THE WORLD FOOTBALL LEAGUE LIVES ON

This season the World Football League returns to action. Many of you may be to young to remember the WFL of old. The league played in 74' & 75'. Pictured above are the Birmingham Vulcans(white) and the Shreveport Steamer playing at State Fair Stadium now known as Independence Stadium in Shreveport, LA in 1975.  Independence Stadium is home to the annual College Independence Bowl. The Vulcans played as the Birmingham Americans in 1974 and won the only World Bowl ever played in the WFL. In the Americans inaugural 74' season 58,000 fans welcomed the new team to Birmingham. A lot of the teams in the old WFL drew averages of 15,000 to 20,000 fans.

The WFL is remembered mostly for producing a number of coaches who would find success in the NFL: notably Jack Pardee, Lindy Infante, and Marty Schottenheimer. Memphis head coach John McVay went on to become head coach of the New York Giants, but had more success as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers during the 1980s dynasty years. Several players, most notably Danny White and Vince Papale, later found success in the NFL as well.

The league's most severe impact was on the Miami Dolphins, who had just won consecutive Super Bowls before the WFL's snagging of three of their star players, Larry Czonka, Jim Kiick, and Paul Warfield. 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 remainder of the 1970s.

This year the new WFL recognizes the league from the 70's and will play World Bowl II in Shreveport on Sept 20th. The WFL will host players from the 74'-75' league and pay tribute to the players from the World Bowl I champions Birmingham Americans. In 2009 several cities will host the return of their former teams to the new WFL. It is rumored the Shreveport Steamer will be one of those teams. To take a step into the past and relive the 74'-75' seasons visit www.WorldFootballLeague.org , www.wfl1974.com or www.charlottehornetswfl.com