Birmingham Americans - Legacy

Legacy

Financially devastated, former Americans team president Carol Stallworth became a bartender in a downtown Birmingham sports bar in early 1975. Most of the former Americans players signed on with the Birmingham Vulcans for the 1975 WFL season. Notable exceptions included star players Charlie Harraway, Alfred Jenkins, Paul Robinson, and veteran quarterback George Mira. The Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association held "Jack Gotta Night" on December 26, 1976, in honor of the former Americans head coach.

By July 1976, Americans owner Bill Putnam was working to buy a World Hockey Association franchise and relocate it to Hollywood, Florida, as the "Florida Breakers". The team was planned to start play in October 1976 with the Hollywood Sportatorium as its home ice. In August 1976, Putnam announced that his plan had "collapsed" but he would continue his attempts to bring a hockey franchise to south Florida.

Fans of the team organized a reunion celebration held July 9–10, 2004, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Americans' first game played on July 10, 1974, against the Southern California Sun. One reason for the festivities was to help pay for the promised World Bowl championship rings that many players did not receive from the financial failing franchise. Dayton Daily News sportswriter Chick Ludwig discovered the omission while doing research for a book. He used his investigative skills to find that Jonsil Manufacturing in El Paso, Texas, made the original rings and could create replacement rings for US$809 each. The story received national attention which prompted Nestlé and the AF2 Birmingham Steeldogs to help sponsor the reunion at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in Birmingham.

As of April 2010, three former Birmingham Americans players have been inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Muscle Shoals native Dennis Homan, who also played in Super Bowl V for the Dallas Cowboys, was inducted in the Class of 1999. Oxford native Terry Henley, who also played pro football for the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins, and New England Patriots, was inducted in the Class of 2000. Cullman native Larry Willingham, who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and retired for medical reasons in 1973 but made a comeback in 1974 with the Americans, was inducted in the Class of 2003. Willingham and Henley were also elected to the Auburn Tigers football "1970s Team of the Decade".