Birmingham Thunderbolts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Birmingham Thunderbolts were a short-lived springtime American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation and by NBC, a major television network in the United States.

1 The Only Season
2 Post-XFL Developments
3 Team Leaders
4 External links

[edit] The Only Season

The Thunderbolts played in the Eastern Division, with the Chicago Enforcers, Orlando Rage and the New York/New Jersey Hitmen. They finished the only year of XFL play – 2001 – in last place with the worst record in the league, at 2-8.

The Thunderbolts played their home games at Birmingham's legendary Legion Field. They were coached by Brooklyn-native Gerry DiNardo, a former star player at the University of Notre Dame, and previously head coach at Vanderbilt University and Louisiana State University. Following the collapse of the XFL, he went on to coach at Indiana University.

The team's colors were purple, yellow, and white. Their logo was a stylized 'B' with six lightning bolts extending from it. On the teams helmets, the logo was placed at the front, instead of the customary position on each side, with only the upper three lightning bolts visible. The team was frequently referred to by fans and the media as simply the Bolts. Team merchandise almost always used the shortened Bolts moniker.

Allegedly, the league had originally planned to name the team the Blast, but changed the name at the last minute when it was considered to invoke images of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church and of the 1998 bombing of a local abortion clinic, two tragic events in Birmingham history. The teams logo is said to be the same one originally designed for the Blast.

While XFL players were encouraged to use nicknames instead of their last names on the backs of their jerseys, no Thunderbolts player ever did.

After losing the opening game to the Memphis Maniax, the Thunderbolts posted wins over the Chicago Enforcers and the New York/New Jersey Hitmen. These would ultimately become the only victories the Thunderbolts would ever see when the team went 0 for 7 to close the season. Home crowds were among the largest to see the XFL. The team was soon plagued by injuries and lost the remaining eight games of the season.

After the team's first two quarterbacks were injured, the team signed former University of Alabama star QB Jay Barker, who had just been released from his contract with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Barker, who lead the University of Alabama to their 1992 national championship victory, was one of the most popular players in Crimson Tide history. He was seen as a positive influence on the league, and gave it a measure of credibility in Birmingham where the local media had been cynical towards the team and league.

NBC dropped the XFL concept after the first (2001) season due to dismal ratings, and the league was disbanded shortly thereafter.

[edit] Post-XFL Developments

After the league folded, head coach Gerry DiNardo joined the staff of Birmingham sports talk radio station WJOX 690, as did Jay Barker, who also did sports commentary on local CBS TV affiliate WIAT channel 42. Barker currently hosts "The Opening Drive" on WJOX 690 in Birmingham with Tony Kurre and former NFL kicker Al Del Greco.

DiNardo returned to his college football coaching roots in 2002 as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers football team. The team was sometimes jokingly nicknamed "The Fighting DiNardos" in his honor. He was fired at the end of the 2004 season. He currently co-hosts ESPN Radio College GameDay on Saturdays in the fall.