Moments in NFL History: Atlanta granted NFL franchise
Long before running back Jamal Anderson bulldozed his way into the endzone against the San Francisco 49ers, swayed back and forth and flapped his arms, hitting the iconic “Dirty Bird” dance, the city of Atlanta was torn between two professional football leagues.
In the summer of 1965, NFL Commissioner PETE ROZELLE flew to Georgia’s capital city to meet with 40-year-old insurance mogul Rankin Smith to offer him the NFL’s 15th franchise, attempting to fill the league’s notable gap in the Sun Belt. At that same time, the American Football League offered a syndicate of local businessmen a franchise in LAMAR HUNT’s rapidly growing rival league.
After deliberation, Atlanta city officials chose to join the National Football League, with Smith as the franchise’s owner, in an $8.5 million deal. On this date (June 30) in 1965, Rozelle granted ownership to Smith following a unanimous vote by the NFL’s club owners.
As part of Smith’s initial proceedings, he held a contest to allow fans to help select the team’s new nickname.
Julia Elliott, a schoolteacher from Griffin, Georgia, captured the city’s spirit in her submission, writing that the “Falcon is proud and dignified with great courage and fight. It never drops its prey. It is deadly and has a great sporting tradition.”
Before the Falcons played their first game in their new $18 million Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, fans already had set an NFL record for season tickets sold by a new club (45,000), nearly doubling the previous record set by Minnesota in 1961 (26,000).
Norb Hecker, who hailed from VINCE LOMBARDI’s coaching tree in Green Bay, was tabbed as the franchise’s first head coach. The Falcons finished with three wins in their first season. Although seemingly insignificant, the three-win threshold tied an NFL expansion-team first-season record.
The Falcons’ uniform uniquely differed from other franchises in their inaugural season, as they wore black jerseys with white numbers, white pants and red helmets. The helmet also had a thin gold stripe on it, paying homage to Georgia Tech – as the rest of the uniform was deemed too similar to the University of Georgia’s colors. The stripe, unifying the college football fans of the Peach State, was dropped after four years, in 1970, when the Falcons switched to primarily red jerseys.
Despite outstanding performances from NFL greats like “Prime Time” DEION SANDERS and “Mr. Falcon” Tommy Nobis, Atlanta posted three decades of lackluster records before finally breaking through in the late 90s.
In 1998, the Falcons recorded their most successful season in franchise history, behind the legs of Anderson and his “Dirty Bird” endzone dance, tallying 14 wins and only two losses. Anderson rushed for a career-high 1,846 yards, leading the Falcons to their first Super Bowl appearance.
In the NFC Championship Game, Hall of Fame kicker MORTEN ANDERSEN converted on a 39-yard field goal attempt in overtime against the Minnesota Vikings to send the Falcons to the Super Bowl, in what colloquially became known in Atlanta as “The Kick.”
Four years after a loss in their first Super Bowl appearance, Rankin Smith’s son, Taylor, sold the franchise to Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank. In 2024, Blank was awarded the Sports Business Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his philanthropic work with the Falcons and the surrounding Atlanta community.
In his first season with the franchise, Blank and the Falcons went 9-6-1, led by quarterback Mike Vick. In the Wild Card round, Atlanta defeated the Green Bay Packers, becoming the first team in NFL history to defeat the Packers in a playoff game at Lambeau Field.
The Falcons again soared to the Super Bowl in the 2016 season, led by quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones. Alongside a talented roster, the Falcons boasted a star-studded coaching staff that included Dan Quinn, Kyle Shannahan, Matt LaFleur, Mike LaFleur, Mike McDaniel, Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrich, all of whom have been NFL head (or interim head) coaches.
That season’s NFC Championship, a home game for the Falcons against the Green Bay Packers, marked Atlanta’s final game in the Georgia Dome. The Falcons played in the facility from 1996 through the 2016 season. In that final game, Ryan completed 27 of 38 passes for 392 yards and four touchdowns, and Jones hauled in nine catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns, a proper sendoff to the franchise’s longtime home.
The Falcons, however, couldn’t withstand the Patriots’ Tom Brady-led rally in the second half of Super Bowl LI, which set the record for the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
The following season, the Falcons moved into Mercedez-Benz Stadium, a $2.1 billion facility with a unique “pinwheel” retractable roof. The multifunctional facility, which features locker rooms capable of housing more than 100 players to accommodate college football games and retractable seats to accommodate soccer games, has been the Falcons’ home for the past decade as they try to regain their footing in the NFC South.
This article, written by Nick Licata of the Hall of Fame Communications Team, is part of recurring series celebrating memorable moments in NFL history.