Birmingham Americans
WFL champions in 1974, folded after one season.
The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama, and a member of the Central Division of the World Football League (WFL). Founded in late December 1973, they played their home games at Legion Field and were the most successful franchise in the WFL's inaugural 1974 season, leading the league in attendance and winning all 13 home contests. Despite their on-field success, the team folded after one season due to financial instability.
Quick Facts
- Established
- December 1973
- Folded
- March 1975
- Location
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Field
- Legion Field
- Nickname
- Ams
- Coach
- Jack Gotta
- Owner
- Bill Putnam
- League
- World Football League
Facts from the source article.
Franchise history
The Birmingham Americans of the World Football League began as an idea from Atlanta businessman Bill Putnam, who secured the expansion franchise and a lease at Legion Field. Putnam and four other Atlanta investors—Cecil Day, Lon Day, Jay Donnelly, and Erv Plesko—formed Alabama Football, Inc., putting over $1.5 million into the venture. They hoped to find ten local Birmingham backers willing to invest $150,000 each, but when none materialized, Putnam threatened to relocate the team before the 1974 season. The threat faded after more than 10,000 season tickets were sold before the first game. The team’s first choice for head coach and general manager, Vince Costello, declined the role to join the Miami Dolphins. Instead, Jack Gotta, then head coach of the CFL’s Ottawa Rough Riders, took the job. Gotta built a roster featuring quarterback George Mira, rookie passer Matthew Reed, receiver Dennis Homan, running back Charley Harraway, and safety Larry Willingham. In the WFL’s March 1974 pro draft, the Americans used their first-round pick on former Alabama fullback Johnny Musso, who had been playing for the CFL’s BC Lions. Their final pick, in the fortieth round, was 42-year-old retired basketball player and ex-Atlanta Hawks coach Richie Guerin, a selection that drew laughter. Radio play-by-play was handled by Larry Matson, with various guest color commentators.
1974 season
The Birmingham Americans were part of the Central Division alongside the Chicago Fire, Memphis Southmen, and Detroit Wheels. Their training camp kicked off on June 3 at the Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama, and wrapped up in the first week of July. The schedule consisted of a 20-game regular season with no preseason contests, though a controlled scrimmage against the Jacksonville Sharks took place on June 29, 1974. Most games were held on Wednesday nights, with Thursday nights reserved for nationally televised matchups. The team opened with ten straight victories and ended the regular season at 15–5, placing second in the division behind Memphis. Midseason saw the formation of the World Football League Players Association, and Americans fullback Charley Harraway became its inaugural president. Alfred Jenkins earned the team’s Most Valuable Player award for 1974. The Americans’ debut on July 10, 1974, at Legion Field against the Southern California Sun drew an announced crowd of 53,231—though the actual attendance was 43,031, with 41,799 paying. Trailing by a touchdown entering the fourth quarter, they rallied for an 11–7 win. Their first road game on July 17 saw them erase a 26-point halftime deficit to beat the New York Stars 32–29 at Downing Stadium. The second home game, a 58–33 victory over Memphis on July 24, had an announced attendance of 61,319, but the real figure was 54,413, with 40,367 paying.
Financial fallout
In early November 1974, Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley filed suit in Jefferson County Circuit Court for a tax lien against the team's property, seeking to recover $30,000 in state income withholding taxes and more than $57,000 in sales taxes for August and September 1974, plus an undetermined amount for October. The judge ordered the sheriff to attach the team's property in Jefferson County. The team also admitted owing roughly $14,000 in back sales taxes to Jefferson County and the city of Birmingham. The Birmingham motel housing the coaching staff's offices evicted the team for non-payment on November 14; at that time, players had not been paid for five weeks, nor staff and coaches for two weeks. On November 18, 1974, the Internal Revenue Service filed tax liens of about $237,000 against the Americans and $160,000 against owner Bill Putnam. Putnam announced at a press conference that he was trying to raise funds to pay debts, reporting that the team had taken in about $2.3 million in gate receipts, leaving him "only $300,000 short of operating the club," but that the team had paid out over $1.2 million in bonuses to future players. He said he needed to raise $750,000 by November 28 to pay back taxes and salaries, adding, "If the money comes from Birmingham, we'll stay here but if the money comes from people in Timbuktu who want the team in Timbuktu, them we'll move there." Putnam mentioned a group from New York was interested in purchasing the Americans, and speculated that local interests were still hoping to bring an NFL franchise to the city.
Legacy
After the Americans folded, team president Carol Stallworth took a job tending bar at a sports bar in downtown Birmingham in early 1975. Most of the players joined the Birmingham Vulcans for the 1975 WFL season, though standouts Charley Harraway, Alfred Jenkins, Paul Robinson, and quarterback George Mira did not. On December 26, 1976, the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association held a night honoring former Americans head coach Jack Gotta. By July 1976, owner Bill Putnam was trying to buy a WHA team and move it to Hollywood, Florida, calling it the Florida Breakers, with a planned October 1976 start at the Hollywood Sportatorium. In August 1976, Putnam said the plan had collapsed but that he would keep trying to bring hockey to south Florida. Fans organized a reunion on July 9–10, 2004, marking 30 years since the Americans’ first game on July 10, 1974. One goal was to help pay for World Bowl championship rings that many players never got. Dayton Daily News sportswriter Chick Ludwig found that Jonsil Manufacturing in El Paso, Texas, made the original rings and could produce replacements for $809 each. The story got national attention, and Nestlé and the AF2 Birmingham Steeldogs helped sponsor the reunion at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. As of April 2010, three former Americans players are in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame: Dennis Homan (inducted 1999), Terry Henley (inducted 2000), and Larry Willingham (inducted 2003). Willingham and Henley were also named to the Auburn Tigers football 1970s Team of the Decade.
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