"Fire's McGowan a Small Wonder"

The article below, about Birmingham Fire linebacker Paul McGowan, is from the April 8th, 1992, edition of the Birmingham Post-Herald.

I was very pleased to come across this article. McGowan was a big part of my becoming a fan of the Fire in 1991. His biographical information doesn't tend to mention it, but he played with my hometown Ottawa Rough Riders prior to joining Birmingham.

Having that familiar face on the roster drew me to following the Fire instead of the Montreal Machine, even though that team played just a couple of hours down the road.

It's funny to read about McGowan maintaining that he is six feet tall as other guys tease him about his height, or lack thereof. The gentleman who issued the CFL's Jogo cards either agreed that it was plausible, or was kind enough to play along, because that's the exact height listed on the back of McGowan's. 

Wikipedia, meanwhile, has him at 6'2".

Following the Fire's demise, McGowan continued to play for several years with the Arena League's Orlando Predators.