Miami Seahawks
 |
|
| Founded | 1946 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1947 |
| Based in | Miami, Florida, United States |
| League | All-America Football Conference (1946) |
| Division | Eastern Division |
| Team history | Miami Seahawks (1946) |
| Team colors |
Orange, White, Green |
| Head coaches |
Jack Meagher (games 1-6) Hamp Pool (games 7-14) |
| Owner(s) | Harvey Hester |
| AAFC Championship wins | 0 |
| Home field(s) | Burdine Stadium |
Orange, White, Green
The Miami Seahawks were a professional American football team based in Miami, Florida. They played in the All-America Football Conference in the league's inaugural season, 1946, before folding. They are notable as the first major league sports franchise in Miami and the state of Florida's first professional football team.
The Seahawks were coached initially by Jack Meagher and then by Hamp Pool. The team faced a difficult schedule filled with many early road games, and finished the 14-game regular season with only three wins. The franchise, which by that time had accrued $350,000 in debt, was confiscated by the AAFC after the end of the season, and its assets were purchased by a group of entrepreneurs who reorganized it as the original incarnation of the Baltimore Colts. Florida would not have another major league-level football team until the (fourth) American Football League organized in 1960 added the Miami Dolphins in 1966.
The Miami Seahawks were the last of the AAFC's charter teams to be established. They were formed to replace an aborted Baltimore franchise which was to have been owned by retired boxer Gene Tunney. However, Tunney's bid foundered when he was unable to secure a stadium deal with old, city-owned "Municipal Stadium" on 33rd Street, built in 1922 in the former Venable Park of northeast Baltimore (site of future "Memorial Stadium", rebuilt 1950-1954). A group of Miami football boosters led by Harvey Hester seized on the chance to bring a major league team to their city. The AAFC, needing an eighth team to balance the schedule, readily granted Hester a franchise. The Seahawks thus became the first major league sports team to be based in Miami. Home games were played at Burdine Stadium, later called the Miami Orange Bowl.
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