Chicago Fire (WFL)
The Chicago Fire was an American football team in the short-lived World Football League for one season, 1974.
| Established | October 1973 |
|---|---|
| Folded | January 1975 |
| Based in | Chicago, Illinois |
| Home field | Soldier Field |
| Head coach | Jim Spavital |
| Owner(s) | Thomas Origer |
| League | World Football League |
| Division | Central |
| Colours | Red and black |
Formation
The team was founded in late October 1973, with building magnate Thomas Origer becoming the first owner to purchase a WFL franchise, for around $400,000.
Chicago was also the first franchise to sign a player, former Notre Dame and Chicago Bears wide receiver Jim Seymour, and then added quarterback Virgil Carter, who also had played for the NFL's Bears as well as the Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers. Another notable Fire player was punter Chuck Ramsey, who would later go on to play with the New York Jets. Jim Spavital, former coach of the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers, piloted the Fire. The radio announcer for the Fire was former Milwaukee Bucks play-by-play man, Eddie Ducette. The public address announcers at Soldier Field were Eddie Ryan and Les Grobstein.
1974 season
Fittingly, the Fire started out hot, winning their first four games and seven of their first nine. Chicago also drew decent-sized crowds to Soldier Field, with an average attendance of 33,858 at their first five home contests. After Virgil Carter threw four touchdown passes in a 32-22 road win over Southern California, the Fire were 7-2 and competitive in the WFL's Central Division, which contained the loop's two strongest teams in Birmingham (9-0) and Memphis (also 7-2). However, it turned out to be the last game the Fire would ever win, as a rash of injuries triggered a ten-game losing streak. Crowds also began to dwindle, as barely 20,000 showed up to watch the Fire's last home game, a 60-17 rout by the Hawaiians (which turned out to be the most points scored by one team in a WFL game). Owner Origer, fed up by the team's collapse (as well as bankrupt), refused to fly the club to Philadelphia for Chicago's final game, forfeiting the contest and giving the Fire a final record of 7-13. Soon after, the club disbanded.
Legacy
In 1975, the WFL tried again in the Windy City with the Chicago Winds, who made noises about signing legendary quarterback Joe Namath. But Namath stayed in the NFL, and the Winds were blown out of the league after just five games (including one game at Soldier Field that drew a pitiful crowd of 3,470). The World Football League followed suit a few months later, passing into history.
In 1981, another Chicago Fire club played in the minor-league American Football Association. Led by running back Billy Marek, the new Fire also played at Soldier Field, albeit in front of small crowds: the biggest attendance of the year was estimated at 8,500. Chicago did have a successful season on the turf, winning the AFA's Western Division with a 8-4 record. In the playoffs, Chicago knocked off Jacksonville, 24-17, in front of 5,000 at Soldier Field, then played in the league championship game, a 29-21 road loss to West Virginia. They even managed to get one of their games on local television: WGN-TV, scrambling for summer sports programming during the baseball strike, broadcast a Fire game from Soldier Field on June 27, 1981.[1] (Although ratings were higher than that of the Chicago Sting soccer team on WGN, station officials declined to carry any more Fire games.) Financial losses and the formation of the bigger-budget USFL in 1982 put the Fire out for good.
Chicago's current professional soccer team, founded in 1997, also ended up calling itself the Fire.
Schedule and results
| Key: | Win | Loss | Bye |
1974 regular season [2]
| Week | Day | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wednesday | July 10, 1974 | Houston Texans | W 17–0 | 42,000 |
| 2 | Wednesday | July 17, 1974 | Jacksonville Sharks | W 25–22 | 29,308 |
| 3 | Wednesday | July 24, 1974 | at Portland Storm | W 29–22 | 19,358 |
| 4 | Sunday | July 28, 1974 | at Hawaiians | W 53–29 | 12,608 |
| 5 | Wednesday | August 7, 1974 | Florida Blazers | L 21–46 | 31,193 |
| 6 | Wednesday | August 14, 1974 | Philadelphia Bell | W 32–29 | 27,607 |
| 7 | Thursday | August 22, 1974 | at Detroit Wheels | W 35–23 | 10,300 |
| 8 | Thursday | August 29, 1974 | Birmingham Americans | L 8–22 | 44,732 |
| 9 | Monday | September 2, 1974 | at Southern California Sun | W 32–22 | 27,133 |
| 10 | Saturday | September 7, 1974 | at Birmingham Americans | L 40–41 | 54,872 |
| 11 | Wednesday | September 11, 1974 | Southern California Sun | L 28–31 | 24,837 |
| 12 | Wednesday | September 18, 1974 | Memphis Southmen | L 7–25 | 26,678 |
| 13 | Thursday | September 26, 1974 | at Florida Blazers | L 0–26 | 16,679 |
| 14 | Thursday | October 3, 1974 | Charlotte Stars | L 30–41 | 22,354 |
| 15 | Wednesday | October 9, 1974 | Florida Blazers | L 17–45 | 23,289 |
| 16 | Wednesday | October 16, 1974 | at Charlotte Hornets | L 0–27 | 20,333 |
| 17 | Wednesday | October 23, 1974 | Hawaiians | L 17–60 | 20,203 |
| 18 | Wednesday | October 30, 1974 | at Philadelphia Bell | L 31–37 | 12,500 |
| 19 | Thursday | November 7, 1974 | at Memphis Southmen | L 24–49 | 14,085 |
| 20 | Wednesday | November 13, 1974 | at Philadelphia Bell | L 0–2 (forfeit) | cancelled |
External links
References
- "1974 World Football League Game Results". Retrieved 2015-11-11.
- "Head coach WFL", Football Digest, August 1974 issue