The Birmingham Vulcans were a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

team located in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...

. They were members of the five-team Eastern Division of the

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). The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart league's second and final season in 1975. The team was owned by a group of Birmingham businessmen with Ferd Weil as team president. The Vulcans replaced the

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 th ...

who had held the WFL franchise for Birmingham in 1974, winning World Bowl I in December 1974 before suffering financial collapse. The Vulcans were the best team in the league in 1975 with a 9–3 record and the best at the box office until the league folded 12 weeks into its second season. After the WFL ceased operations, the Vulcans were declared league champions by virtue of having the best record. When the league folded, Birmingham and the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

attempted to get admitted into the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

for the 1976 season, although unlike the similar and more extensive effort in Memphis which involved actual cash deposits toward season tickets, it seemed to consist mainly of getting fans to sign a "statement of support" somewhat similar to a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...

. When the Memphis effort failed, Vulcans followers were forced to accept the inevitable as well, and efforts to get the team into the more established league were abandoned. The Vulcans name would be recycled for the

Alabama Vulcans The 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 did in the World Football League, the team's name was ...

, a member of the American Football Association, in 1979. , two former Vulcans players have been inducted into the

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) is a state museum located in Birmingham, Alabama, dedicated to communicating the state’s athletic history. The museum displays over 5,000 objects related to athletes who were born in Alabama or earned fame ...

. Birmingham native Johnny "Italian Stallion" Musso, who placed 4th in

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

voting while playing for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...

, was inducted in the Class of 1989.

Larry Willingham Larry Levi Willingham (born December 22, 1948) is a retired professional American football player. He played in the National Football League for the St. Louis Cardinals (1971–1972) and in the World Football League for both the Birmingham Ameri ...

, who played for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and retired for medical reasons in 1973 but made a comeback in 1974 with the

, was inducted in the Class of 2003. Willingham was also elected to the

Auburn Tigers football The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Divisio ...

"1970s Team of the Decade."

Schedule and results

1975 regular season

References

External links

WFL1974 – a Birmingham Americans & Vulcans history site

BirminghamProSports.com
Defunct American football teams American football teams in Birmingham, Alabama American football teams established in 1975 American football teams disestablished in 1975 1975 establishments in Alabama 1975 disestablishments in Alabama {{Amfoot-team-stub

Schedule and results

1975 regular season

See also

References

External links