North American Football League (1965)
Tombstone
Born: 1965 – NAFL founding franchise.
Moved: March 1966 (Virginia Sailors)
First Game:
Last Game:
NAFL Champions:1965
Stadium
Panther Stadium
Opened: 1965
Marketing
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owners: Community stockholders (Ralph E. Campbell, Chairman)
Background
The Annapolis Sailors were a One-Year Wonder minor league football team in the short-lived North American Football League. The Sailors were one of six franchises, ranging on the map from Deleware to Florida, that took part in the NAFL’s debut season in the autumn of 1965.
Sailors home games took place at Panther Stadium, a newly opened high school field in Annapolis. A portion of Sailors ticket sales was set aside to help fund the new facility. Sailors road games were broadcast back to Maryland on WNAV AM 1430.
1965 Championship Season
The Sailors were coached by former Duke University All-American quarterback Billy Cox. Cox also played in the NFL with the Washington Redskins from 1951 to 1955. Under Cox, the Sailors were the best team in the NAFL, racing out to an 8-2 record. On November 24, 1965, the Sailors traveled to Alabama to play the Mobile Tarpons in the NAFL’s first championship game. A reported 11,000 fans were on hand at Mobile’s Ladd Stadium. Mobile jumped out to an early 13-0 lead, but Annapolis poured it on with 26 unanswered points late in the second quarter en route to a 40-13 championship game victory.
Despite having the league’s best team, the Sailors were a dud in Annapolis. Bob Gill, Steven Brainerd and Tod Maher’s Minor League Football 1960-1985 reference notes that the Sailors drew “barely 1,000 fans per game”, which was the worst figure in the NAFL.
In March 1966, the entire Northern Division of the NAFL defected to the Atlantic Coast Football League. The Sailors not only jumped leagues, they also relocated to Arlington, Virginia. The re-named Virginia Sailors played in several cities around the state from 1966 to 1968.
##
