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.
Gerald John Philbin is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the American Football League (NFL) and National Football League (NFL). He was a four-year starter playing college football for the Buffalo Bulls, earning several honors including second-team All-American, Little All-American, and All-American Academic team. Drafted by both the Detroit Lions of the NFL and the New York Jets of the AFL in the third round of their respective 1964 drafts, he joined the Jets and became an immediate starter and perennial All-AFL selection at defensive end. He played stellar defense for them for nine seasons.
William Earl Bergey is an American former 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 of the American Football League (AFL) in 1969, the year before the AFL–NFL merger was completed, and continued to play with the Bengals in the NFL until 1973. Bergey subsequently signed with the Eagles the following year, where he played seven seasons until retiring in 1981.
Ernie Sims III is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was selected by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft. He also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys.
Peter Falconer Beathard is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the American Football League (AFL), National Football League (NFL), and World Football League (WFL). He is the younger brother of former NFL executive Bobby Beathard and is current Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback C. J. Beathard’s great-uncle.
Anthony Lee Adams is an American former gridiron football player, a quarterback in the World Football League (WFL), National Football League (NFL), and Canadian Football League (CFL).
Keith Robert Krepfle is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons. He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones.
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).
John Booker Walton is a former American football player and coach. He played professionally as a quarterback in the Continental Football League (CFL), World Football League (WFL), National Football League (NFL), and United States Football League (USFL). Walton played college football at Elizabeth City State University. He served two stints at the head football coach at Elizabeth City State, from 1980 to 1982 and 1989 to 1990, compiling a record of 25–24–2.
David Euell Roller is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Prior to his professional career, Roller played college football for the University of Kentucky, where he received multiple commendations for his athletic accomplishments, including induction into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. Roller was drafted by the New York Giants in the 13th round of the 1971 NFL draft as the 330th overall pick. He played for the Giants for one season, before a brief stint playing in the World Football League. He returned to the NFL in 1975 with the Green Bay Packers, where he would go on to play for four seasons. He left Green Bay in 1979 to play for the Minnesota Vikings for two seasons before retiring from professional football. Altogether, Roller played in the NFL for seven seasons and appeared in 92 games.
William Glenn Hobbs was an American football linebacker who played for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints and two seasons in the World Football League (WFL) for the Florida Blazers and San Antonio Wings. He was selected by the Eagles in the eighth round of the 1969 NFL draft. He played college football at Texas A&M.
The 1948 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Eagles repeated as Eastern Division champions and returned to the NFL Championship game, this time defeating the Chicago Cardinals to win their first NFL title.
Ernest Elmer Blandin was a professional American football tackle who played six seasons for the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and later the National Football League (NFL).
Matthew Adrian Young Jr. is a former American football linebacker who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Young played college football for the University of Southern California (USC), and earned All-American honors. The Philadelphia Eagles chose him in the third round of the 1968 NFL/AFL draft, and he played professionally for the Eagles, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears.
Robert Owen Majors is a former American football defensive back who played one season with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 1972 NFL draft. Majors played college football at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He was a consensus All-American in 1971. He was also a member of the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League (WFL). He is the younger brother of former Tennessee head coach Johnny Majors.
Raymond Jones is a former American football defensive back who played four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 1970 NFL draft. He played college football at Southern University and attended Peabody Magnet High School in Alexandria, Louisiana. Jones was also a member of the Portland Storm of the World Football League (WFL).
Greg Lee Barton was a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Detroit Lions. He was traded from the Lions to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 1971 second-round selection and 1972 second- and third-round picks on January 28, 1971. He led the 1964 Long Beach Vikings football team to the junior college national championship, and also played college football for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. He also played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Toronto Argonauts and in the World Football League (WFL) for the Portland Storm.
Billy Walik is a former gridiron football wide receiver and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL), the World Football League (WFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Villanova.
Donald Eugene Ratliff is an American former gridiron football wide receiver and defensive end who played four seasons, for the Florida Blazers, Detroit Wheels, and Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League (WFL), the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL), and the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He later was a businessman.
William Lee Overmyer is a former American football linebacker.
