1974 WFL Pro Draft
The 1974 WFL Pro Draft was the first professional draft of the World Football League (WFL). It supplemented its collegiate draft and included players from the NFL and CFL. It consisted of 480 selections in 40 rounds. Although it was expected that most of the NFL players drafted would have no intention of signing with the new league, the WFL still wanted to have the prominent NFL players future rights assigned, preventing WFL teams from competing in the signing for the same players. Player selections 1974 WFL second day Pro Draft On March 19, 1974, the WFL had a second Pro Draft to select the rights to players cut by National Football League teams. Each WFL team selected 2 NFL franchises to secure the rights to players not previously selected in the first day 40 rounds Pro Draft. The New York Giants and Chicago Bears were not drafted. * Toronto Northmen: Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions. * Birmingham Americans: Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons. * Detroit Wheels: Minnesota V ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 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; it folded in 2011. History Gary Davidson, a California lawyer and businessman, was the driving force behind the World Football League. He had helped start the moderately successful American Basketball Association and World Hockey Association, some of whose teams survived long enough to enter the more established National Basketball Association and National Hockey League, respectively. Unlike his two previous efforts, the World Football League did not bring a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jim Plunkett
James William Plunkett (born December 5, 1947) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons. He achieved his greatest professional success during his final eight seasons with the Raiders franchise, whom he led to two Super Bowl titles. A Heisman Trophy winner and future College Football Hall of Fame inductee at Stanford, Plunkett was selected first overall by the New England Patriots in the 1971 NFL Draft. His tenure with the Patriots was productive, but after an injury-shortened 1975 season he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, where he played in 1976 and 1977. Released from the 49ers after suffering further injuries, Plunkett signed with the Oakland Raiders for 1978. Initially serving as a backup for the Raiders, Plunkett became the starting quarterback during the 1980 season and led them to win Super Bowl XV, where he was named MVP. In 1983, Plunkett again ascended from backup to starter to quarter ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play their home games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which they share with the Los Angeles Chargers. The franchise was founded in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams in Cleveland, Ohio. The franchise won the 1945 NFL Championship Game, then moved to Los Angeles in 1946, making way for Paul Brown's Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference and becoming the only NFL championship team to play the following season in another city. The club played its home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum until 1980, when it moved into a reconstructed Anaheim Stadium in Orange County, California. The Rams made their first Super Bowl appearance at the end of the 1979 NFL season, losing Super Bowl XIV to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31–19. After t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tom Mack
Thomas Lee Mack (born November 1, 1943) is a former American football player. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Mack played college football at the End (American football), end and Tackle (American football), tackle positions for the University of Michigan from 1963 to 1965. He was a starter on the 1964 Michigan Wolverines football team, 1964 Michigan team that won the Big Ten Conference championship and defeated 1964 Oregon State Beavers football team, Oregon State in the 1965 Rose Bowl. He was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten player in 1965 and was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 2006. Mack was selected by the Los Angeles Rams with the second pick in the 1966 NFL Draft and played at the Guard (American football), left guard position for the Rams for 13 seasons from 1966 to 1978. During his NFL career, Mack played in 11 Pro Bowls and appeared in 184 consecutive games, 176 as a start ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Southern California Sun
The Southern California Sun were an American football team based in 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. They were coached by former Rams great and Hall of Famer Tom Fears and owned by trucking magnate Larry Hatfield. Former USC greats Anthony Davis and Pat Haden played for the Sun in 1975 along with former Oakland Raiders QB Daryle Lamonica, also known as the "Mad Bomber." The Sun won the 1974 Western Division title, but lost their playoff game against The Hawaiians when three of their best players--Kermit Johnson, James McAlister and Booker Brown—sat out the game. The three players were owed back pay, and claimed the missed checks breached their contracts. This episode aside, the Sun were one of the WFL's better-run teams, and at least had the potential to be a viable venture had the WFL been run in a more realistic and financially sensi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season in 1954, and have played every season since, making them the oldest professional sports franchise in British Columbia. They have appeared in the league's Grey Cup championship game 10 times, winning six, with their most recent championship occurring in 2011. The Lions were the first Western Canadian team to win the Grey Cup at home, doing so in 1994 and 2011, before Saskatchewan achieved the feat in 2013. Also in 1994, the Lions became the first team to play and defeat an American-based franchise for the Grey Cup. The Lions hold the second-longest playoff streak in CFL history, making the postseason 20 consecutive seasons, from 1997 to 2016 (only Edmonton has had a longer playoff streak, going 34 seasons from 1972 to 2005). With the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Johnny Musso
Johnny Musso (born March 6, 1950) is an American former football player, a running back for three seasons with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears. Early years Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Musso graduated from L. Frazier Banks High School in 1968, and played college football at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa under head coach Bear Bryant. He was an All-American in 1971 and led the Crimson Tide to an undefeated regular season and a berth in the Orange Bowl against top-ranked Nebraska. He was nicknamed The Italian Stallion. Musso was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1989, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. Professional career Musso was a third round selection in the 1972 NFL draft, 62nd overall, by the Chicago Bears. He opted for a higher offer in Canada, and played for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League for three seasons (1972–1974), where he r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 (WFL). The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974. The team was owned by William "Bill" Putnam, doing business as Alabama Football, Inc. The club played all of their home games at Legion Field. The most successful of the World Football League franchises, the Americans led the league in attendance and won all 13 of their home games. They developed a reputation for come-from-behind victories and winning by narrow margins. The Americans finished the 1974 regular season at 15–5 and won the 1974 World Bowl by one point over the Florida Blazers. Financially unstable due to investor reluctance and lavish signing bonuses paid to lure National Football League (NFL) players to the new league, the team folded after only one season. Most of the tea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NY Jets
NY most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the Northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York NY, Ny or ny may also refer to: Places * North Yorkshire, an English county * Ny, Belgium, a village * Old number plate of German small town Niesky People * Eric Ny (1909–1945), Swedish runner * Marianne Ny, Swedish prosecutor Letters * ny (digraph), an alphabetic letter * Nu (letter), the 13th letter of the Greek alphabet, transcribed as "Ny" * ñ (énye), sometimes transcribed as "ny" Other uses * New Year * Air Iceland (IATA code: NY) * Chewa language (ISO 639-1 code: ny) See also * New Year (other) * New York (other) * NYC (other) * NYS (other) {{disambiguation, surname ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mike Taylor (linebacker, Born 1949)
Michael Taylor (born September 21, 1949) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1971 and was a consensus College Football All-America Team, All-American in 1971. He played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets in 1972 and 1973. He also played for the Detroit Wheels in the World Football League in 1974. Early years Taylor was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1949. He attended Martin Luther King High School (Detroit), Martin Luther King High School in Detroit. University of Michigan Taylor enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1968 and played college football for head coach Bo Schembechler's Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1969 to 1971. He made 117 Tackle (football move), tackles and 63 assists in three years at Michigan, including 64 tackles and 33 assists in 1971. He was a consensus first-team linebacker on the 1971 College Football All-America Team. In 2005, T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Detroit Wheels
The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the defunct World Football League. Founding Soon after Gary Davidson announced the WFL's formation in October 1973, he was approached by a man named Bud Hucul about putting a team in Detroit. In a harbinger of things to come, however, it emerged that Hucul had a long history of legal problems, including 30 arrests and 27 lawsuits. A more credible offer came from a consortium of ten Detroit-area investors who were formally awarded a franchise on December 13, 1973. The group would eventually expand to 33 people, including singer Marvin Gaye, Motown Records vice-president Esther Gordy Edwards, Milford Fabricating owner Edward Nishon, and Little Caesars founder Mike Ilitch (who would later own the Detroit Caesars, Detroit Drive, Drive, Detroit Red Wings, Red Wings and Detroit Tigers, Tigers). Detroit attorney and philanthropist Louis Lee was named team president, while Sonny Grandelius, a former star running back ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the team plays its home games at Caesars Superdome after utilizing Tulane Stadium during its first eight seasons. Founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city of New Orleans on November 1, 1966, the Saints joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1967. They are named after the jazz music heritage of New Orleans and the spiritual hymn "When the Saints Go Marching In". The Saints were among the NFL's least successful franchises in their first several decades, where they went 20 consecutive seasons without a winning record or qualifying for the playoffs. They earned their first winning record and postseason berth in 1987, while their first playoff win would not occur until 2000, their 34th season. The team's fortunes improved amid the 2 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |