Birmingham Americans
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| Established | December 1973 |
|---|---|
| Folded | March 1975 |
| Based in | Birmingham, Alabama |
| Home field | Legion Field |
| Head coach | Jack Gotta |
| General manager | Jack Gotta |
| Owner(s) | Bill Putnam |
| League | World Football League |
| Division | Central |
| Colours | Red, white and blue |
| Nickname(s) | Ams |
| World Bowl wins | 1974 |
The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League (WFL). The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974. The team was owned by William "Bill" Putnam, doing business as Alabama Football, Inc.
The club played all of their home games at Legion Field. The most successful of the World Football League franchises, the Americans led the league in attendance and won all 13 of their home games. Winning their first ten games in a row, they developed a reputation for come-from-behind victories and winning by narrow margins. The Americans finished the 1974 regular season at 15–5 and won the 1974 World Bowl by one point over the Florida Blazers.
Financially unstable due to investor reluctance and lavish signing bonuses paid to lure National Football League (NFL) players to the new league, the team folded after only one season. Most of the team's assets were seized to pay back taxes; failed lawsuits to recover the signing bonus money kept the team in the headlines long after the WFL was itself defunct. The Americans were replaced as the Birmingham WFL franchise for the 1975 season by a new team called the Birmingham Vulcans.
Atlanta businessman William R. "Bill" Putnam was awarded an expansion franchise for Birmingham in the upstart World Football League and secured a lease to play at Legion Field. The five original investors in Alabama Football, Inc., all Atlanta businessmen, were majority owner Bill Putnam, Cecil Day, Lon Day, Jay Donnelly, and Erv Plesko. Between them they had already invested over $1.5 million in the franchise and hoped to find ten investors in Birmingham to buy in for an additional $150,000 each. Unable to find local investors for the team, Putnam threatened to move the Americans from Birmingham before the start of the 1974 season. However, with more than 10,000 season tickets sold before the first game, the team's position in Birmingham was secured for the year.
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