The Stallions have delivered USFL championships to Birmingham in the past two seasons, making the current version of the franchise more successful than the original model.

The Stallions won the inaugural championship of the USFL’s second edition by beating the Philadelphia Stars 33-30 in the 2022 league title game. On Saturday night, Birmingham won the USFL Championship Game again by beating the Pittsburgh Maulers 28-12.

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The Stallions also were a franchise in the original USFL from 1983 through 1985.

In the inaugural USFL season, Birmingham went 9-9. But after adding former Sulligent High School and Auburn star Joe Cribbs at running back and former Terry Bradshaw backup Cliff Stoudt at quarterback from the NFL, the Stallions posted regular-season records of 14-4 in 1984 and 13-5 in 1985.

Birmingham won a playoff game in 1984 and 1985, too. But both seasons ended in the USFL semifinals with losses to the Stars – 20-10 when the franchise was in Philadelphia in 1984 and 28-14 after it moved to Baltimore in 1985.

Between the two versions of the USFL, Birmingham was represented by the Fire in the World League of American Football, the Barracudas in the Canadian Football League, the Thunderbolts in the XFL and the Iron in the Alliance of American Football. None got past the first round of the playoffs. The Iron never had a chance to because the AAF folded with two weeks left in the regular season and the team already qualified for the postseason.

But before any of those teams, Birmingham had a championship professional football team.

On Dec. 5, 1974, before a crowd of 32,376 at Legion Field, the Birmingham Americans defeated the Florida Blazers 22-21 in the World Bowl, the first (and only) championship game of the World Football League.

The Americans won the championship in a thriller. After building a 22-0 lead on touchdown runs by Joe Profit and Art Cantrelle and a TD pass from quarterback George Mira to tight end Bob Brown, Birmingham saw its lead shrink to one as Florida scored 21 points in the fourth quarter.

After Rod Foster’s 76-yard punt return reduced the Americans’ lead to 22-21, Birmingham stopped the Blazers’ action-point attempt for the third time in the game to win.

WFL touchdowns were worth seven points and were followed by an action point. Instead of kicking a PAT with the gold-and-orange football, WFL teams went for one point on a run or pass from 2.5 yards from the end zone.

The circumstances for the Stallions’ championships and the Americans’ crown also were different.

When the WFL regular season ended, Birmingham’s players hadn’t been paid in four games. They were convinced to stay on the field by the promise of playoff money and championship rings.

Because the Americans owed more than $200,000 in federal taxes, the IRS threatened to stop the World Bowl. It relented in return for a portion of the gate from the title game, which was played at Legion Field after originally being scheduled for the Gator Bowl. That plan sank when the WFL’s Jacksonville team, the Sharks, went under during the season.

When the World Bowl ended, creditors seized the Americans’ (and every other WFL team’s) assets.

The WFL was another sports venture from Gary Davidson, the man behind the American Basketball Association and World Hockey Association. The latter included the Birmingham Bulls as a member.

While those leagues became viable enough for some of their teams to be absorbed into the established NBA and NHL, the WFL did not have the same success, although it did succeed in pushing up player salaries in the NFL. With splashy signings such as the Miami Dolphins’ Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield by Toronto (later Memphis), the WFL spent money and generated headlines (landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated before ever kicking off). But most of the top names never reached the WFL, and its financial death was caused in part because of bonuses paid to high-profile players who never played a down in the league.

For the Americans, the splash signing was Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler, an in-state favorite who had starred at Foley High School and Alabama. Stabler signed with Birmingham on April 2, 1974, but because of his contract with the Raiders, he wouldn’t be coming home until the 1976 season. By that time, the WFL was gone.

Instead, the Americans had Mira at quarterback. The seven-year NFL veteran led Birmingham to a 15-5 regular-season record and two playoff victories.

Mira had two of the WFL’s top targets in wide receivers Dennis Homan, a former Alabama star, and Alfred Jenkins.

Jenkins might have been the most successful player produced by the WFL. Jenkins stood 5-foot-9 and played at Morris Brown, so he didn’t attract much interest from the NFL. He had a tryout with the Houston Oilers but didn’t stick.

After leading the WFL with 1,326 receiving yards in 1974, Jenkins had 767 receiving yards as a “rookie” for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons in 1975. By 1980, he was a Pro Bowler. In 1981, Jenkins led the NFL with 1,358 receiving yards and 13 touchdown catches as he made first-team All-Pro. When he retired after the 1983 season, Jenkins had more receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns than any player in Falcons’ history.

Despite the financial disarray at the end of the 1974 season, the WFL returned in 1975 with a new plan, with players to be paid a percentage of revenue. Birmingham was back with new ownership and a new name — the Vulcans — although it retained the players under contract to the Americans.

As in 1974, Birmingham had the WFL’s best team in 1975, but it never got the opportunity to show it in a championship game. When the league folded, the Vulcans had a 9-3 record.

When the WFL died, the Vulcans and Memphis Southmen sought to be absorbed into the NFL, but the established league wasn’t interested.

Eight years later, the original Stallions arrived, putting the pro back in football in Birmingham. But another championship remained almost four decades away.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.