The World Football League (WFL) was an
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 with ...
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
Hawaiians are the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiians or The Hawaiians may also refer to:
* The Hawaiians (WFL), a football team in the World Football League from 1974 to 1975
* The Hawaiians (film), ''The Hawaiians'' (film), a 1 ...
– in
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...
. 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
Gary L. Davidson (born August 13, 1934) is an American lawyer and businessman who is based in Orange County, California.
Davidson co-founded and served as the first president of the World Hockey Association and co-founded, with former Buena Par ...
, a California lawyer and businessman, was the driving force behind the World Football League.
He had helped start the moderately successful
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
and
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...
,
[ some of whose teams survived long enough to enter the more established ]National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
and National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
, respectively. Unlike his two previous efforts, the World Football League did not bring any surviving teams 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 ...
.
To get the league off the ground, Davidson knew that he needed investors. At a press conference held in Chicago on October 2, 1973, Davidson announced his core of investors, a group of men he called the "founding fathers". These men were Robert Schmertz
Robert Schmertz (November 15, 1926 – July 24, 1975) was an American real estate developer and sports franchise owner. He was owner or part-owner of two NBA franchises; the Portland Trail Blazers from 1970 through 1972, and the Boston Celtics f ...
, who owned the WHA's New England Whalers
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
and NBA's Boston Celtics; a former hockey prospect named Howard Baldwin
Howard Lapsley Baldwin[Rose Weld Baldwin obituary](_blank)
ccgfuneralhome.com; acce ...
(future owner of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...
), who ran the Boston Bulls charter; Ben Hatskin, who owned the WHA's Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...
; and R. Steve Arnold, another WHA associate.
Perhaps one of the biggest of the "founding fathers" was a Canadian movie producer, John F. Bassett
John F. Bassett (February 5, 1939 – May 15, 1986) was a Canadian tennis player, businessman, and film producer.
Athletic career
Bassett won the Canadian Open Junior Doubles Championship in 1955 when he was 15 years old. He reached the second ...
. A former tennis prodigy and owner of the WHA's Toronto Toros
The Toronto Toros were an ice hockey team based in Toronto that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976.
History
The franchise was awarded to Doug Michel in 1971 for $25,000 to play in the WHA's inaugural 1972–73 season. Haro ...
, Bassett came from a wealthy Canadian family. The family owned (among other entities) the Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
of the Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, two Toronto newspapers and interests in television stations. The younger Bassett had been mulling over starting his own professional football league when he happened to meet Davidson and he was given a franchise for Toronto. Bassett would later go on to own a team in another alternative football league, the USFL
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
's Tampa Bay Bandits
The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal o ...
in the mid-1980s.
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, before learning that Katz didn't have the strong resources that he claimed, and was in fact the target of several lawsuits, and rescinded his offer to sell the rights to Philadelphia. He nearly sold the Detroit franchise to Bud Huchul, but it was later discovered Huchul had been arrested 30 times and faced 27 lawsuits related to his previous business dealings.[Speck, Mark]
In Detroit, Where the Wheels Fell Off
. Pro Football Researchers Association
The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/hist ...
, 1997.
Davidson had initially planned for his league to commence play in 1975. However, the league came under pressure to accelerate its timetable, largely on account of strained labor relations affecting both established professional leagues. In the spring of 1974, players were threatening to go on strike in both the NFL and CFL, which could have delayed the start of their seasons and/or caused the quality of their product to deteriorate if owners attempted to bring in replacement players.
The possibility of being the only major professional football league in operation (or, at least, the possibility that the quality of WFL football might be compared favorably with that of established league rosters filled with " scab" players) appeared to be too good an opportunity to pass up – combined with rumors of another upstart league, it persuaded Davidson to advance the new league's planned debut to 1974.
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, but Unitas declined as he was already under contract with the San Diego Chargers; he retired at the end of the 1973 season. Wheeler then made the same offer to Redskins linebacker Jack Pardee
John Perry Pardee (April 19, 1936 – April 1, 2013) was an American football linebacker and the only head coach to helm a team in college football, the National Football League (NFL), the United States Football League (USFL), the World Footbal ...
, who quickly signed with the new league.
In the meantime Wheeler had engaged in a war for territory with Pardee's old boss, Redskins owner Edward Bennett Williams
Edward Bennett Williams (May 31, 1920 – August 13, 1988) was an American lawyer who became a high-profile defense lawyer and co-founded the law firm of Williams & Connolly. Williams also owned several professional sports teams, including the Bal ...
. Wheeler wanted the Ambassadors to play at RFK Stadium, but Williams refused to allow it, 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, then becoming the Washington Ambassadors, and finally the Virginia Ambassadors.
Competing for NFL players
The fledgling WFL did succeed in raising stagnant salaries in the NFL. Average salaries in professional football were among the lowest in the four major North American sports, and the National Football League Players Association
The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director DeM ...
and the Canadian Football League Players Association
The Canadian Football League Players' Association (or CFLPA) represents Canadian football players in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The association was established in 1965, when local lawyer John Agro became concerned by the number of Hamilto ...
had both gone on strike prior to their leagues' respective 1974 seasons in an effort to lift many of the rules suppressing free agency and player salaries. In addition, the NFL did not have a free agency system in place then (and one would not be established until 1993).
With the uncertain labor situation, the WFL had the opportunity to provide players with a better deal than the established leagues would give them, along with the promise of employment. Davidson's league garnered major publicity when the Toronto Northmen
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, led by John F. Bassett, signed three Miami Dolphins players, fullback Larry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is a former professional American football fullback who played for the Miami Dolphins for the majority of his career, along with the New York Giants for three years, and a short stint with the Me ...
,[ halfback Jim Kiick, and wide receiver ]Paul Warfield
Paul Dryden Warfield (born November 28, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1977 for the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, except for a year in ...
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 nearly lost both their quarterbacks. Ken Stabler[ signed with 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 ...
, and Daryle Lamonica
Daryle Pasquale Lamonica (July 17, 1941 – April 21, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He spent ...
penned a contract to play for the 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 wer ...
starting in 1975. John Wilbur left the Over-the-Hill Gang
''The Over-the-Hill Gang'' is a 1969 American made-for-television Western comedy film about a group of aging Texas Rangers, starring Walter Brennan and Pat O'Brien. Chill Wills, Edgar Buchanan, Andy Devine, and Jack Elam play supporting rol ...
as a Washington Redskin
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
to invest, coach special teams, and play for the Hawaiians
Hawaiians are the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiians or The Hawaiians may also refer to:
* The Hawaiians (WFL), a football team in the World Football League from 1974 to 1975
* The Hawaiians (film), ''The Hawaiians'' (film), a 1 ...
. The Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
also took roster hits when WFL teams in Hawaii and Houston signed running back Calvin Hill
Calvin G. Hill (born January 2, 1947) is a retired American football player. He played running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. Hill played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Cleveland Browns. He also p ...
and quarterback Craig Morton
Larry Craig Morton (born February 5, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. He played college football at California, ...
respectively. The Hawaiians also signed Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
Pro Bowl WR John Gilliam
John Rally Gilliam (born August 7, 1945) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He has owned a number of businesses, and for two years he worked for a radio station in ...
and San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
All-Pro TE Ted Kwalick
Thaddeus John Kwalick (born April 15, 1947) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) and World Football League (WFL). He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1969- 1974 and the Oakland Raiders from 1975-1 ...
; however, Gilliam ended up with the Chicago Winds
The Chicago Winds was the World Football League's ill-fated 1975 successor to the Chicago Fire. The team was so named because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and the team was assigned to the WFL's Weste ...
and Kwalick signed with the 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 in 1974 at JFK Stadium in South Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of th ...
prior to the 1975 season.
By early June 1974, the WFL claimed they had some 60 NFL players under contract. Many of these defections came in the form of futures contracts. The players would play out their existing deals with the NFL, then jump to the WFL when those deals expired. Thus, Stabler would stay with the Raiders through 1975, then would have joined Birmingham in 1976 had the team and league survived that long.
The top minor leagues in the United States at the time, the Atlantic Coast Football League
The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional american football minor 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 ...
and Seaboard Football League
The Seaboard Football League was an American football minor league that operated from 1971 to 1974.Bob Gill, with Steve Brainerd and Tod Maher, ''Minor League Football, 1960-85'' (McFarland and Co., 2002), pp84, 99-100 It folded during the 1974 ...
, were also tremendously affected as it caused them to fold.[ 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 scheduled 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: 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, meaning 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.
The WFL held a college draft. The first six rounds were held on January 22, 1974, with the remaining 30 rounds held on February 5. David Jaynes
David Duane Jaynes (born December 12, 1952) is a former American football quarterback. He played in college at the University of Kansas, where he was selected to the 1973 College Football All-America Team. That same year, he was a finalist for t ...
, quarterback from Kansas, was the first player selected in the draft by the original Memphis franchise that became the Houston Texans by the time the season started.
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 CFL. Though the Canadian Football Act
The ''Canadian Football Act'' (1974), also known in its long title as ''An Act respecting Canadian Professional Football'', was a proposed Act by the Parliament of Canada in April 1974 designed to give a government-protected monopoly over profe ...
never passed, the mere threat of it prompted Bassett to move the team to Memphis, where it became the Memphis Southmen
The Memphis Southmen, also known as the Memphis Grizzlies, were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. They played in the World Football League (WFL), which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl M ...
. It was generally referred to by fans, local media, and even some official team materials as the Grizzlies, which they officially renamed themselves to the following season (not to be confused with the current NBA team of the same name). The WFL suffered an even more serious blow when the CFL and NFL reached agreements with their striking players that ensured that the upstart league would be forced to compete with both of their established rivals.
The original schedule called for a four-team playoff, with semifinal games held on Wednesday-Thursday November 20-November 21, and the World Bowl
The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994).
The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...
on Friday, November 29 (the night after Thanksgiving) at the Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
. League officials also 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
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
in 1960, averaging just under 43,000 a game. The box office numbers proved to be the beginning of the WFL's undoing when two teams admitted to inflating their gates on a grand scale: the Jacksonville Sharks
The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...
admitted that out of the 105,892 fans who attended their first two games, 30,000 had gotten in for free, and the 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 in 1974 at JFK Stadium in South Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of th ...
, whose first two home games totaled 120,253 fans, admitted that 100,198 of the tickets had been given away for free or sold at significantly reduced prices. 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
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 ...
were looking to move to Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, and the Florida Blazers
The Florida Blazers were an American football team who played in the World Football League in 1974. The team moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings.
History
The Blazers began in 1974 when oceanographic engineer E. Joseph W ...
made overtures of bringing the first place club to Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. The league seemed to bottom out in September, when two franchises relocated in mid-season: The Houston Texans moved to Shreveport, Louisiana as the 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 (no connection to the current NFL team of the same name), playing their ...
, and they were followed a week later by the New York Stars New York Stars could refer to:
*New York Stars (WBL), a team that played two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League before disbanding in 1980
*New York Stars (WFL), a team in the World Football League that relocated in 1974 and becam ...
, who relocated to Charlotte and became the Charlotte Hornets (also not to be confused with the present-day NBA franchise of the same name; they played one road game after the official move still under the "Stars" name). On top of this, the Wheels moved one game to London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
due to poor ticket sales, this time without any complaints from Canadian officials.
It was discovered that in the rush to commence play in 1974, several WFL teams had paid less than the original $120,000 franchise fee in order to meet Davidson's target of 12 teams. Additionally, league officials had conducted little to no due diligence. As a result, most of the league's teams were badly undercapitalized. By most accounts, the only reasonably well-financed teams were Memphis, Philadelphia, the Hawaiians and Southern California.
In many cases, WFL teams were unable to meet the most basic team expenses. For instance, the Portland Storm
The Portland Thunder (originally Portland Storm) was an American football team in the World Football League based out of Portland, Oregon. When the World Football League was created in October 1973, the Storm was the original New York franchise. ...
's players were reportedly being fed by sympathetic local fans, while the Hornets had their uniforms impounded for not paying a laundry bill from the time the team was located in New York. 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 ...
were not paid for the last two months of the season, the Florida Blazers went three months without pay (and reportedly survived on McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
meal vouchers), the Hornets were not paid regularly after the third week of October, and the Sharks were not paid for what turned out to be their last six games. The other teams' finances were not much better, as the Southmen, Bell and Hawaiians were the only teams who met payroll for every week of the season.
The most dire situation, however, 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 in a professional league. On several occasions, the team was left without uniforms when they did not pay the cleaning bill, forcing them to cancel practices. After several hotels and airlines went unpaid, the Wheels were also unable to fly to games or get a place for the players to stay without paying in advance. One player was forced to pay a hospital bill for his son out of pocket after being informed the team's insurance policy had been cancelled for non-payment of premiums. The owners refused to provide filming equipment for the coaches.
The Wheels seemingly bottomed out when they arrived in Philadelphia to face the Bell. The players discovered that there were no medical supplies or tape available, and initially refused to take the field. When it looked like the Wheels would have to forfeit, a salesman at the game donated enough tape to allow them to play.[ 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 defensive end ]John Matuszak
John Daniel Matuszak (October 25, 1950 – June 17, 1989) was an American football defensive end in the National Football League who later became an actor.
Matuszak was the first overall pick in the 1973 NFL Draft and played most of his career ...
, who had jumped from the NFL's Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
to play for the WFL's Houston Texans. While Matuszak worked out on the field prior to a game against the New York Stars New York Stars could refer to:
*New York Stars (WBL), a team that played two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League before disbanding in 1980
*New York Stars (WFL), a team in the World Football League that relocated in 1974 and becam ...
, attorneys for the Oilers and federal marshals arrived at the stadium: five minutes into the first quarter, shortly after sacking Stars quarterback Tom Sherman for a 13-yard loss, Matuszak was benched - the Texans had been served with a restraining order that barred Matuszak from playing another down for the Texans until his Oilers contract expired at the end of the 1977 NFL season.
Afterwards, Matuszak waved the document to show the stunned home crowd why he was sitting on the bench, while the Oilers, who were angered at this debacle, subsequently traded Matuszak to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The league seemingly bottomed out in October when it shut down the Wheels and the Sharks after 14 games. The collapse of the Sharks meant that the Gator Bowl would not host World Bowl I; coincidentally, Jacksonville was also slated to be the host of the 1986 USFL
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
Championship Game, but the USFL folded before that season began. It would not be until February 2005 that the city would host its first championship pro football game, Super Bowl XXXIX.
Davidson was forced to resign in October 1974, and Hawaiians owner Christopher Hemmeter
Christopher Hemmeter (October 8, 1939 – November 27, 2003) was an American real estate developer who pioneered the concept of destination resorts in Hawaii and was involved in gambling development of casinos, primarily in New Orleans and Col ...
was named the new commissioner a month later.
Late in the year, the league announced that it would award its Most Valuable Player a prize of $10,000 at the World Bowl. Rather than endure the embarrassment of media sneers about whether a WFL check would clear, the league neatly stacked $10,000 in 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, with one owner proposing the World Bowl be canceled and the championship handed to the regular-season champion Memphis Southmen.
Eventually, six teams were chosen for the tournament. The two teams with the best regular-season records, Memphis and Birmingham, were awarded first-round byes. The other two division winners would play in first-round games against the runners-up in their division. Originally, Florida was to host Charlotte, while Southern California was to host the Hawaiians.
However, after being informed only 1,000 advance tickets had been sold for the Hornets' matchup against the Blazers, league officials forced the Hornets to withdraw from the playoffs. The Hornets' cut of the gate would have only been enough for their players to get $100 for the game, nowhere near enough for the financially strapped team to justify the trip to Orlando. League officials arranged for the Bell to advance in their place, as they were slightly more robustly funded and could cover their travel costs.
Despite the various 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
The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994).
The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...
, or "World Bowl I" – was staged in Birmingham between the hometown Birmingham Americans and the Florida Blazers.
Not even the World Bowl could go off without a hitch. For a time, it appeared that the game would not take place because the Americans owed $237,000 in back federal taxes. However, the Internal Revenue Service agreed to let the game go ahead in return for a portion of the gate. 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
Tommy Reamon (born March 12, 1952) 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. As a high school football coach, Reamon has had som ...
scored what he thought was a touchdown, but 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 the ball had broken the plane of the end zone before slipping out of Reamon's hands. 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 comeback, trailing 22-21 as the gun went off in the fourth quarter. After the game, the Americans' jerseys were seized to satisfy team debts. (''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' referred to the game, prophetically, as "The first, and possibly ''only'' World Bowl".)
As if losing a championship game in a squeaker was not bad enough, things got much worse. Florida head coach Jack Pardee
John Perry Pardee (April 19, 1936 – April 1, 2013) was an American football linebacker and the only head coach to helm a team in college football, the National Football League (NFL), the United States Football League (USFL), the World Footbal ...
bolted back to the NFL to take over the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
, and the Blazers' franchise was sold off at a court-ordered auction after it was discovered that Blazers owner Rommie Loudd
Rommie Lee Loudd (June 8, 1933 – May 9, 1998) was an American former collegiate and professional American football player, coach, and executive. He was the first black assistant coach in the American Football League and the first black majority ...
had financed the team through selling cocaine and a tax evasion scheme, for which he was arrested shortly after the season (and later convicted).
The champions did not fare much better; only days after the World Bowl, the Americans' office furniture was repossessed by sheriff's deputies.
The financial losses were tremendous: The Hawaiians had lost $3.2 million, while the New York Stars/Charlotte Hornets had over $2 million of debt against just $94,000 in assets, and the Jacksonville Sharks and Detroit Wheels were liquidated owing nearly $4 million: Detroit had 122 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
L. C. Henderson Greenwood (September 8, 1946September 29, 2013) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
College career
Born and raised in Canton, Mi ...
(Steelers), and quarterback Craig Morton
Larry Craig Morton (born February 5, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. He played college football at California, ...
(Giants) all were able to get courts to nullify their contracts with WFL teams, while former NFL veterans like George Sauer Jr.
George Henry Sauer Jr. (November 10, 1943 – May 7, 2013) was an American football wide receiver who played six seasons for the American Football League's New York Jets, and later played in the World Football League. He played college footb ...
, Charley Harraway
Charles Edward Harraway, Jr. (born September 21, 1944) is a former professional American football player, a running back in the National Football League for eight seasons with the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins. He also played one season ...
, Leroy Kelly
Leroy Kelly (born May 20, 1942) is a former American football player. A Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, he played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1973.
Career
Kelly had attended Simon Gratz H ...
, and Don Maynard
Donald Rogers Maynard (January 25, 1935 – January 10, 2022) was an American professional American football, football wide receiver known for playing for the New York Jets in the National Football League (NFL). He also played with the New York ...
all retired.
Home-grown talent, like quarterbacks Tony Adams
Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. He spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre back at Arsenal, making 672 t ...
, Danny White
Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is a former quarterback and Punter (football), punter for the Dallas Cowboys and an American football coach in the Arena Football League. He has been the color commentator for Cowboys games on Compas ...
, and wideout Alfred Jenkins
Alfred Donnell Jenkins (born January 25, 1952) 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. Jenkins was selected to th ...
quickly bolted for the NFL, with Adams landing with the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The ...
, White with the Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
, and Jenkins with the Atlanta Falcons; Florida head coach Jack Pardee
John Perry Pardee (April 19, 1936 – April 1, 2013) was an American football linebacker and the only head coach to helm a team in college football, the National Football League (NFL), the United States Football League (USFL), the World Footbal ...
also got star Blazers' tight end Greg Latta
Gregory Edwin Latta (October 13, 1952 – September 28, 1994) 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 ...
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. During the offseason, Hemmeter developed a plan to restore a measure of financial sanity to the league by paying players and coaches based on a percentage of revenues, while imposing strict capitalization requirements on the teams. Several markets from 1974 returned under new team names and new ownership. The deceased Sharks of Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
came back as the 'Express.' The Portland Storm became the Portland Thunder, the Birmingham Americans were replaced by the Vulcans
Vulcans, sometimes referred to as Vulcanians, are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid species in the '' Star Trek'' universe and media franchise. In the various ''Star Trek'' television series and films, they are noted for their attempt t ...
, and the Chicago Fire became the Winds
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ...
. The World Bowl runner-up Florida Blazers
The Florida Blazers were an American football team who played in the World Football League in 1974. The team moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings.
History
The Blazers began in 1974 when oceanographic engineer E. Joseph W ...
folded, and their franchise rights were relocated to San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
, as the San Antonio Wings
The San Antonio Wings were an American football team who played in the World Football League in 1975. The team started as the Florida Blazers in 1974, then moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings.
History
The Florida Blazers ...
. Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...
was briefly mentioned as a location for the twelfth WFL team (the replacement for the Wheels), but this never materialized, and only 11 teams would play in the 1975 season.[
] Only two teams, Memphis and Philadelphia, returned with the same ownership from the prior season. ''Sports Illustrated'', in its postmortem, noted that the change between 1974 and 1975 was so drastic that for all intents and purposes, the WFL of 1975 was a nearly completely different entity than its predecessor. The WFL of 1974 was described as a bombastic credit risk, while the WFL of 1975 was a safer but much quieter 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, this idea was scrapped.
The league changed the 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 there were still problems, as 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 G. Hill (born January 2, 1947) is a retired American football player. He played running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. Hill played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Cleveland Browns. He also p ...
and Ted Kwalick
Thaddeus John Kwalick (born April 15, 1947) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) and World Football League (WFL). He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1969- 1974 and the Oakland Raiders from 1975-1 ...
, 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
The Chicago Winds was the World Football League's ill-fated 1975 successor to the Chicago Fire. The team was so named because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and the team was assigned to the WFL's Weste ...
made an offer to aging Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was an American football game played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Su ...
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
Joe Namath, who seriously considered the offer, before refusing and re-signing with the New York Jets. The Winds invested considerable money and time in the effort to sign Namath (the team even designed its uniform to emulate the Jets'), and all but promised he was coming to Chicago. The embarrassing rejection by Namath crippled the Winds, who were shut down 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 WFL averaged 21,423 fans per game in 1974, but only 13,931 per contest in '75.) The Winds were shut down five games into the season after dropping below league capitalization requirements, leaving the league with ten teams (which itself was a convenience, because it eliminated the mandatory bye week). It was not enough to stem the tide; by late October rumors abounded that four of the remaining teams were on the verge of folding.
On Wednesday, October 22, a few days before the start of week 13, the WFL ceased operations. Hemmeter said that the league would have needed to spend as much as $40 million over two years to be successful, a bill that the league's directors, seven of whom sat on the boards of banks, did not feel could be justified. The 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 (WFL). The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart lea ...
, by virtue of their league-best record of 9–3 at the time of the shutdown, 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
The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal o ...
in the next professional league, the United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
(then in the midst of its second season; that league 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, and neither city (Tampa and Seattle) had hosted a WFL franchise.
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 " Wiffle"). Chicago Fire offensive lineman Steve Wright quipped that he had been offered a million dollar contract: "A dollar a year for a million years!"
In the 1976 season, Memphis Southmen coach John McVay joined the staff of the New York Giants and brought with him nine players from the Southmen. In what has been described as "the closest approximation to a meeting between the champions of the WFL and the NFL" (even though the Southmen never won a WFL title), the Southmen-reinforced Giants upset the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers 17–0 in a preseason match that year.[ ''Note: The PFRA erroneously refers to this matchup as the last such contest.'']
The WFL, for all its embarrassing miscues, produced a number of coaches who found success in the NFL, notably Jack Pardee
John Perry Pardee (April 19, 1936 – April 1, 2013) was an American football linebacker and the only head coach to helm a team in college football, the National Football League (NFL), the United States Football League (USFL), the World Footbal ...
, Lindy Infante
Gelindo "Lindy" Infante (March 27, 1940 – October 8, 2015) was an American football player and coach, who became an offensive coordinator and head coach in both the National Football League (NFL) and the United States Football League (USFL). ...
, and Marty Schottenheimer
Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2006. He was the head coach of the Kansas City ...
. Jim Fassel
James Edward Fassel (August 31, 1949 – June 7, 2021) was an American college and professional football player and coach. He was the head coach of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1997 to 2003. He was offensive coor ...
, a quarterback for the Hawaiians, became a head coach in the NFL and UFL, taking the New York Giants to Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
in 2001 and the Las Vegas Locomotives
The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League. The team played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the Unive ...
to a win in the 2009 UFL Championship Game. McVay worked his way up the Giants organization and eventually became the team's head coach; he had even more success as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
during the 1980s dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
years. Several players, most notably Pat Haden
Patrick Capper Haden (born January 23, 1953) is the former athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles from August 2010 to June 2016. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in ...
, Danny White
Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is a former quarterback and Punter (football), punter for the Dallas Cowboys and an American football coach in the Arena Football League. He has been the color commentator for Cowboys games on Compas ...
, Alfred Jenkins
Alfred Donnell Jenkins (born January 25, 1952) 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. Jenkins was selected to th ...
, Greg Latta
Gregory Edwin Latta (October 13, 1952 – September 28, 1994) 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 ...
, and Vince Papale
Vincent Papale (born February 9, 1946) is a former American football wide receiver. He played three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League, primarily on special teams, following two seasons with the Philadelphia B ...
, later found success in the NFL as well.
Four WFL alumni made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
: Larry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is a former professional American football fullback who played for the Miami Dolphins for the majority of his career, along with the New York Giants for three years, and a short stint with the Me ...
, Paul Warfield
Paul Dryden Warfield (born November 28, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1977 for the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, except for a year in ...
, Leroy Kelly
Leroy Kelly (born May 20, 1942) is a former American football player. A Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, he played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1973.
Career
Kelly had attended Simon Gratz H ...
and Don Maynard
Donald Rogers Maynard (January 25, 1935 – January 10, 2022) was an American professional American football, football wide receiver known for playing for the New York Jets in the National Football League (NFL). He also played with the New York ...
; all four were already established stars in the NFL before joining the WFL.
The league's most severe impact was on the Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
, who had just won consecutive Super Bowls 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 high 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 arguably affected locations of other professional football teams: from the NFL, Hawaii hosted the Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
from 1980 through 2009 and again from 2011 to 2016, Jacksonville got the Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
in 1995, Charlotte received the Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
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) played one home game in Toronto a season from 2008 to 2013, and the league's original intent to expand the game globally is being partially fulfilled by the NFL International Series
The NFL International Series is a series of American football games during the National Football League (NFL) regular season that are played outside the United States. Since 2017, the series has two sub-series: the NFL London Games in the Uni ...
. Other cities became regular stops for franchises in other leagues:
*Memphis hosted the Showboats of the USFL
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
from 1983 to 1985, the Mad Dogs of the CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
in 1995, the XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
’s Maniax in 2001 and the Express in the AAF
AAF may refer to:
Aviation
* Aigle Azur (ICAO code), a French airline
* Apalachicola Regional Airport (IATA code), in Apalachicola, Florida
Corporations
* American Air Filter, today a part of HVAC-equipment-maker Daikin
Military
* Albanian Arm ...
in 2019. The NFL also used Memphis as a temporary home for the Tennessee Oilers
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to the ...
in 1997 before their stadium in Nashville was completed.
*Birmingham hosted the Vulcans and Magic of the AFA, Stallions
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck ...
of the USFL, the Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
of the WLAF from 1991 to 1992, Barracudas of the CFL in 1995, the Thunderbolts of the XFL in 2001 and the Iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
in the AAF in 2019. In 2022, the Birmingham Stallions
The 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 ...
of the second reiteration of the USFL became the champions of the new league version.
*Orlando hosted the Americans of the AFA, Renegades of the USFL, Thunder
Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...
of the WLAF, Rage of the XFL, the Tuskers of the UFL and the Apollos
Apollos ( grc-gre, Ἀπολλώς) was a 1st-century Alexandrian Jewish Christian mentioned several times in the New Testament. A contemporary and colleague of Paul the Apostle, he played an important role in the early development of the ch ...
of the AAF.
*Shreveport later hosted the Steamers of the AFA and the Pirates of the CFL.
*Jacksonville hosted the Firebirds of the AFA and the Bulls of the USFL before the NFL Jaguars franchise was awarded. In 2010, Jacksonville received an Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
expansion franchise, which revived the Sharks name.
*Charlotte later hosted the Chargers of the AFA before the NFL Panthers franchise was awarded.
*San Antonio later hosted the Charros of the AFA, Gunslingers
Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...
of the USFL, the Riders of the WLAF, the Texans of the CFL, the Matadors
A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activity ...
of the SFL, the Commanders
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
of the AAF, and four home games for the NFL 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 te ...
during their 2005 "road season", in which the Saints had to abandon their usual stadium, the Louisiana Superdome
The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...
, due to damage
Damage is any change in a thing, often a physical object, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly be defined as "changes introduced into a system that adversely affect its current or future performance".Farrar, C.R., Sohn, H., ...
from Hurricane Katrina. (San Antonio has also hosted NFL exhibition games.)
*Southern California hosted the Express of the USFL, the Xtreme of the 2001 XFL, the Wildcats
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...
in the 2020 XFL, the Dragons
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
of the SFL and was expected to host a franchise in the UFL, a promise that was never fulfilled before the league's sudden shutdown in 2012.
*The New York/New Jersey metropolitan area hosted the New Jersey Generals
The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...
of the USFL, the New York Sentinels
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
of the UFL, and the Guardians
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Uni ...
of the 2020 XFL, and two teams that bore both states' names: the Knights of the WLAF and the Hitmen
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...
of the 2001 XFL.
*Chicago hosted the Fire of the AFA, Blitz
Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to:
Military uses
*Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign
*The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War
*, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...
of the USFL and the Enforcers of the 2001 XFL.
*Detroit later hosted the Michigan Panthers
The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played i ...
of the USFL and was targeted as a possibility for XFL expansion before the 2001 XFL folded.
*Portland later hosted the Breakers of the USFL and served as the launching point for the CFL USA
The Canadian Football League (CFL), the sole major professional sports league in the United States and Canada to feature only teams from Canada, has made efforts to gain further audience in the United States, most directly through expansion in ...
initiative with an exhibition game in June 1992, though it never received a CFL team.
*Houston later hosted the Marshals
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
in the SFL and the Roughnecks in the 2020 XFL.
The NFL's Houston Texans revived the name of the WFL's franchise
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
for that city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
when it began play in 2002. ("Texans" had been used by an NFL Dallas team in 1952—after it folded, the remnants were taken over by the expansion Baltimore Colts—and by an AFL Dallas team in the early 1960s, which became the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The ...
.) The moniker was also used by 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
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
team called the Chicago Fire, and there are/were also NBA teams called 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 ...
(2001–present) and Charlotte Hornets (1988–2002, 2014–present) (the nickname "Hornets" was used for minor league baseball teams in Charlotte long before the WFL entry; also, the "Grizzlies" name for the Memphis NBA team was in use when the franchise was still in Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
). The Jacksonville Sharks
The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...
and Portland Thunder
The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...
names were later revived for teams in the 2010 revival of the Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
, with the indoor Sharks (outlasting its namesake by several years) having since moved to the National Arena League
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of teams based on the East Coast of the United States.
Teams' typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, while players are paid $ ...
.
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 its respective cities, and several of the AFA's key personnel had previously served in similar capacities with WFL teams; the league operated from 1977 to 1983.
The league also caused significant problems 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 the 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 does not mean he ever played for that team. L. C. Greenwood, for instance, never played a down of football for Birmingham. No one shown with a date after 1975 ever actually played for the WFL team listed due to the league's insolvency as of that year. (Note that the two Mike Taylors listed below are two different players.)
;Birmingham
: Ross Brupbacher, LB (Chicago Bears) 1974
:L. C. Greenwood
L. C. Henderson Greenwood (September 8, 1946September 29, 2013) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
College career
Born and raised in Canton, Mi ...
, DE (Pittsburgh Steelers) 1975
:Charley Harraway
Charles Edward Harraway, Jr. (born September 21, 1944) is a former professional American football player, a running back in the National Football League for eight seasons with the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins. He also played one season ...
, RB (Washington Redskins) 1974
:Ron Jessie
Ron Ray Jessie (February 4, 1948 – January 13, 2006) was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills. His best season came in 1976 with the Los Angeles Rams, ...
, WR (Detroit Lions) 1975
:George Mira
George Ignacio Mira (born January 11, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional American football player, a quarterback in eight National Football League (NFL) seasons for four teams. He then played five seasons in the Canadian Football Leag ...
, QB (Montreal Alouettes, CFL) 1974
: Jim Mitchell, TE (Atlanta Falcons) 1975
:Mike Montgomery
Michael John Montgomery (born February 27, 1947) is a retired American basketball coach. He is best known for his 18-year tenure at Stanford (1986–2004), where he led the program to 12 NCAA Tournaments, including a Final Four appearance in 199 ...
, RB (Dallas Cowboys) 1975
:Joe Profit
Joe Profit (born August 13, 1949) is a former American football running back for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League (NFL). He spent two seasons, plus part of a third, on the Atlanta Falcons before moving to the New Orleans Sai ...
, RB (New Orleans Saints) 1974
:Jethro Pugh
Jethro Pugh Jr. (July 3, 1944 – January 7, 2015) was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys for fourteen seasons. He played college football at Elizabeth City State College.
Early ye ...
, DT (Dallas Cowboys) 1976
: Paul Robinson, RB (Houston Oilers) 1975
: Ken Stabler, QB (Oakland Raiders) 1976
: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 Amer ...
, DB (St. Louis Cardinals) 1974
:Rayfield Wright
Larry Rayfield Wright (August 23, 1945 – April 7, 2022) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He is a member of the Pro Football Ha ...
, T (Dallas Cowboys) 1977
;Chicago
: Virgil Carter, QB (San Diego Chargers) 1974
: Bob McKay, T (Cleveland Browns) 1975
;Detroit
: Warren McVea, RB (Kansas City Chiefs) 1974
: Mike Taylor, LB (New York Jets) 1974
;Florida
:Bill Bergey
William Earl Bergey (born February 9, 1945) is a former American football linebacker who played professionally for 12 seasons, most notably with the Philadelphia Eagles of National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals ...
, LB (Cincinnati Bengals) 1976
: Bob Davis, QB (New Orleans Saints) 1974
:Fred Hoaglin
Fred Hoaglin, (born January 28, 1944, in Alliance, Ohio) is a former center in the NFL who played from 1966 to 1976. Graduated from East Palestine High School in East Palestine, Ohio and University of Pittsburgh. He was a member of the first Se ...
, C (Baltimore Colts) 1975
:Cecil Turner
Cecil Turner (born April 2, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for six seasons for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He went to the Pro Bowl after the 1970 season, when he t ...
, WR (Chicago Bears) 1975
: Perry Williams, RB (Green Bay Packers) 1975
;Hawaiians
:Vince Clements
Vince Clements (born January 4, 1949) is a former American football running back. He played for the New York Giants from 1972 to 1973. He was acquired by the Giants along with Norm Snead, Bob Grim, a first rounder in 1972 (24th overall– ...
, RB (New York Giants) 1975
: John Douglas, LB (New York Giants) 1975
:Ron East
Ronald Allan East (born August 26, 1943) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks. He played college foo ...
, DT (San Diego Chargers) 1974
: Ed Flanagan, C (Detroit Lions) 1975
:John Gilliam
John Rally Gilliam (born August 7, 1945) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He has owned a number of businesses, and for two years he worked for a radio station in ...
, WR (Minnesota Vikings) 1975
:Edd Hargett
Edward Eugene Hargett (born June 26, 1947) is a former American football quarterback for Texas A&M University who went on to play professionally for the National Football League (NFL)'s New Orleans Saints and Houston Oilers. He later played for t ...
, QB (Houston Oilers) 1975
:Calvin Hill
Calvin G. Hill (born January 2, 1947) is a retired American football player. He played running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. Hill played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Cleveland Browns. He also p ...
, RB (Dallas Cowboys)
:John Isenbarger
John Phillips Isenbarger (born December 5, 1947) is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League.
Football career College football
Isenbarger played college football at Indiana University.
Professional ...
, WR (San Francisco 49ers) 1975
:Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...
, QB (New York Giants) 1975
:Ted Kwalick
Thaddeus John Kwalick (born April 15, 1947) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) and World Football League (WFL). He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1969- 1974 and the Oakland Raiders from 1975-1 ...
, TE (San Francisco 49ers) 1975
:Jim Sniadecki
James Bert Sniadecki (born March 23, 1947) is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played five seasons for the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco F ...
, LB (San Francisco 49ers) 1975
: John Wilbur, G (Washington Redskins) 1975
:Greg Wojcik
Gregory Steven Wojcik (January 7, 1946 – December 17, 2005) was a former American football player who played with the Los Angeles Rams and the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He also played for the Orange County Ramblers of ...
:, DT (San Diego Chargers) 1974
;Houston
:Bob Creech
Bob Creech (born January 26, 1949) is a former NFL football player with the New Orleans Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles during the 1970s.
Creech attended Texas Christian University, where he played NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic ...
, LB (Philadelphia Eagles) 1974
: Richmond Flowers, DB (New York Giants) 1975
:Craig Morton
Larry Craig Morton (born February 5, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. He played college football at California, ...
, QB (Dallas Cowboys) 1975
;Jacksonville
:Guy Dennis
Guy Durell Dennis (born February 28, 1947) is an American former college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1960s and 1970s. Dennis played college ...
, OG (Detroit Lions) 1975
: Chip Glass, TE (Cleveland Browns) 1975
:Fair Hooker
Fair Hooker (born May 22, 1947) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). 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 Nettles, LB (British Columbia Lions, CFL) 1975
:Bob Parrish, DE (New York Jets) 1975
: Larry Smith, RB (Los Angeles Rams) 1975
:Harmon Wages
Harmon Leon Wages (born May 18, 1946) is an American former college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons during the 1960s and 1970s. He played college football for the ...
, RB (Atlanta Falcons) 1975
;Memphis
:Larry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is a former professional American football fullback who played for the Miami Dolphins for the majority of his career, along with the New York Giants for three years, and a short stint with the Me ...
, RB (Miami Dolphins) 1975
:John Harvey John Harvey may refer to:
People Academics
* John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician
* John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...
, RB (Montreal Alouettes, CFL) 1975
: Jim Kiick, RB (Miami Dolphins) 1975
: D. D. Lewis, LB (Dallas Cowboys) 1975
:Paul Warfield
Paul Dryden Warfield (born November 28, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1977 for the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, except for a year in ...
, WR (Miami Dolphins) 1975
: Ralph Hill (American football), C (New York Giants) 1975
;New York
:Al Barnes
Al Barnes was a college football player, a triple threat halfback for the VMI Keydets, selected All-Southern in 1927. He played quarterback on the McKeesport Olympics
The McKeesport Olympics were a professional football team from McKeesport ...
, WR (Detroit Lions) 1975
:Carter Campbell
Carter Campbell (born September 29, 1947) is a former American football defensive end and linebacker. He played for the San Francisco 49ers in 1970, the Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in ...
, DE (New York Giants) 1975
: Brian Dowling, QB (New England Patriots) 1976
: John Elliott, DT (New York Jets) 1974
:John Fuqua
John William "Frenchy" Fuqua (born September 12, 1947) is a retired professional American football running back who played from 1969 to 1976, for the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) and the New York S ...
, RB (Pittsburgh Steelers) 1976
:Gerry Philbin
Gerald John Philbin (born July 31, 1941) is a former American 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 ...
, DT (New York Jets) 1974
;Philadelphia
: Steve Chomyszak, DT (Cincinnati Bengals) 1975
: Ron Holliday, WR (San Diego Chargers) 1975
;Portland
:Hise Austin
Hise Austin (September 8, 1950 - June 4, 2019) was a defensive back and wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL).
Biography
Austin was born on September 8, 1950, in Houston, Texas.
Career
Austin played at college level at Prairie ...
, DB (Green Bay Packers) 1975
:Ron Billingsley
Ronald Smith Billingsley (April 6, 1945 – February 5, 2017) was an American football player, a defensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL).
Early years
Born in Florence, Alabama, Billingsley was ...
, DT (New Orleans Saints) 1975
:Levert Carr
Levert F. Carr (born June 30, 1944) is a former American football player who played four seasons in the National Football League with the Buffalo Bills and Houston Oilers. He first enrolled at Independence Community College before transferring to ...
, T (Houston Oilers) 1975
:Tom Drougas
Thomas Christopher Drougas, Jr. (born December 25, 1949) is a former American football player who played offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) in the 1970s.
He played high school football at Sunset High School (Beaverton, Oregon) ...
, T (Baltimore Colts) 1976
: Rocky Rasley, G (Detroit Lions) 1976
: Mike Taylor, T (St. Louis Cardinals) 1974
: Steve Thompson, DT (New York Jets) 1975
:Clancy Williams
Clarence "Clancy" Williams, Jr. (September 24, 1942 – September 21, 1986) was an American football defensive back who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL), all with the Los Angeles Rams.
Born in Texas, Williams was raised ...
, DB (Washington Redskins) 1974
;Southern California
:Curley Culp
Curley Culp (March 10, 1946 – November 27, 2021) was an American football defensive lineman who was a defensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona State Unive ...
, DT (Houston Oilers) 1975
:Daryle Lamonica
Daryle Pasquale Lamonica (July 17, 1941 – April 21, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He spent ...
, QB (Oakland Raiders) 1975
: Bob Newton, T (Chicago Bears) 1976
: Dave Williams, WR (Pittsburgh Steelers) 1974
:Dick Witcher
Dick Vernon Witcher (October 10, 1944February 22, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Witcher was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the eighth round (119th overa ...
, 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 coverage
The league's only national television contract was with the TVS Television Network
The TVS Television Network, or TVS for short, was a syndicator of American sports programming. It was one of the several "occasional" national television networks that sprang up in the early-to-mid-1960s to take advantage of the establishment ...
, a syndicator of American sports programming. Merle Harmon
Merle Reid Harmon (June 21, 1926 – April 15, 2009) was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play voice for five Major League Baseball teams, two teams in the American Football League and the World Football League's nationally syndicate ...
and Alex Hawkins
Clifton Alexander Hawkins (July 2, 1937 – September 12, 2017) was an American football player who played professionally as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts and Atlanta Falcons. He excelled as a spe ...
announced TVS' Thursday Night Game. Guest announcers were often brought into the booth including Paul Hornung
Paul Vernon Hornung (December 23, 1935 – November 13, 2020), nicknamed "the Golden Boy", was an American professional football player who was a Hall of Fame running back for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) from 195 ...
, George Plimpton
George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found ''The Paris Review'', as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was also known for " ...
, Alex Karras, and McLean Stevenson
Edgar "Mac" McLean Stevenson Jr. (November 14, 1927 – February 15, 1996) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake in the television series ''M*A*S*H'', which earned him a Golden Glob ...
.
According to TVS president Eddie Einhorn Eddie Einhorn (January 3, 1936 – February 24, 2016) was minority owner and vice chairman of the Chicago White Sox.
Biography
Einhorn grew up in a Jewish family in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of Mae (née Lippman) and Harold B. Einhorn and resi ...
, the games actually got decent ratings at first. However, affiliates started bailing out after the Philadelphia and Jacksonville gate-inflation scandals. The trickle became a flood after two teams moved in the middle of the season and two more folded altogether. New York's midseason relocation came in part because the lights at Downing Stadium were nowhere near bright enough to illuminate the entire field, leading TVS to deem them inadequate for broadcast. This limited the Stars' national television exposure to away games. 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, and 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.[ The loss of such a critical revenue stream was a factor in the league's collapse midway through the season.
Recordings from a few WFL telecasts survive, including two games involving the Jacksonville Sharks: one includes approximately one hour of footage from the July 10, 1974 match between the Sharks and the New York Stars, and the second includes ten minutes of footage from the Sharks hosting the Chicago Fire on July 17. ]NFL Films
NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ...
included clips from the Sharks-Stars game, including an animated introduction, in their television documentary series ''Lost Treasures of NFL Films'' in 2001. In it, host Steve Sabol describes the damaged video tape as ''"a fourth generation copy of a copy"'' and as ''"TV history"''; Sabol also noted that much of the WFL footage was lost or destroyed, and that much of what remained was home-recorded kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...
s far below broadcast quality. Lewis Bice, who shot promotional film for Birmingham to be used for highlight reels, preserved some of his work, which NFL Films used in the special along with the surviving telecast footage; NFL Films was pleasantly surprised at the caliber of Bice's surviving footage, which was remarkably close to NFL Films's own work. Twenty-one minutes of the TVS broadcast of the 1974 World Bowl - including the pre-game show, player introductions, and opening kick off - was uploaded to YouTube in 2018.
One complete game on radio in audio form also survives - the 1974 WFL Playoff Game involving the California Sun and the Hawaiians, recorded from Hawaiians flagship station KGMB. A mostly complete recording of the Chicago Fire's radio broadcast on WJJD-FM of their game against the Philadelphia Bell also survives as do fragments of other WFL radio broadcasts.
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
Spencer Ross (born July 19, 1940) 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 a ...
(New York Stars radio), Bob Sheppard
Robert Leo Sheppard (October 20, 1910 – July 11, 2010) was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (1951–2007), and ...
(New York Stars PA), Mike Patrick
Michael Patrick (born September 9, 1944) is a retired American sportscaster, known for his long tenure with ESPN.
Early career
Patrick began his broadcasting career in the fall of 1966 at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pennsylvania. In 1970, he was ...
(Jacksonville Sharks
The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...
), Larry King
Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...
(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 (no connection to the current NFL team of the same name), playing their ...
), Larry Matson
Larry James 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. In 19 ...
(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 ...
/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 (WFL). The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart lea ...
), Fred Sington
Frederic William Sington (February 24, 1910 – August 20, 1998) was an American football and baseball player. Sington was also an accomplished saxophonist. Sington was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and was Jewish.
He attended Phillips High Sch ...
(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 ...
/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 (WFL). The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart lea ...
) and Eddie Doucette Eddie Doucette (born June 15, 1940) is a former television and radio sportscaster and currently the president of Doucette Promotions Inc.
Doucette was the original radio play-by-play voice of the Milwaukee Bucks, where he broadcast games for 16 ye ...
and Vince Lloyd
Vince Lloyd Skaff (June 1, 1917 – July 3, 2003), who worked under the name Vince Lloyd, was a radio announcer for Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs for over 30 years. He also was the first radio voice in Chicago Bulls history.
Lloyd was bor ...
( Chicago Fire radio and TV respectively).
While the Boston Bulls franchise never made it onto the field; the team's preparations for the 1974 season had gone along far enough for the team to have signed contracts that January, shortly before the plug was pulled, with WLVI
WLVI (channel 56) is a television station licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, serving the Boston area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Sunbeam Television alongside WHDH (channel 7), an independent station. WLVI and W ...
to televise the club's away games (as well as agreeing to pick-up the TVS package) and WEEI-AM to carry the team's entire schedule on radio. Although the franchise would be folded into the New York Stars, WLVI nevertheless honored their agreement to be the TVS/WFL outlet for Boston.
The league predated the vast expansion of cable television and sports networks spearheaded by the birth of ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
in 1979, which severely limited the options the WFL had to televise. At the time, the AFL–NFL merger
The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, w ...
, coupled with the launch of ''Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...
'', had spread the NFL broadcast rights over all three of the Big Three television networks
In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and ABC (American Broadcasting Company) — that due to their lon ...
. The NFL, in a 1973 memo, noted that if the NFL had left one of the Big Three networks without NFL rights, it would have left an opening for the WFL. This memo was later used as evidence when the United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
(which included Einhorn as one of its team owners) filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, hoping to break its television contracts; the lawsuit, although it acknowledged the monopoly, did not succeed in voiding the contracts.
Teams
Same franchises are shown on the same line.
* 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 ...
(1974)
* 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 (WFL). The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart lea ...
(1975)
* Chicago Fire (1974)
* Chicago Winds
The Chicago Winds was the World Football League's ill-fated 1975 successor to the Chicago Fire. The team was so named because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and the team was assigned to the WFL's Weste ...
(1975)
* 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 ...
(1974)
* Florida Blazers
The Florida Blazers were an American football team who played in the World Football League in 1974. The team moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings.
History
The Blazers began in 1974 when oceanographic engineer E. Joseph W ...
(1974), San Antonio Wings
The San Antonio Wings were an American football team who played in the World Football League in 1975. The team started as the Florida Blazers in 1974, then moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings.
History
The Florida Blazers ...
(1975)
* The Hawaiians
Hawaiians are the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiians or The Hawaiians may also refer to:
* The Hawaiians (WFL), a football team in the World Football League from 1974 to 1975
* The Hawaiians (film), ''The Hawaiians'' (film), a 1 ...
(1974–75)
* Houston Texans/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 (no connection to the current NFL team of the same name), playing their ...
(1974), Shreveport Steamer (1975)
* Jacksonville Sharks
The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...
(1974)
* Jacksonville Express
The Jacksonville Express were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida which competed in the World Football League (WFL) in 1975. They were preceded in 1974 by the WFL's Jacksonville Sharks, though the two teams had s ...
(1975)
* Memphis Southmen
The Memphis Southmen, also known as the Memphis Grizzlies, were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. They played in the World Football League (WFL), which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl M ...
(1974-75)
* New York Stars New York Stars could refer to:
*New York Stars (WBL), a team that played two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League before disbanding in 1980
*New York Stars (WFL), a team in the World Football League that relocated in 1974 and becam ...
/Charlotte Stars
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populou ...
/ Charlotte Hornets (1974), Charlotte Hornets (1975)
* The Philadelphia Bell (1974–75)
* Portland Storm
The Portland Thunder (originally Portland Storm) was an American football team in the World Football League based out of Portland, Oregon. When the World Football League was created in October 1973, the Storm was the original New York franchise. ...
(1974)
* Portland Thunder
The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...
(1975)
* 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 wer ...
(1974–75)
Stadiums
* Legion Field
Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ho ...
, Birmingham (1974–75)
* Soldier Field
Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since ...
, Chicago (1974–75)
* Rynearson Stadium
Rynearson Stadium, nicknamed "The Factory", is a stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Eastern Michigan University Eagles. Currently, the stadium has seating for 30,200 people. St ...
, Ypsilanti (1974)
* Citrus Bowl, Orlando (1974)
* Alamo Stadium
Alamo Stadium is a horseshoe-shaped football and soccer stadium in the Monte Vista Historic District of San Antonio, Texas. Nicknamed "The Rock Pile" due to its primarily limestone construction it was completed in September 1940 as a Works P ...
, San Antonio (1975)
* Honolulu Stadium (1974–75)
* Aloha Stadium, Honolulu (1975)
* Astrodome
The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
, Houston (1974)
* State Fair Stadium, Shreveport (1974–75)
* Gator Bowl Stadium, Jacksonville (1974–75)
* Liberty Bowl Stadium
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (originally named Memphis Memorial Stadium, and later Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium) is a stadium, football stadium located at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds in the Midtown, Memphis, Midtown area of Memphis, Tennes ...
, Memphis (1974–75)
* Downing Stadium
Downing 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. Downing, a director at the New York City Department of Parks a ...
, New York (1974)
* American Legion Memorial Stadium
American Legion Memorial Stadium is a 10,500-seat stadium located on 7th Street in the Elizabeth community of Charlotte, North Carolina. It is located on a complex with the Grady Cole Center. Both are located next to Central Piedmont Community C ...
, Charlotte (1974–75)
* John F. Kennedy Stadium
John F. Kennedy Stadium, formerly Philadelphia Municipal Stadium and Sesquicentennial Stadium. was an open-air stadium in Philadelphia that stood from 1926 to 1992. The South Philadelphia stadium was on the east side of the far southern end of ...
, Philadelphia (1974–75)
* Franklin Field
Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for American football, foo ...
, Philadelphia (1975)
* Civic Stadium, Portland (1974–75)
* Anaheim Stadium
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Angel ...
, Anaheim (1974–75)
Rules
The WFL had several important rules differences from 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 ...
of that era, and many were eventually adopted by the older league:
* The WFL football was orange colored, to make it more visible at night and to fit with 1970s aesthetics.
* Touchdowns were worth 7 points, instead of 6. As a result of this, the standard point after touchdown
The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...
kick was eliminated.
* In lieu of the PAT kick, conversions called "Action Points" were instituted, and could only be scored via a scrimmage play (much in the same way as a two-point conversion
In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run ...
) and were worth one point. The ball was placed on the two-and-a-half-yard line for an Action Point. This rule was a revival of a 1968 preseason experiment by the NFL and American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
(called "Pressure Points"), but the WFL claimed this as an invention of their own, crediting Bill Finneran, a computer analyst from White Plains, New York
(Always Faithful)
, image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png
, seal_link =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State
, su ...
, with the innovation. The original XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
employed a similar rule for its only season in 2001.
* Kickoffs were from the 30-yard line instead of the 40. Until 1973, NFL teams kicked off from the 40; from 1974 to 1993 and since 2011, the NFL moved its kickoffs to the 35; and from 1994 to 2010, the kickoff line was pushed back to the 30.
* Receivers needed only one foot in bounds for a legal pass reception, instead of both feet in the NFL then and now. College and high school football, the Arena Football League, and the CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
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. In the 1974 season, the NFL also moved its posts back to the end line (where they have remained since) 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; this rule remains in high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
. 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 football
Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played 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 oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...
. 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 calls the breach of this 5-yard area a "no yards" penalty), which still uses it, as does Arena football with kickoffs and missed field goals. The XFL also used this rule, calling it the "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 unique among American football leagues. 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.
* 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 four pre-season and 16 regular-season games, and again in 2021 to the current three pre-season and 17 regular-season games.). The CFL played 16-game seasons with four pre-season games (since 1986, they play an 18-game season with two pre-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). At the time, the Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, which must contend with colder winters than American leagues, had recently completed a gradual move from playing twice weekly with a similar start time to the season as the NFL to playing once weekly and starting its season in July (the CFL now commonly starts its regular season in June).
* Weeknight football (1974). While NFL games were played mostly on Sundays and, from 1970 onwards, a game on Monday night, 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 Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
" by the NFL in 2006.
* The " Dickerod". Instead of using a ten-yard chain strung between two sticks (and three men to perform the task) for measuring first down yardage, the WFL used a device called the "Dickerod", named for its inventor, George Dicker. 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. A single person operated the device. (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.)
Commissioners
*Gary L. Davidson
Gary L. Davidson (born August 13, 1934) is an American lawyer and businessman who is based in Orange County, California.
Davidson co-founded and served as the first president of the World Hockey Association and co-founded, with former Buena Park ...
1973–74
*Christopher Hemmeter
Christopher Hemmeter (October 8, 1939 – November 27, 2003) was an American real estate developer who pioneered the concept of destination resorts in Hawaii and was involved in gambling development of casinos, primarily in New Orleans and Col ...
1974–75
See also
*World Bowl (WFL)
The World Bowl, also known as World Bowl 1, was the only American football championship game of the short-lived World Football League. The Birmingham Americans defeated the Florida Blazers 22–21 on Thursday, December 5, 1974 at Legion ...
*List of American and Canadian football leagues
This is a list of current and defunct leagues of American football and Canadian football.
Leagues in North America
Current professional leagues in North America
Professional outdoor leagues
''Major''
* National Football League (NFL), 192 ...
*WFL All-Time Team The WFL All-Time Team is a list of the top players in the history of the World Football League chosen by fans of the WFL. It includes a First-team, a Second-team. Absent from the team are the high-dollar signees from the National Football League, su ...
References
External links
World Football League
*
{{Authority control
Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States
Defunct American football leagues in the United States
Defunct national American football leagues
Sports leagues established in 1974
1975 disestablishments in the United States
TVS Television Network
1974 establishments in the United States
Sports leagues disestablished in 1975