BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Birmingham called and Tom Banks came running.
It started in 1980, when the Birmingham native left the St. Louis Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals) after 11 seasons. Slowed down by several injuries over the past decade, Banks wanted to take some time off.
“I was beaten up and needed to take some time off to get healthy again,” said Banks, who was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
A couple of years away from the game, Banks was not sure what to do next. Still not in playing shape, he was approached by Rollie Dotsch about joining the Birmingham Stallions. The team was part of the newly formed United States Football League, and Dotsch was slated to be the Stallions head coach. Dotsch needed a seasoned player who could help lead the younger players and get them used to professional play.
Many of the Stallions were no strangers to Alabama, having either played college ball for either the Crimson Tide or Auburn Tigers beforehand. For players like Banks, the opportunity to come back home to play football was too good to pass up.
“It was a real good way to finish out my career in Birmingham,” he said.
With the newly-revived USFL bringing back the Stallions next spring, many of the players and coaches who were part of that first group still have fond memories of the team.
“That was the most fun I’ve ever had in 35 years,” said Tuffy Crowe, an assistant coach for the first Stallions team.
‘It was so much fun’
For Joe Cribbs, Birmingham was the only option he had.
For three years, the Sulligent native had been a running back for the Buffalo Bills, where he had been named the American Football Conference Rookie of the Year in 1980. Not feeling appreciated by the team, Cribbs left the Bills in 1983.
