July 13th, 1975: "A New Start For Vulcans' Powell"

The article below appeared in the Selma Times-Journal on the date indicated in the subject line.

 

Feb 24th, 2019: "Trent Richardson scores 3 TDs, Birmingham Iron earns 28-12 victory over Atlanta"

Inching forward with recording the Iron's brief existence, this partial summary is again by Dudley. The full version with quotes can be accessed through this link.

The photography was taken from the team's Instagram account and uncredited.

(Trent) Richardson scored three rushing touchdowns while the defense forced four turnovers and allowed two field goals – in four trips to the red zone – to lift the Birmingham Iron (3-0) to a 28-12 victory today over the Atlanta Legends at Georgia State Stadium in Atlanta.

Richardson finished with 46 rushing yards but scored three touchdowns – two in the second half – to give the former Alabama standout six rushing scores this season. He also scored a 2-point conversion attempt after his second touchdown.

Trent Richardson

Atlanta took a 3-0 lead off a 21-yard field goal from Younghoe Koo to start the second quarter, but the Iron answered with a 39-yard kick from Nick Novak and a 5-yard rushing touchdown from Richardson with 2:39 to go in the half.

The Legends managed to score on another field goal attempt near the end of the first half but was shut out in the second half until 1:41 remaining. Birmingham allowed 346 total yards but picked off Matt Simms three times– one each by Jack Tocho, Matt Redfield and Jamar Summers – while sacking the former Tennessee quarterback three times.

Casey Sayles 

Simms finished 27-of-46 passing for 280 yards and connected with 10 different receivers. He threw a a 23-yard touchdown pass to Keith Towbridge late in the fourth quarter.

Richardson scored twice in the second half, and Novak nailed another long field goal in the third quarter to push the lead to 26-6 before the final Atlanta score cut the final margin to 28-12.

(Luis) Perez finished 17-of-31 passing for 160 yards and looked far more comfortable in the second half despite throwing his first interception of the season. He was sacked only once.

The appropriately named Highlight Heaven has an almost 12-minute video package for this game which I've embedded below. 

Sept 1st, 1984: "Bulldogs Ready For First Game Since 1973"

Since UAB's return to the field in 1990 was recently given a little spotlight, in the spirit of equal time I shall do the same for Samford. The article below, again from the Birmingham Post-Herald, was published on the day that the team would take the field for the first time in more than a decade. 

It...Wouldn't go so well. The Bulldogs lost 82-09. Baby steps, man. 

(Anniston Star, Sept 2nd, 1984)

March 11th, 1984: Birmingham Stallions 30 @ Pittsburgh Maulers 18

This game generated quite a bit coverage as Stallions QB Cliff Stoudt returned to Pittsburgh to face off against the Maulers for the first time since leaving the NFL's Steelers. The buzz around his return led to the league's first officially sold-out game. 

All images are from the Birmingham Post-Herald from the following day, except for the bottom two. Both are from Pennsylvania newspapers. Credit appears at bottom right. 

UAB's Formative Years

While this blog is largely dedicated to the pro teams that have graced Birmingham over the years, coming across an article about UAB's first season (probably while looking for material on the Birmingham Fire, based on the year) has caused me to think that the Blazers program's early days are probably worth revisiting.

All articles are from, not surprisingly, the Birmingham Post-Herald in 1990. This first one is from July 18th. As you'll read in the article following, 1990 wasn't the program's first season as such, but rather the one in which is began to form into something more solid.

Moving on to September 17th.

The team's first victory was achieved on October 28th versus Marion Military. 

Hilyer passed away this past January at the age of 86. He had also been an assistant coach with the original Birmingham Stallions throughout their existence.

August 13th, 1979: "Gilliam's Missing, but Vulcans Win Anyway"

I keep waffling about whether to include the Alabama Vulcans on this page.

I see them referred to as a semi-pro team but there was a payment plan in place for the players (a certain percentage of gate receipts). My understanding is that if you're paid, you're a professional. I don't understand the semi-pro label in this case.

Whenever I come upon new information about the American Football Association, it comes across as a hot mess dumpster fire of a shit show, yet it ran for several years (1977 to 1983) which is more than any other league that has included Birmingham can claim. The Vulcans were only involved for one, the 1979 season, and were reasonably successful on the field despite the many challenges presented to them, both internal and league-wide (such as teams folding).

The article below is about the most complete I've happened upon, though I admit I haven't tried particularly hard. There is still too much material about the original Stallions, Vulcans, etc. to track down to spend much time on these guys but maybe when all those other teams are covered, I'll return to the AFA. For now, I'll post this article as a bookmark and reminder.     

You're probably wondering, as I was, whatever happened to the coach's car! It was found shortly after at the airport. Gilliam had left it there and flown off to visit family.

Former Pittsburgh Steeler Gilliam never did play for this team. He returned to Baltimore and found his way to the USFL in 1983. I believe Mike Horton, the runner in the image above, also popped up in the USFL, with the 1984 Stallions.

1976, August 5th: "Cantrelle Victim of Big Business"

The article below appeared in the South Mississippi Sun just following former Birmingham American and Vulcan running back Art Cantrelle's retirement. 

Searching for information about whatever became of Cantrelle following his playing career, I found out that he was inducted in the Bayou Region Athletic Hall of Fame earlier this year. The following video was produced as a result of his induction, though being a Bayou Region hall of fame, it naturally focuses more on his collegiate career at Louisiana State. Pro football in Alabama and Canada clearly was second priority, underscored by their misidentification of Jack Pardee as Jack Gotta.

Still, it's a good watch. I can only hope to look that good at 74!

Joe Cribbs by George Gojkovich/Getty Images, 1984

The picture below finds its way around several websites or articles about the original Birmingham Stallions but often cropped, uncredited and of lower quality.

A higher quality version of it appeared on al.com in a June 2021 story about the USFL's upcoming (at the time) return. Since it provided the name of the photographer and a proper caption, it seemed like the best version to store and share. 

Birmingham Stallions running back Joe Cribbs carries the football during a USFL game against the Pittsburgh Maulers on March 11, 1984, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. George Gojkovich/Getty Images