Birmingham has not supported non-college or NFL level football.
Birmingham, Alabama might be losing yet another sports franchise. The United Football League’s main decision guy, Mike Repole, put out a social media post and it doesn’t look good for the few fans that supported the Birmingham Stallions franchise. Repole posted. “Sitting in a senior leadership meeting planning the 2027 season, one thing is becoming very clear. The right market. The right sized venue. A passionate fan base. That’s the winning formula. I have a hard time seeing us back at the Stadium next year. It goes against one of the biggest principles we’re building this league around, smaller stadiums, packed houses, real energy and a true home field atmosphere. Birmingham, I am looking and need options and ideas.”
Birmingham has had various forms of minor league baseball since 1885. But football is king in Alabama and college football is more than a game. In 1968, the American Football League’s Boston Patriots franchise owners were having problems getting a proper stadium in the Boston area and played the New York Jets whose quarterback was Joe Namath in Birmingham. Namath played at the University of Alabama. The Patriots ownership eventually would build a stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. In 1974, Birmingham investors got a World Football League franchise. The league lasted two seasons and then Birmingham owners along with the Memphis ownership sued the National Football League on antitrust grounds hoping to get NFL franchises. But the suit went nowhere. A World Hockey Association Birmingham franchise folded in 1979. Birmingham would get a United States Football League franchise in 1983 and that team folded in 1986. Birmingham has had a World League of American Football team, an XFL franchise, a Canadian Football League squad and an Alliance of American Football team. The Stallions franchise started in the new USFL in 2022. Birmingham keeps failing at football on the pro level.
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Birmingham Stallions
