Birmingham Thunderbolts

Birmingham Thunderbolts
Nickname The Bolts
Founded 2001
Folded 2001
League XFL
Division Eastern
Team history Birmingham Thunderbolts
(2001)
Based in Birmingham, Alabama
Stadium Legion Field
Colors Purple, Yellow, Silver[1]
              
Owner World Wrestling Federation
Head coach Gerry DiNardo
General manager Tim Berryman
Championships 0
Division titles 0
Playoff berths 0

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 World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States.

Opening Season

Birmingham Bolts Helmet

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. One of DiNardo's assistants with the Thunderbolts was his predecessor at LSU, Curley Hallman.

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; the XFL had named all of its teams with references to insanity and criminal activity, and the name "Birmingham Blast" likewise invoked images of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church and of Eric Rudolph's 1998 bombing of a local abortion clinic, two tragic events in Birmingham history. As the league soon realized that such a name would have been in extremely poor taste, at the last minute the league changed it to "Thunderbolts," or "Bolts" for short. The team's logo is said to be the same one originally designed for the Blast. The Thunderbolts were unusual in that their nickname was benign.

While XFL players were encouraged to use nicknames instead of their last names on the backs of their jerseys, DiNardo banned Thunderbolts players from doing so.

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. The Bolts would finish with a 2-8 record.

Birmingham went through all 3 quarterbacks during the season. Former Florida State quarterback Casey Weldon was signed as the starter. Former University of Alabama quarterback Jay Barker was signed as the backup, despite the crowds (averaging only 17,000 fans a game, second-lowest in the league) chanting his name during the home games. Barker would become the starter after Weldon injured his shoulder. Barker suffered a concussion in Chicago when he collided with Enforcers' cornerback Ray Austin while attempting a bootleg run on a broken play. He was replaced by third string QB Graham Leigh.

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

Identity's new life

Today, the logo lives on thanks to a youth softball team appropriately called the Birmingham Thunderbolts, who play their home games at the Shea Brothers Softball Complex in Birmingham.[2]

Season-by-season

SeasonWLTFinishPlayoff results
20012804th Eastern--


  • Sunday February 4, 2001 L Memphis Maniax 22 at Birmingham Thunderbolts 20
  • Sunday February 11, 2001 W Birmingham Thunderbolts 19 at New York/New Jersey Hitmen 12
  • Sunday February 18, 2001 W Chicago Enforcers 3 at Birmingham Thunderbolts 14
  • Saturday February 24, 2001 L Birmingham Thunderbolts 6 at Orlando Rage 30
  • Saturday March 3, 2001 L Birmingham Thunderbolts 10 at San Francisco Demons 39
  • Sunday March 11, 2001 L Los Angeles Xtreme 35 at Birmingham Thunderbolts 26
  • Saturday March 17, 2001 L Birmingham Thunderbolts 12 at Las Vegas Outlaws 34
  • Sunday March 25, 2001 L Birmingham Thunderbolts 0 at Chicago Enforcers 13
  • Saturday March 31, 2001 L Orlando Rage 29 at Birmingham Thunderbolts 24
  • Sunday April 8, 2001 L New York/New Jersey Hitmen 22 at Birmingham Thunderbolts 0

Personnel

Staff

2001 Birmingham Thunderbolts staff
Front Office
  • Vice President/General Manager – Tim Berryman
  • Director of Player Personnel – Bob Gates

Head Coaches

Offensive Coaches

   Defensive Coaches
  • Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs – Curley Hallman
  • Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line – Don Wnek
  • Linebackers – Paul Arslanian
  • Personal Coach John Guimond
  • Defensive Assistant – Woodrow Lowe, Jr.

[3]

Standings

Eastern Division
Team W L T PCT PF PA STK
Orlando Rage 8 2 0 .800 207 162 L1
Chicago Enforcers 5 5 0 .500 163 178 W1
New York/New Jersey Hitmen 4 6 0 .400 110 145 W1
Birmingham Thunderbolts 2 8 0 .200 131 217 L7

[4]

Birmingham Thunderbolts players

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 94.5 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 is currently a studio analyst for the Big Ten Network.

Team leaders

References

  1. ↑ "Team Colors – XFL". SSUR.org. Archived from the original on December 21, 2010. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  2. ↑ Birmingham Thunderbolts official youth softball website
  3. ↑ 2001 Birmingham Thunderbolts Media Guide. XFL. pp. 4–11.
  4. ↑ "XFL Standings". USA Today. May 12, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
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