San Antonio Wings


The San Antonio Wings were an American football team who played in the World Football League in 1975. The team started as the Florida Blazers in 1974, then moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings.

History

The Florida Blazers never drew well, leading team owner Rommie Loudd to openly discuss moving the team to Atlanta in the middle of the 1974 season. The players and coaches were not paid for three months. Shortly after the Blazers' defeat in the World Bowl, Loudd was arrested on tax evasion and cocaine trafficking charges. He was convicted on the latter charge and served three years in prison. He was also sentenced to two years in prison for possession and distribution of cocaine.
The Blazers were one of two teams, the other being the Detroit Wheels, to outright fold after 1974 with no direct replacement in their markets in 1975. Only one expansion team would be added, with Norman Bevan buying the franchise rights and establishing a team in San Antonio.
The new Wings were restocked with an expansion draft but retained 16 former Blazers, including running back Jim Strong and tight end Luther Palmer. Larry Grantham, a linebacker on the 1974 Blazers, retired but joined the Wings' coaching staff. The team's head coach was Perry Moss, a former head coach at Marshall and a former NFL assistant coach; Blazers coach Jack Pardee, who wanted nothing more to do with the WFL, returned to the NFL during the offseason.
Quarterback Johnnie Walton, a relic from the old Continental Football League who had spent most of the early 1970s bouncing around NFL practice squads, led the WFL in passing in 1975. The Wings held their home games at Alamo Stadium, which seated 25,000. San Antonio finished with a 7-6 record before the league folded on October 22, 1975.

1975 regular season

WeekDayDateOpponentResultAttendance
1SundayJuly 26, 1975Charlotte HornetsW 27–1012,375
2SundayAugust 2, 1975Shreveport SteamerW 19–310,411
3SundayAugust 9, 1975Southern California SunW 54–2221,000
4SundayAugust 16, 1975at Charlotte HornetsL 20–278,447
5SundayAugust 23, 1975at Jacksonville ExpressL 19–2616,133
6SundayAugust 30, 1975Portland ThunderW 22–012,197
7SaturdaySeptember 6, 1975Southern California SunW 30–810,470
8SaturdaySeptember 13, 1975at Birmingham VulcansL 24–3312,500
9SundaySeptember 21, 1975HawaiiansW 30–1110,871
10SundaySeptember 28, 1975Memphis GrizzliesW 25–1716,283
11SaturdayOctober 4, 1975at Philadelphia BellL 38–422,357
12SundayOctober 12, 1975at Portland ThunderL 25–283,818
13SundayOctober 19, 1975at Shreveport SteamerL 31–418,500