New Georgia Encyclopedia: Atlanta Falcons

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Atlanta Falcons

In 1965 the Atlanta Falcons became the first professional football team in the city of Atlanta and the fifteenth National Football League (NFL) franchise in existence. Since the team's first preseason

Atlanta Falcons

game against Philadelphia at Atlanta Stadium (later Atlanta –Fulton County Stadium), the Falcons have become a mainstay in Atlanta's sports culture. Now playing at the Georgia Dome, the Falcons join the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta Thrashers as professional sporting attractions in Georgia.

After other attempts to place a professional team in Atlanta were unsuccessful, Rankin M. Smith, executive vice president of Life Insurance Company of Georgia, was awarded the franchise for $8.5 million. Football fans across the Southeast were overjoyed with the news, as evidenced by the more than 1,000 calls Smith received within twenty-four hours of acquiring the franchise. Ticket sales for the new club reached an NFL record of 45,000 tickets sold. The corporate name for the Atlanta franchise was registered as "Five Smiths, Inc." in honor of Smith's five children. Fans submitted suggestions for the new team's nickname in a contest, and while many fans recommended the falcon, Julia Elliott, a teacher from Griffin, was selected as the winner for her reasoning. She wrote, "The falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and fight. It never drops prey. It is deadly and has a great sporting tradition."

The First Teams

Soon

Tommy Nobis

after the acquisition, Smith began recruiting. Bob Paremore and Gary Barnes, NFL players with the Cardinals and Bears, were the first to sign with the new franchise. The Falcons were awarded the first draft pick in November 1965 and selected Tommy Nobis, a University of Texas standout. Nobis signed with the Falcons in December 1965 and went on to win rookie of the year honors. The team eventually recruited twenty-five players from the initial draft. Smith selected Norb Hecker, a Green Bay Packers assistant coach, as the first head coach of the Falcons. Hecker had coached under Vince Lombardi in Green Bay, where the Packers won three world titles and four conference titles in his seven years with the team.

During the supplemental draft in February 1966, the Falcons added forty-two players, and along with rookies, free agents, and hopefuls, Hecker opened training camp at Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, North Carolina, with 130 players. The first preseason game was held on August 1, 1966, before a crowd of 26,072 at Atlanta Stadium. The Falcons lost to Philadelphia and also lost the first regular season game against the Los Angeles Rams before a home crowd of 54,418. The Falcons rallied after a nine-game losing streak to win their first game on November 30, 1966, defeating the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium with a score of 27-16.

In

Leeman Bennett

Hecker's three seasons as Falcons head coach from 1966-68, he posted a record of 4-26-1. He was followed by Norm Van Brocklin (1968-74), former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, who posted a 37-49-3 record and the first winning season in 1971 with a record of 7-6-1. During the next several seasons, under coaches Marion Campbell (1974-76) and Pat Peppler (1976), the Falcons struggled to succeed in the NFC Western Division.

Leeman Bennett took over as head coach in 1977 and established an NFL record with the least amount of points allowed (129) in a fourteen-game season. In his first season he led the Falcons to a 7-7 record, followed by a 9-7 record in 1978 and the first play-off appearance for the franchise. Under Bennett the Falcons reached the play-offs three times between 1978 and 1982.

The Falcons NFC Western Division title in 1980 was followed by a string of disappointing results from 1981to 1997, in which the Falcons recorded only three winning seasons, in 1982, 1991, and 1995.

In 1991 the Falcons played their last game at Fulton County Stadium and moved to the Georgia Dome, which holds 71,250 and has played host to the Super Bowl and other sporting events, including college bowl games and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship game.

Falcons Taste Success

In

Dan Reeves

1998 coach Dan Reeves led the Falcons to a 14-2 record, its first NFC championship, and the first Super Bowl appearance for the franchise. Kicker Morten Anderson, a seasoned NFL veteran who signed with the Falcons in 1995, was part of the squad. The Falcons lost Super Bowl XXXIII to the Denver Broncos, 19-34.

Since the success of the 1998 season, the Falcons have had only one winning season, a 9-6-1 record in 2002 under Reeves.

The 2004 season, under the guidance of head coach Jim Mora and with quarterback Michael Vick at the helm, had Falcons fans optimistic for the future of the franchise. The Falcons were 11-5, winning the NFC South Division title and appearing, for only the second time, in the NFC championship game. Though a rookie head coach, Mora was named 2004 NFC Coach of the Year.

In 2002 The Home Depot founder Arthur Blank purchased the Falcons; Rich McKay is the president and general manager of the organization. The Falcons are part of the NFC South, along with the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their logo is a black falcon with red accents, and the team colors are black, red, silver, and white.