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.