World Football League's Challenge to the National Football League Fails
The World Football League (WFL) was established in 1974 by Gary Davidson, who aimed to create an alternative to the National Football League (NFL) and promote American-style football globally. Despite initial enthusiasm and participation from twelve cities, the WFL faced significant financial instability from the outset. The league's first season included a rushed schedule and unconventional rules, such as a twenty-game regular season and a unique playoff format, but it struggled to attract fans and secure revenue. While the WFL attempted to lure NFL talent and introduced innovative rules that the NFL later adopted, including sudden-death overtime, the league ultimately could not sustain itself. By October 1975, the WFL dissolved after just two seasons, leaving behind a legacy that contributed to the growing popularity of football in the U.S. and Canada. Despite its failure, the WFL's influence on player movements and rule changes had lasting impacts on the NFL, shaping the future of professional football.
World Football League's Challenge to the National Football League Fails
Date January 14, 1974-October 22, 1975
The formation of the World Football League as a rival to the National Football League was theoretically a forward-thinking step, but in reality the new league was never able to compete with the older, established league. The World Football League’s attempt to gain a following, however, left a lasting imprint on professional football in general.
Locale United States; Canada
Key Figures
Gary Davidson (b. 1934), founder of the American Basketball Association, the World Hockey League, and the World Football LeagueChris Hemmeter (1939-2003), cofounder of the World Football League, owner of the Honolulu Hawaiians WFL franchise, and the league’s second commissionerJohn Bassett (1915-1998), owner of the Memphis Southmen WFL franchiseDonald J. Regan (b. 1934), temporary commissioner of the World Football League
Summary of Event
During 1974, the World Football League (WFL) was formed by Gary Davidson, who had already been involved with other sports leagues, including the American Basketball Association and the World Hockey Association. Davidson intended for the WFL to spread American-style football across the world. On January 14, 1974, the league held its first organizational meeting, with team owners from twelve cities in attendance. Some of the owners had connections to other professional sports, so their participation gave some credibility to the WFL. Most of the twelve cities represented at that first meeting took on WFL franchises; some teams eventually moved to different cities for financial reasons.
The WFL was a fledgling league, but Davidson and his colleagues believed that it could potentially rival the long-established National Football League (NFL). In reality, the WFL was financially unstable and fated to fail. The 1974 WFL season was rushed into production; teams were left scrambling to hire sufficient personnel. The WFL looked to NFL veterans and to college players passed up in the NFL draft to fill out team rosters and staffs.
In 1974, the WFL introduced a grueling twenty-game regular season with a unique playoff system. The league held no exhibition or preseason games. The original design for playoffs involved eight teams, but owing to strange events this was changed to a six-team playoff. To avoid competition with the NFL, the WFL set a weekday game schedule; most teams played on Wednesdays and Thursdays, except for the Honolulu Hawaiians, which played their games on Sundays.
The WFL also employed a number of rules of play that were different from those used in the NFL, some of which the NFL adopted in the same year. For example, the NFL followed the WFL’s lead in moving the goalposts to the backs of the end zones (previously, they had been in the fronts of the end zones). After the WFL adopted its rule establishing a sudden-death overtime period in 1975, the NFL adopted the same rule.
The WFL established a few rules that the NFL did not adopt, such as the seven-point value for a touchdown and the “action point” after a touchdown, which was scored only through passing or running plays. Also, the WFL did not allow fair catches on punt returns, and an offensive back could go in motion toward the line of scrimmage prior to the snap. Some of these WFL rules were later adopted by other minor-league football leagues, including the Canadian Football League.
The 1974 WFL season was full of anticipation. The Toronto franchise, the Northmen, moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and became the Memphis Southmen. The Southmen’s owner, John Bassett, announced that several NFL players were signed to the team, including Paul Warfield and Larry Csonka from the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. Another NFL player, Ken Stabler, was signed by the WFL’s Birmingham Americans. Some of the NFL players could not play in the 1974 WFL season, however, because they were still under contract with their NFL teams. The NFL was having trouble with its collective bargaining agreement, and the WFL offered the players guaranteed money to lure them, but their presence in the WFL had to wait until the following season.
Financial problems plagued most of the teams almost from the beginning. Several WFL teams had to move from their original planned cities because they could not secure stadiums to play in. For example, the original Washington, D.C., team eventually moved to Orlando, Florida, and then to San Antonio, Texas, before the 1975 season. The Boston team moved to New York City and then to Charlotte, North Carolina, at the beginning of the 1975 season.
Attendance at games was generally poor. In a few instances—for example, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Jacksonville, Florida—attendance figures were higher than expected for some games, but later it was revealed that the teams had given away many tickets to boost their numbers. Teams were in debt, and the players were not receiving their paychecks. The Portland team could not pay its players, and the Jacksonville team took a loan from the head coach and then fired him. The league was in financial chaos.
By October 29, 1974, Davidson had resigned as commissioner of the league. Donald J. Regan took the reins as interim commissioner until after the World Bowl, the WFL equivalent of the NFL’s Super Bowl. The Birmingham Americans were the victors in the first and only World Bowl; they defeated the Florida Blazers by a score of 22-21.
After the 1974 WFL season, Chris Hemmeter, co-owner of the league’s Honolulu Hawaiians, became the new WFL commissioner. At that point, many WFL teams changed owners, cities, and names, but the problems that had plagued the league were still around. The schedule for 1975 was slimmed down to eighteen games to be played on weekends. WFL teams tried to hire big-name NFL talent, such as Joe Namath, but the players were unwilling to join the WFL because of the league’s instability. Ken Stabler canceled his contract with the WFL’s Americans to re-sign with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders.
Several weeks after the owners of the WFL’s Chicago franchise decided to leave the league, Hemmeter announced the dissolution of the WFL on October 22, 1975. The Birmingham franchise had the best record in the league at the time of the announcement and was declared the WFL championship team for the league’s second and last year. Two WFL teams, the Memphis Southmen and the Birmingham Vulcans, made bids to join the NFL but were unsuccessful.
Significance
The World Football League had a direct influence on the NFL in 1974 when the WFL signed several players from the dominant NFL Miami Dolphins franchise, as this allowed other NFL teams, such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders, to come to prominence. Subsequently, the Steelers and the Raiders became NFL dynasties. The WFL also left a lasting legacy through its influence on the rules adopted by the NFL. In addition, a number of individuals who worked in the WFL went on to successful careers in the NFL, such as Marty Schottenheimer and Jack Pardee, both former NFL players who began coaching in the WFL.
Although the World Football League failed, the media coverage it received and the fans it gained helped to boost the popularity of football in general in the United States and Canada and thus enhanced the subsequent popularity of the National Football League. Thanks in part to the WFL, football grew to become the most popular sport in the United States, surpassing baseball in its numbers of fans.
Bibliography
Gill, Bob, Steven M. Brainerd, and Tod Maher. Minor League Football, 1960-1985: Standings, Statistics, and Rosters. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2002. Provides a complete history of all the minor football leagues that were in operation during the period covered. Presents a brief history and complete statistics on each league.
Gluck, Herb. While the Gettin’s Good: Inside the World Football League. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1975. Makes use of personal accounts of players and other people involved with the WFL to give an inside look into the World Football League. Includes photographs.
Jozsa, Frank P., Jr., and John J. Guthrie, Jr. Relocating Teams and Expanding Leagues in Professional Sports: How the Major Leagues Respond to Market Conditions. Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books, 1999. Uses demographic and economic data to discuss the business side of American sports from 1950 through 2000. Includes selected bibliography and index.
Maher, Tod, and Mark Speck. World Football League Encyclopedia. Haworth, N.J.: St. Johann Press, 2006. Comprehensive volume covers the history of the league and provides statistics and team standings.