The Alabama Hawks 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 based in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

. They were members of various minor league football circuits in the 1960s: the Southern Football League (1963–64); the North American Football League (1965–66), the

Professional Football League of America A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

(1967), and finally the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Fo ...

during the league's last two years (1968–1969). While in the CoFL, the Hawks played in the Eastern Division of the Atlantic Conference. During the 1968 season, the team was also known as the Huntsville Hawks. In 1967, in the PFLA's last year of operation, the Hawks won the Western Division with a 9–3 record and hosted the league's championship game at

Milton Frank Stadium Milton Frank Stadium is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Huntsville, Alabama. It was used for Alabama A&M football games before the creation of Louis Crews Stadium. It is currently used mainly for Huntsville City Schools high school an ...

, losing 31–20 to the Joliet Chargers. The Hawks served as an "unofficial" minor league affiliate of the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. On August 2, 1969, the Falcons came to Huntsville to play an exhibition game against the Hawks at

; playing mostly rookies, Atlanta easily beat Alabama, 55–0. The contest marked the only time an NFL squad played a Continental League team. (In 1972, the New York Jets rookies would play the minor league Long Island Chiefs and in 1974, the Houston Oilers rookies would play the minor league San Antonio Toros) The Hawks sent several notable players on to the NFL including Jeff Van Note, Chip Myers, Glen Condren, and Art Strahan, uncle of

Michael Strahan Michael Anthony Strahan ( ; born November 21, 1971) is an American television host, journalist, and former professional American football, football player. He played his entire 15-year professional career as a defensive end for the New York Gian ...

. Hawks running back Billy "Tootie" Hill—who set a record by scoring ten touchdowns in a single game—went on to coach

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

in the area and, later, the semi-pro Rocket City Titans of the

Gridiron Developmental Football League The Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL) is a low-level American football minor league based in Memphis, Tennessee, using the franchise model. The GDFL acts as an umbrella group that encompasses teams from across the contiguous United St ...

References

Continental Football League teams American football teams in Alabama American football in Huntsville, Alabama American football teams established in 1963 American football teams disestablished in 1969 1963 establishments in Alabama 1969 disestablishments in Alabama Professional Football League of America teams {{Alabama-sport-team-stub