Birmingham Iron
| Birmingham Iron | |
| |
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| League | Alliance of American Football |
| Active | 2019– |
| Home field | Legion Field |
| Record | TBD |
| Coach | Tim Lewis |
| General manager | N/A |
| Website | aaf.com/birmingham-iron |
The Birmingham Iron is a professional American football team based in Birmingham and are charter members of the Alliance of American Football. The league is set to begin in February 2019, and the team will play its games at Legion Field until a new stadium at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex has completed construction in 2021.
History
The team was announced as a charter team of the Alliance of American Football on June 4, 2018. The team's first head coach was announced on June 6 as Tim Lewis, his first job at the position. On September 20, the league announced four eastern inaugural franchises' names and logos including Birmingham as the Birmingham Iron. The name is a tribute to the city's iron industry, while the team colors of black, dark grey, and light grey are based on iron ore, coal, and flux, the components used to make steel.
The final 52-man roster was set on January 30, 2019. The team's first game will be at home against the Memphis Express on Sunday, February 10, 2019.
Players
The team's assigned area, which designates player rights, includes all Alabama colleges, along with the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Louisiana Tech University, the University of Maryland, Mississippi State University, North Carolina State University, the University of Missouri, and the University of South Carolina. The Iron also has territorial rights to players from unaffiliated colleges signed by the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns or Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League; or by the Montreal Alouettes or Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League.
References
- Inabinett, Mark (July 12, 2018) "Alabama, Auburn players to go on Birmingham AAF team's assignment list." The Birmingham News
- Patchen, Tyler (September 20, 2018) "Birmingham's new pro football team unveils nickname, logo." Birmingham Business Journal
- Koplowitz, Howard (February 6, 2019) "Birmingham readies for first professional football game in 18 years." The Birmingham News
External links
- Birmingham Iron at aaf.com