The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The league folded midway through its second season, in 1975. A new minor football league began play as the World Football League in 2008 after acquiring the rights to its trademarks and intellectual property; it folded in 2011.
The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League (WFL). The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974. The team was owned by William "Bill" Putnam, doing business as Alabama Football, Inc.
James Robert Kalsu was an American football player who was an All-American tackle at the University of Oklahoma and an eighth-round selection in the 1968 NFL/AFL draft by the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL). Kalsu joined the U.S. Army as an officer after the 1968 season and was killed in action in the Vietnam War in 1970.
John Perry Pardee was an American professional football player and head coach. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). As a coach, he is the only head coach to helm a team in college football, the NFL, the United States Football League (USFL), the World Football League (WFL), and the Canadian Football League (CFL). Pardee was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.
Joe Stanier Cribbs is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at Auburn University along with future NFL backs William Andrews and James Brooks. He began his professional career in 1980 with the Buffalo Bills.
John Carl Stofa was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL).
Robert Gain was an American football player who played 13 seasons for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL), and also played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played in five Pro Bowls in the space of seven years with the Browns and was a first-team All-Pro selection once and a second-team selection seven times.
Robert Douglas Johnson is an American former football center who played for 12 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, first in the American Football League (AFL), and then in the National Football League (NFL). He was the Bengals first-ever draft selection when he was chosen with the second overall pick in the 1968 NFL/AFL draft.
Charles Edward Harraway, Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a running back for eight seasons with the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He also played one season in the World Football League, with the champion Birmingham Americans in 1974. He played college football for the San Jose State Spartans.
George Ignacio Mira is an American former football quarterback who played in eight National Football League (NFL) seasons for four teams. He then played five seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the World Football League (WFL).
Howard Wayne Kindig, Jr. is a former American football defensive end who played ten seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL), mainly with the Buffalo Bills.
Dennis Frank Homan is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons for the Dallas Cowboys (1968–1970) and the Kansas City Chiefs (1971–1972). He later played for the Birmingham Americans (1974) and Birmingham Vulcans (1975) of the World Football League (WFL) He is most proud of his children and grandchildren.
The Pacific Coast Professional Football League (PCPFL), also known as the Pacific Coast Football League (PCFL) and Pacific Coast League (PCL) was a professional American football minor league based in California. It operated from 1940 through 1948. One of the few minor American professional sports leagues that competed in the years of World War II, the PCPFL was regarded as a minor league of the highest level, particularly from 1940 to 1945, at a time in which the National Football League (NFL) did not extend further west than Chicago and Green Bay. It was also the first professional football league to have a team based in Hawaii.
Joseph Raymond O'Donnell was an American football player. He played college football as a fullback, guard and tackle for the University of Michigan from 1960 to 1963. He also played professional football as a guard and tackle for eight seasons for the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He was a part of the 1964 and 1965 AFL Championship teams. O'Donnell was an AFL Eastern Division All-Star in 1965. He also came out of retirement to play in the World Football League (WFL) in 1974 and 1975.
Edgar Thomas Chandler, Jr. was an American football player who played linebacker professionally for six seasons for the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL), and for the NFL's New England Patriots. Chandler was a two-time All-American at the University of Georgia, in 1966 and 1967.
Alvin B. Wyatt is a former American football player and coach of football and basketball. He played professionally as a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) with the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, and Houston Oilers and in World Football League (WFL) with the Jacksonville Sharks. Wyatt served as the head football coach at his alma mater, Bethune–Cookman University from 1997 to 2009 and Edward Waters College from 2013 to 2017, compiling a career college football coaching record of 100–92. He was also the head women's basketball coach at Bethune–Cookman from 1978 to 1996, tallying a mark of 245–201.
Robert John Landsee was an American professional football player and coach. He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers and was selected in the sixth round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, where he played as a center and guard for parts of three seasons. He later served as head coach and owner of the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League (AFL).
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 Field in Birmingham, Alabama. George Mira, quarterback for Birmingham was named the game's Most Valuable Player (MVP). It was televised on TVS Television Network.
The 1974 WFL pro draft was the first professional draft of the World Football League (WFL). It supplemented its collegiate draft and included players from the NFL and CFL. It consisted of 480 selections in 40 rounds. Although it was expected that most of the NFL players drafted would have no intention of signing with the new league, the WFL still wanted to have the prominent NFL players future rights assigned, preventing WFL teams from competing in the signing for the same players.