The Birmingham Vulcans were a professional

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

team located in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

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

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

(WFL). The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart league's second and final season in 1975. The team was owned by a group of Birmingham businessmen with Ferd Weil as team president. The Vulcans replaced the Birmingham Americans who had held the WFL franchise for Birmingham in 1974, winning World Bowl I in December 1974 before suffering financial collapse. The Vulcans were the best team in the league in 1975 with a 9–3 record and the best at the box office until the league folded 12 weeks into its second season. After the WFL ceased operations, the Vulcans were declared league champions by virtue of having the best record. When the league folded, Birmingham and the

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

attempted to get admitted into the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

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

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

. When the Memphis effort failed, Vulcans followers were forced to accept the inevitable as well, and efforts to get the team into the more established league were abandoned. The Vulcans name would be recycled for the Alabama Vulcans, a member of the American Football Association, in 1979. , two former Vulcans players have been inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Birmingham native Johnny "Italian Stallion" Musso, who placed 4th in

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

voting while playing for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

, was inducted in the Class of 1989. Larry Willingham, who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and retired for medical reasons in 1973 but made a comeback in 1974 with the Birmingham Americans, was inducted in the Class of 2003. Willingham was also elected to the

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

"1970s Team of the Decade."

Schedule and results

1975 regular season

References

External links

WFL1974 – a Birmingham Americans & Vulcans history site

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

Schedule and results

1975 regular season

See also

References

External links