Professional Football League of America (1967)
Continental Football League (1968-1969)
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Born: 1967
Folded: Postseason 1969
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CoFL Championships: None
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Continental Football League
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Variously described as everything from “semi-pro” football to the “third Major League” behind the NFL and AFL during the late 1960’s, the Continental Football briefly established a sprawling network of pro football clubs that stretched from Florida to Mexico City to British Columbia. The Continental League helped launch the careers of Hall-of-Famers Bill Walsh and Ken Stabler and other NFL stars of the 1970’s including Otis Sistrunk, Bob Kuechenberg and Coy Bacon.
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Background
Cool minor league football program (above right), purchased from an antique book dealer in Maryland this week. This 1967 championship game was the final contest of a short-lived minor league circuit known as the Professional Football League of America (1965-1967). This was back in the days when NFL and AFL teams had loosely organized minor league farm clubs around the country where late round picks and taxi squad players could go to earn game reps. The host Alabama Hawks were affiliated with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
The Huntsville-based Hawks played at Alabama A&M’s Milton Frank Stadium and carried seven former A&M players on the roster in 1967. The team also boasted a handful of former SEC college stars. Rookie defensive tackle George Patton was a two-time All-America at Georgia, and captain of the 1966 Bulldogs squad that finished #4 in the nation. Linebacker Doc Griffith was All-SEC at Auburn, as was leading rusher Tom Bryan. Center Gaylon McCullough was an Academic All-America at Alabama.
Football & Integration
Collegiate honors and citations aside, one thing that caught my eye flipping through the pages of this program was the racial composition of the 1967 Hawks’ team. During the fall of 1967 the Southeastern Conference finally integrated, with the elevation of Nat Northington and Greg Page to the varsity football squad at the University of Kentucky. But Alabama, Auburn and the rest of the SEC remained whites-only programs that fall. The minor league Alabama Hawks seemed somewhat more progressive, featuring 12 black players, the majority of whom hailed from A&M. (The team’s all-white cheerleading squad, however, was a more familiar story).
1967 Championship Game
The Hawks’ opponent in the 1967 PFLA title game was the Joliet Chargers, regular season champions of the league’s Eastern Division with a 10-2 record. The teams had met twice in the regular season, each winning at home. In fact, both squads were undefeated at home in 1967. That seemed to confer an advantage upon the Hawks and the hosts carried a slim 13-10 lead into the 4th quarter.
That’s when Joliet’s Paul Hudson took over. Hudson, a rookie fullback out of Ohio State, was named season MVP of the league earlier in the week. He scored two touchdowns on the ground in the final 11 minutes as Joliet pulled away for a 31-20 victory.
Into The Continental Football League
This turned out to be the last game for the Professional Football League of America. The PFLA merged with the larger Continental Football League in February 1968. The Hawks continued on in the Continental League for two more seasons, sometimes referred to in the press as the ‘Huntsville Hawks’ during this time.
On August 2, 1969, the Hawks hosted a pre-season exhibition game against a squad of Atlanta Falcons rookies and reserves at Milton Frank Stadium. The Falcons annihilated the Hawks 55-0.
Later in the 1969 season, the Falcons assigned their 11th round draft choice, center Jeff Van Note from the University of Kentucky, to play for the Hawks. Van Note was in Atlanta by the end of the season and would go on to spend 18 seasons with the Falcons, earning 6 Pro Bowl selections.
The Hawks folded along with the rest of the Continental League at the end of the 1969 campaign.
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One Response
This is Paul Hudson’s son, Bryce. Thank you for the write up about the Joliet Chargers and my father. If someone could tell me more about him, I’d appreciate it. He died in 2007 from colon cancer.
My number is 937-768-1677