970 and for his role as Mongo in the film Blazing Saddles...
, and McLean Stevenson
McLean Stevenson
Edgar McLean Stevenson, Jr. , better known as McLean Stevenson, was an American actor most recognized for his role as Lt. Colonel Henry Blake on the TV series M*A*S*H...
.
According to TVS president Eddie Einhorn
Eddie Einhorn
Eddie Einhorn is minority owner and Vice Chairman of the Chicago White Sox.Einhorn produced the nationally syndicated radio broadcast of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 1958...
, the games actually got decent ratings at first. However, affiliates started bailing out after the Philadelphia and Jacksonville free-ticket scandals, a trickle that became a flood after two teams moved in the middle of the season and two more folded altogether. By the time of the World Bowl, the games were struggling to achieve Nielsen ratings above 2.0, and TVS found it nearly impossible to sell advertising. Despite the losses, Einhorn was actually willing to stick it out until Hemmeter announced the Winds were going to try to sign Namath. Einhorn told Hemmeter that the league had effectively bet its whole credibility on Namath coming to Chicago. None of TVS' affiliates would commit to broadcasting the 1975 season unless Namath signed with the Winds. When he didn't, the WFL was left without a national television contract.
Local affiliates provided most of the television and radio coverage throughout the WFL existence. Notable local announcers include John Sterling
John Sterling (sportscaster)
John Sterling is an American sportscaster best known as the radio play-by-play announcer of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. He has announced every Yankees game since .-Early life:...
(New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte Hornets (WFL)
The Charlotte Hornets were an American football team in the short-lived World Football League. They were relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, from New York City in the middle of the 1974 season.-History:...
television), Spencer Ross
Spencer Ross
Spencer Ross is an American sportscaster. With the exception of the New York Mets, Ross has called play-by-play for every professional New York metropolitan area sports franchise, including the Yankees of MLB, the Nets and Knicks of the NBA, and Jets and Giants of the NFL...
(New York Stars radio), Bob Sheppard
Bob Sheppard
Robert Leo "Bob" Sheppard was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the MLB New York Yankees , and the NFL New York Giants .Sheppard announced more than 4,500 Yankees baseball games over a period of 56 years,...
(New York Stars PA), Mike Patrick
Mike Patrick
Mike Patrick is an American sportscaster.-Career:Patrick began his broadcasting career in the fall of 1966 at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pa. In 1970, he was named Sports Director at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Fla., where he provided play-by-play for Jacksonville Sharks' World Football League telecasts...
(Jacksonville Sharks), Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
(Shreveport Steamer
Shreveport Steamer
The Shreveport Steamer were a professional American football team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans, who are in no way related to the current NFL team of the same name, playing their home games at the Houston Astrodome...
), Larry Matson
Larry Matson
Larry Matson is an American broadcaster and sports commentator. In 1974, he was the broadcast voice of the Birmingham Americans of the World Football League. He fulfilled the same duties for the successor Birmingham Vulcans in 1975...
(Birmingham Americans
Birmingham Americans
The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League . The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974...
/Birmingham Vulcans
Birmingham Vulcans
The Birmingham Vulcans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the five-team Eastern Division of the World Football League . The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart league's second and final season in 1975...
), Fred Sington
Fred Sington
Frederic William Sington was an American football player. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955. He would also play professional baseball as an outfielder with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Washington Senators...
(Birmingham Americans
Birmingham Americans
The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League . The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974...
/Birmingham Vulcans
Birmingham Vulcans
The Birmingham Vulcans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the five-team Eastern Division of the World Football League . The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart league's second and final season in 1975...
) and Eddie Doucette
Eddie Doucette
Eddie Doucette is the president of Doucette Promotions Inc. He is a former television and radio announcer. He was the original radio voice of the Milwaukee Bucks where he broadcast games for 16 years. He also broadcast games for Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers and Portland...
and Vince Lloyd
Vince Lloyd
Vince Lloyd Skaff, who worked under the name Vince Lloyd, was a radio announcer for Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs for over 30 years....
(Chicago Fire
Chicago Fire (football)
The Chicago Fire was an American football team in the short-lived World Football League for one season, 1974. Founded in late October 1973 by building magnate Thomas Origer, he was the first owner to purchase a franchise, for around $400,000...
radio and TV respectively).
Had the WFL come into existence a few years later, the league might have succeeded, but the league predated the vast expansion of cable television and sports networks spearheaded by the birth of ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
in 1979. The money infused by a national television contract with a major network and the national interest that game telecasts would probably have generated might have made all the difference for the fledgling league.
1974 season
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage| Eastern Division | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Blazers | 14 | 6 | 0 | .700 | ||
| Charlotte Hornets Charlotte Hornets (WFL) The Charlotte Hornets were an American football team in the short-lived World Football League. They were relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, from New York City in the middle of the 1974 season.-History:... |
10 | 10 | 0 | .500 | ||
| Philadelphia Bell Philadelphia Bell The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise in the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and a portion of a season in 1975. The Bell played their home games at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of the Liberty Bell.... |
9 | 11 | 0 | .450 | ||
| Jacksonville Sharks | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | ||
| Central Division | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | ||
| Memphis Southmen Memphis Southmen The Memphis Southmen were a franchise in the World Football League which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.-From North to South:... |
17 | 3 | 0 | .850 | ||
| Birmingham Americans Birmingham Americans The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League . The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974... |
15 | 5 | 0 | .750 | ||
| Chicago Fire Chicago Fire (football) The Chicago Fire was an American football team in the short-lived World Football League for one season, 1974. Founded in late October 1973 by building magnate Thomas Origer, he was the first owner to purchase a franchise, for around $400,000... |
7 | 13 | 0 | .350 | ||
| Detroit Wheels Detroit Wheels The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the ill-fated World Football League.The Wheels were founded December 13, 1973 by ten investors, whose number eventually grew to 33, including singer Marvin Gaye, Motown Records vice-president Esther Edwards, and Little Caesars... |
1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | ||
| Western Division | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | ||
| Southern California Sun Southern California Sun The Southern California Sun were an American football team based out of Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium... |
13 | 7 | 0 | .650 | ||
| The Hawaiians The Hawaiians The Hawaiians were a professional American football team based out of Honolulu that played in the World Football League. They played two seasons, 1974 and 1975. Their records were 9-11 in 1974 and 4-7-1 in 1975. Their home stadium was Honolulu Stadium in 1974 and Aloha Stadium in 1975... |
9 | 11 | 0 | .450 | ||
| Portland Storm Portland Storm The Portland Storm were an American football team based out of Portland, Oregon, playing in the World Football League. When the World Football League was created in October 1973, the Storm was the original New York franchise. When the Boston Bulls merged with New York to become the New York... |
7 | 12 | 1 | .375 | ||
| Shreveport Steamer Shreveport Steamer The Shreveport Steamer were a professional American football team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans, who are in no way related to the current NFL team of the same name, playing their home games at the Houston Astrodome... |
7 | 12 | 1 | .375 | ||
Notes: (1) Jacksonville and Detroit folded after 14 games; each week thereafter, the teams that had games against those teams played each other. (2) Shreveport Steamer began the season as Houston Texans. (3) Charlotte Hornets began season as New York Stars; upon moving to Charlotte, played one game as Charlotte Stars, and remaining games as Hornets. (4) Chicago forfeited its 20th game to Philadelphia, 2-0.
1974 Playoffs
In the original WFL schedule, the three division champions plus one wild-card were to qualify, culminating in a "World Bowl" on the evening after Thanksgiving (at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.). Then, with financial problems mounting, it was announced that (1) the team with the best record would be declared the champion; (2) Three teams (Memphis, Birmingham, and Florida) would play-off (thus leaving West champ Southern California out); (3) Eight of the remaining 10 teams would qualify; and, finally, (4) the top two teams in each division would qualify, seeded entirely by won-lost record. This last format was followed, except that Charlotte said it couldn't participate due to a lack of funds, resulting in Philadelphia being selected as the East's second qualifier.Quarterfinals
HawaiiansThe Hawaiians
The Hawaiians were a professional American football team based out of Honolulu that played in the World Football League. They played two seasons, 1974 and 1975. Their records were 9-11 in 1974 and 4-7-1 in 1975. Their home stadium was Honolulu Stadium in 1974 and Aloha Stadium in 1975...
defeated the Southern California Sun
Southern California Sun
The Southern California Sun were an American football team based out of Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium...
, 32-14 (@ Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
on Wednesday, November 20, 1974)
Florida Blazers defeated Philadelphia Bell
Philadelphia Bell
The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise in the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and a portion of a season in 1975. The Bell played their home games at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of the Liberty Bell....
, 18-3 (@ Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
on Thursday, November 21, 1974)
Semifinals
Birmingham AmericansBirmingham Americans
The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League . The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974...
defeated The Hawaiians
The Hawaiians
The Hawaiians were a professional American football team based out of Honolulu that played in the World Football League. They played two seasons, 1974 and 1975. Their records were 9-11 in 1974 and 4-7-1 in 1975. Their home stadium was Honolulu Stadium in 1974 and Aloha Stadium in 1975...
, 22-19 (@ Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
on Wednesday, November 27, 1974)
Florida Blazers defeated Memphis Southmen
Memphis Southmen
The Memphis Southmen were a franchise in the World Football League which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.-From North to South:...
, 18-15 (@ Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
on Friday, November 29, 1974)
World Bowl
Birmingham AmericansBirmingham Americans
The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League . The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974...
22, Florida Blazers 21 (@ Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
on Thursday, December 5, 1974)
1974 All-WFL Team
OffenseWR–Tim Delaney, Hawaiians (TSN, P&C)
WR–Alfred Jenkins
Alfred Jenkins
Alfred Donnell Jenkins , is a former professional American football wide receiver who played for the Birmingham Americans in 1974 and nine seasons for the Atlanta Falcons from 1975 through 1983...
, Birmingham Americans (TSN, P&C)
TE–Ed Marshall, Memphis Southmen (TSN)
TE–Greg Latta
Greg Latta
Greg Latta was an American football player. As tight end, he was drafted by the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League, but played instead for the Florida Blazers of the World Football League in 1974. He left for the Chicago Bears in 1975 along with the head coach of the Blazers, Jack...
, Florida Blazers (P&C)
OT–Bob Wolfe, Birmingham Americans (TSN)
OT–Wally Highsmith
Walter Highsmith
Walter "Buzz" Highsmith is a former American football player and coach. Highsmith played on the offensive line for three seasons in the American Football League for the Denver Broncos and Houston Oilers. He attended Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University...
, Memphis Southmen (P&C)
OT–Ron Mikolajczyk
Ron Mikolajczyk
Ronald K. Mikolajczyk is a former professional American football offensive lineman. He played with the New York Giants of the National Football League for four seasons. He also played in the CFL for the Toronto Argonauts, in the WFL for the Memphis Southmen and in the USFL for the Tampa Bay...
, Memphis Southmen (P&C)
OG–Rick Anthony , Florida Blazers P&C (P&C)
OG–Dave Bradley, Chicago Fire (TSN)
OG–Buddy Brown, Birmingham Americans (TSN, P&C)
C–Bob Kuziel
Bob Kuziel
Robert Charles Kuziel is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints and the Washington Redskins. He also played for the Charlotte Hornets of the World Football League...
, New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets (TSN)
C–Ralph Hill, Memphis Southmen (P&C)
QB–Tony Adams
Tony Adams (American football)
Anthony Lee Adams is a former gridiron football player in the World Football League , the National Football League , and the Canadian Football League...
, Southern California Sun (TSN)
QB–Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson (American football)
Randolph Klaus "Randy" Johnson was an American football player. He was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in their inaugural season of 1966. In 1974 he played with The Hawaiians of the World Football League.Johnson graduated from Sam Houston High School in San Antonio, Texas in 1962...
, Hawaiians (P&C)
RB–Tommy Reamon
Tommy Reamon
Thomas Waverly "Tommy" Reamon is a retired African-American professional football player, who has worked as an actor, and is currently an educator in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia...
, Florida Blazers (TSN, P&C)
RB–J.J. Jennings, Memphis Southmen (TSN, P&C)
K–Grant Guthrie, Jacksonville Sharks/Birmingham Americans (TSN, P&C)
Defense
DE–Gerry Philbin
Gerry Philbin
Gerald John Philbin is a former American collegiate football defensive tackle and four year starter from the University at Buffalo where he earned several honors including Second- team All-American, Little All-America, and All-American Academic team...
, New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets (TSN, P&C)
DE–Louis Ross, Florida Blazers (TSN)
DE–John Ricca, Florida Blazers (P&C)
DT–Mike McBath
Mike McBath
Michael Strickler McBath is an American businessman, former professional American football player, and part-owner of the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League...
, Florida Blazers (TSN, P&C)
DT–John Elliott
John Elliott (defensive lineman)
John Elliott was an American college and Professional Football defensive tackle. He played collegiately for the University of Texas, and in 1967 was drafted by the American Football League's New York Jets...
, New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets (TSN)
DT–Dave Roller
Dave Roller
David Euell Roller is a former American football defensive lineman. While at Rhea Central High School in Dayton, David earned every honor including Parade Magazine's First Team All American and had 28 individual tackles in the first TSSAA All Star game in Nashville, TN, coached by Red...
, Southern California Sun (TSN, P&C)
LB–Ross Brupbacher
Ross Brupbacher
Ross Alan Brupbacher is a former professional American football linebacker who played in the National Football League.-Career:...
, Birmingham Americans (TSN, P&C)
LB–Rudy Kuechenberg
Rudy Kuechenberg
Rudy Kuechenberg is a former professional American football player who played linebacker for five seasons for the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Atlanta Falcons.-References:...
, Chicago Fire (TSN, P&C)
LB–John Villapiano, Houston Texans/Shreveport (TSN, P&C)
CB–Miller Farr
Miller Farr
Miller Farr Jr. was an American football cornerback who played for ten seasons in the AFL and NFL.He attended Wichita State University, lettering in football and track. In his senior year, he led the nation in kickoff and punt returns...
, Florida Blazers (TSN, P&C)
CB–Ron Mabra, Philadelphia Bell (TSN, P&C)
S–Dave Thomas, Memphis Southmen (TSN, P&C)
S–Jeff Woodcock, New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets (TSN, P&C)
P–Ken Clark
Ken Clark (punter)
Kenneth Lawrence Clark is a former American professional football punter who played seventeen seasons in the Canadian Football League, World Football League, and the National Football League...
, Portland Storm (TSN, P&C)
Head Coach: Jack Pardee
Jack Pardee
-NFL:-External links:...
, Florida Blazers (TSN, P&C)
Tri-MVPs: Tony Adams, Southern California, J.J. Jennings, Memphis, and Tommy Reamon, Florida.
Key: PC = voted on by players and coaches of the WFL; TSN = selection by The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
----
1975 season
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage| Eastern Division | ||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Vulcans Birmingham Vulcans The Birmingham Vulcans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the five-team Eastern Division of the World Football League . The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart league's second and final season in 1975... |
9 | 3 | 0 | .750 |
| Memphis Southmen Memphis Southmen The Memphis Southmen were a franchise in the World Football League which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.-From North to South:... |
7 | 4 | 0 | .636 |
| Charlotte Hornets Charlotte Hornets (WFL) The Charlotte Hornets were an American football team in the short-lived World Football League. They were relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, from New York City in the middle of the 1974 season.-History:... |
6 | 5 | 0 | .545 |
| Jacksonville Express | 6 | 5 | 0 | .545 |
| Philadelphia Bell Philadelphia Bell The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise in the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and a portion of a season in 1975. The Bell played their home games at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of the Liberty Bell.... |
4 | 7 | 0 | .364 |
| Western Division | ||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT |
| Southern California Sun Southern California Sun The Southern California Sun were an American football team based out of Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium... |
7 | 5 | 0 | .583 |
| San Antonio Wings San Antonio Wings The San Antonio Wings was an American Football team that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. The team started as the Florida Blazers in 1974, then moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings.-Florida Blazers :... |
7 | 6 | 0 | .538 |
| Shreveport Steamer Shreveport Steamer The Shreveport Steamer were a professional American football team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans, who are in no way related to the current NFL team of the same name, playing their home games at the Houston Astrodome... |
5 | 7 | 0 | .417 |
| The Hawaiians The Hawaiians The Hawaiians were a professional American football team based out of Honolulu that played in the World Football League. They played two seasons, 1974 and 1975. Their records were 9-11 in 1974 and 4-7-1 in 1975. Their home stadium was Honolulu Stadium in 1974 and Aloha Stadium in 1975... |
4 | 7 | 0 | .364 |
| Portland Thunder | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 |
| Chicago Winds Chicago Winds The Chicago Winds was the World Football League's ill-fated 1975 successor to the Chicago Fire. The team was named the Winds because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and was assigned to the WFL's Western Division for 1975 .-Pursuit of Joe... |
1 | 4 | 0 | .200 |
- Birmingham was declared the 1975 champions at the time the league folded.
----
Teams
- Birmingham AmericansBirmingham AmericansThe Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League . The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974...
1974/Birmingham VulcansBirmingham VulcansThe Birmingham Vulcans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the five-team Eastern Division of the World Football League . The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart league's second and final season in 1975...
1975 - Chicago FireChicago Fire (football)The Chicago Fire was an American football team in the short-lived World Football League for one season, 1974. Founded in late October 1973 by building magnate Thomas Origer, he was the first owner to purchase a franchise, for around $400,000...
1974/Chicago WindsChicago WindsThe Chicago Winds was the World Football League's ill-fated 1975 successor to the Chicago Fire. The team was named the Winds because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and was assigned to the WFL's Western Division for 1975 .-Pursuit of Joe...
1975 - Detroit WheelsDetroit WheelsThe Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the ill-fated World Football League.The Wheels were founded December 13, 1973 by ten investors, whose number eventually grew to 33, including singer Marvin Gaye, Motown Records vice-president Esther Edwards, and Little Caesars...
1974 - Washington-Baltimore Ambassadors/ Virginia Ambassadors/Florida Blazers 1974/San Antonio WingsSan Antonio WingsThe San Antonio Wings was an American Football team that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. The team started as the Florida Blazers in 1974, then moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings.-Florida Blazers :...
1975 - (HonoluluHonolulu, HawaiiHonolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
) The HawaiiansThe HawaiiansThe Hawaiians were a professional American football team based out of Honolulu that played in the World Football League. They played two seasons, 1974 and 1975. Their records were 9-11 in 1974 and 4-7-1 in 1975. Their home stadium was Honolulu Stadium in 1974 and Aloha Stadium in 1975...
1974–75 - Houston Texans 1974/Shreveport SteamerShreveport SteamerThe Shreveport Steamer were a professional American football team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans, who are in no way related to the current NFL team of the same name, playing their home games at the Houston Astrodome...
1974–75 - Jacksonville Sharks 1974/Jacksonville Express 1975
- Memphis SouthmenMemphis SouthmenThe Memphis Southmen were a franchise in the World Football League which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.-From North to South:...
(had started out as the Toronto Northmen, but moved to Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
before the start of the season) 1974–1975/ Memphis Grizzlies 1975 ("official" team change name to Grizzlies after league folded in attempt to join the NFL). - Boston Bulls/New York Stars 1974/Charlotte Stars 1974/Charlotte HornetsCharlotte Hornets (WFL)The Charlotte Hornets were an American football team in the short-lived World Football League. They were relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, from New York City in the middle of the 1974 season.-History:...
1974–75 - Philadelphia BellPhiladelphia BellThe Philadelphia Bell was a franchise in the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and a portion of a season in 1975. The Bell played their home games at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of the Liberty Bell....
1974–75 - Portland StormPortland StormThe Portland Storm were an American football team based out of Portland, Oregon, playing in the World Football League. When the World Football League was created in October 1973, the Storm was the original New York franchise. When the Boston Bulls merged with New York to become the New York...
1974/Portland Thunder 1975 - Southern California SunSouthern California SunThe Southern California Sun were an American football team based out of Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium...
1974–75
Stadiums
- Legion FieldLegion FieldLegion Field is a large stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but is occasionally used for other large outdoor events. The stadium is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans. At its peak...
, Birmingham (1974-75) - Soldier FieldSoldier FieldSoldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...
, Chicago (1974-75) - Rynearson StadiumRynearson StadiumRynearson Stadium is a stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Eastern Michigan University Eagles. It held its first game on September 27, 1969 when EMU upset the University of Akron, 10-3. Currently, the stadium has seating for...
, Detroit (1974) - Citrus BowlCitrus BowlThe Florida Citrus Bowl is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, USA, built for football, which currently seats around 70,000 people....
, Orlando (1974) - Alamo StadiumAlamo StadiumAlamo Stadium is a horseshoe-shaped football stadium in San Antonio, Texas. Nicknamed "the rock pile" due to its primarily limestone construction it was completed in September 1940 as a Works Progress Administration project. The stadium is currently owned and operated by the San Antonio Independent...
, San Antonio (1975) - Honolulu StadiumHonolulu StadiumHonolulu Stadium was a stadium located in the Moiliili district of Honolulu, Hawai'i, at the corner of King and Isenberg Streets. It was opened in 1926 and demolished in 1976. It was the primary sports venue in Hawai'i preceding Aloha Stadium. Famous athletes who competed in Honolulu Stadium...
(1974) - Aloha StadiumAloha StadiumAloha Stadium is a stadium located in the Halawa CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Currently Aloha Stadium is home to the University of Hawaii Warriors football team...
, Honolulu (1975) - Astrodome, Houston (1974)
- State Fair Stadium, Shreveport (1974-75)
- Gator Bowl StadiumGator Bowl StadiumGator Bowl was an American football stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Originally built in 1927, it was radically reconstructed in 1994 in preparation for the Jacksonville Jaguars inaugural season and became Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, now EverBank Field. It is most notable for hosting the Gator...
, Jacksonville (1974-75) - Liberty Bowl Stadium, Memphis (1974-75)
- Downing StadiumDowning StadiumDowning Stadium, previously known as Triborough Stadium and Randall's Island Stadium, was a 22,000-seat stadium in New York City. It was renamed Downing Stadium in 1955 after John J...
, New York (1974) - American Legion Memorial StadiumAmerican Legion Memorial StadiumAmerican Legion Memorial Stadium is 21,000-capacity stadium located on 7th Street in the Elizabeth community of Charlotte, North Carolina. Memorial Stadium is mainly used for high school sporting events and also serves as a public venue...
, Charlotte (1974-75) - JFK Stadium, Philadelphia (1974-75)
- Franklin FieldFranklin FieldFranklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field . It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket, and is the site of Penn's graduation...
, Philadelphia (1975) - Civic Stadium, Portland (1974-75)
- Anaheim Stadium (1974-75)
Rules
The WFL had several important rules differences from the National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
of that era, and many were eventually adopted by the older league:
- Touchdowns were worth 7 points, instead of 6.
- Conversions were called "Action Points" and could only be scored via a run or pass play (as opposed to by kick as in other football leagues), and were worth one point. The ball was placed on the 5-yard line for an Action Point. This rule was a revival of a 1968 preseason experiment by the NFL and American Football LeagueAmerican Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
. The XFLXFLThe XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
employed a similar rule for its only season in 2001. - Kickoffs were from the 30-yard line instead of the 40. Before 1974, NFL teams kicked off from the 40; starting in 1974, the NFL moved its kickoffs back to the 35, and twenty years later, the kickoff line was pushed back to the 30. (Beginning with the 2011 season, kickoffs in NFL games will again take place at the 35.)
- Receivers needed only one foot in bounds for a legal pass reception, instead of two feet in the NFL then and now. College and high school football, the Arena Football League, and the CFLCanadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
have always used the one-foot rule. - Bump-and-run pass coverage was outlawed once a receiver was 3 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. The NFL adopted this rule in 1978, with a 5-yard bump zone.
- The goalposts were placed at the end line (the back of the end zone). At that time, college football goalposts were at the end line, but the NFL had its goalposts at the goal line from 1933 through 1973. Starting with the 1974 season, the NFL also moved its posts back to the end line to curb the then-growing dominance of placekickers.
- Missed field goals were returned to the line of scrimmage or the 20-yard line, whichever was farther from the goal line. The NFL also adopted this rule for its 1974 season, then replaced the line of scrimmage with the point of the kick in 1994. Before this rule, missed field goals were (if unreturned) touchbacks, with the ball placed at the 20-yard line. U.S. college football later adopted this rule, but left the point as the line of scrimmage rather than the point of the placement.
- A player in motion was allowed to move toward the line of scrimmage before the snap, as long as he was behind the line of scrimmage at the snap. This rule had never been used at any level of outdoor American football, but was (and still is) part of Canadian footballCanadian footballCanadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
. This rule is used in the Arena Football League and was used in the XFL. - Punt returners were prohibited from using the fair catch, although the covering team could not come within 5 yards of the kick returner until he caught the ball. This rule also came from Canadian football, which still uses it, as does Arena football with kickoffs and missed field goals. The XFL also used the so-called "halo rule".
- Penalties for offensive holding and ineligible receiver downfield were 10 yards, instead of 15. Several years later, these became 10-yard penalties at all levels of football; the NFL made this rule change in 1977. Still later, the ineligible receiver penalty was changed to 5 yards (with loss of down).
- The WFL's original overtime system was like nothing used in any form of American football before or since; it was more similar to the system long used in international soccer. Overtime in the regular season was one fixed 15-minute period, divided into two halves of 7½ minutes, each starting with a kickoff by one of the teams. The complete overtime was always played; there was no "sudden death" feature. In 1975, the WFL changed its overtime to the 15-minute sudden-death period, which the NFL adopted in 1974 and still uses today.
- Limited (or no) pre-season games. In 1974 and 1975, NFL teams played six pre-season games and 14 regular-season games (which was changed in 1978 to the current four pre-season and 16 regular-season games). In contrast, the WFL's 1974 schedule called for 20 regular-season games and no pre-season games; in 1975, it was 18 regular-season games and two pre-season games.
- Summertime football. The NFL's regular season started on September 15 in 1974 and on September 21 in 1975; the WFL's regular season started on July 10 in 1974 and on July 26 in 1975 (with the 1975 pre-season starting on July 5). The Canadian Football LeagueCanadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
, which must contend with colder winters than American leagues, has always played during the summer with a similar schedule. - Weeknight football (1974). While NFL games were played mostly on Sundays and, from 1970 onwards, a game on Monday nightMonday Night FootballMonday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
, the WFL's 1974 schedule called for Wednesday night football (with a Thursday night national TV game). This scheduling format was abandoned in 1975. The featured Thursday night game was later adopted as "Thursday Night FootballRun to the PlayoffsThursday Night Football is the brand name used by NFL Network for its schedule of live regular season telecasts of National Football League games on Thursday nights. Also included in the package are some Saturday specials....
" by the NFL in 2006. - The "DickerodDicker-rodThe dicker-rod was used in the defunct World Football League in 1974 for the purpose of replacing the first down chains more commonly used in gridiron football organizations. The device was invented and patented by George Dicker of Orange County, California.The device was two and a half yards long...
". Instead of using a ten-yard chain strung between two sticks for measuring first down yardage, the WFL used a device called the "Dickerod," ostensibly named for its inventor. This was a single stick, 90 inches long, mounted on a base which allowed it to pivot from side to side. The stick was swung down to ground level when a first down was being set, and a marker that slid along the shaft was fixed in place to line up with the nearest gridiron line (the major yard lines spaced every five yards). When that was set, the stick was swung back to the upright position. When a measurement was needed by the officials, the Dickerod was brought out to the ball position, the shaft swung down to ground level, the marker lined up with the nearest gridiron line, and the measurement was taken. (In all other forms of football today, a similar marker is clipped to the standard ten-yard chain, also lining up with a gridiron line.)
Minor league rebirth
In 2007, the World Football League was purchased by Chip Pierce of Beaumont, Texas. The league was brought back to life as a minor league system that does not compete with the NFL, but gives players of a higher talent level than that of the many players involved in semi-pro football the opportunity to showcase their skills. Players like Willie PonderWillie Ponder
Willie Columbus Ponder is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for 3 seasons for the New York Giants and one season with Seattle Seahawks and St...
who have exited the NFL but have aspirations of returning and players like Kejuan Jones or Prentiss Elliot who are looking to get a shot to make in the NFL. At the end of the season SiteInDeX, Inc. CEO negotiated to purchase the WFL from Mr. Pierce. The World Football League has been operating as a minor league system since 2008.
This inaugural rebirth season of the WFL as a minor league system had 6 teams in Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. World Bowl II (continuing the number from the original league) was held at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, LA. The World Bowl matched the Oklahoma Thunder
Oklahoma Thunder
The Oklahoma Thunder are a minor league American football team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Starting with the 2011 season, the team competes in the Gridiron Developmental Football League, playing in the Midwest-North Division in the GDFL's Impact Conference. Players have included Bacone College...
against the Austin Gamebreakers. The Thunder prevailed making them the first champion of the WFL in the minor league era. The Thunder also won WFL's World Bowl III (vs. Dallas Diesel
Dallas Diesel
The Dallas Diesel is an American football team, founded in 1997, which plays in the Midwest Division of the Impact Conference in the Gridiron Developmental Football League. The team is also known as the DFW Diesel. The team is the 2006 NAFL champion...
) in 2009 and defeated the Des Moines Blaze in the World Bowl IV on July 31, 2010, in Tulsa. The Thunder won all 40 of their games in WFL history.
Before the 2011 season, most of the teams in the new WFL either folded or left for other leagues. In a key defection, three-time World Bowl winner Oklahoma Thunder left for the much larger Gridiron Developmental Football League. The new WFL merged with another league to become the Alliance Football League. The merged league began the 2011 season with just six teams: the Texas Bulldogs, Dallas-Fort Worth Heat, Dallas Diesel, Central Texas Gorillas, Houston Pride of Texas, and Oklahoma City Wolverines. World Bowl V, scheduled for Tulsa, has been moved to Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, and renamed the National Championship. This merger and renaming ends the minor league reboot of the WFL.