The Jacksonville Express were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida which competed in the World Football League (WFL) in 1975. They were preceded in 1974 by the WFL's Jacksonville Sharks, though the two teams had separate ownership and identities. The Express folded when the league ceased operations during the 1975 season.
History The Jacksonville Sharks were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida which competed in the 1974 WFL season. The Sharks folded during that season due to financial difficulties. The WFL returned to Jacksonville the following season with the Jacksonville Express. While head coach Charlie Tate and a few players returned from the Sharks, the Express had new owners (local businessman Earl Knabb along with several minor partners) and a mostly new front office staff. The team's biggest player acquisitions were quarterback George Mira, who had been co-MVP of the 1974 WFL championship game with Birmingham and had been a college All-American with the in-state Miami Hurricanes, and Tommy Reamon, who had led the WFL in rushing in 1974 with the Florida Blazers.Jacksonville Sharks news.google.com Paul Orndorff, later a famed professional wrestler, was briefly on the Express roster.
The new ownership group sought to be much more frugal than the free-spending Sharks had been. One notable example of this was that while the Sharks' headquarters had been located in a large suite atop a skyscraper in downtown Jacksonville, the offices of the Express were located in a mall in the basement of a hotel. Accordingly, the franchise was able to meet its financial obligations throughout its short existence. However, the WFL had lost their television contract right before the 1975 season, putting the entire league in serious financial difficulty. The Express had compiled a 6–5 record when the WFL folded in October 1975, 11 games into a planned 20-game schedule.
Schedule and results Key: Win Loss Bye
1975 regular season Source: Week Day Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance Source1SundayAugust 2, 1975at Memphis GrizzliesL 26–27Memphis Memorial Stadium25,1662SundayAugust 16, 1975Birmingham VulcansW 22–11Gator Bowl Stadium16,049 3SundayAugust 23, 1975San Antonio WingsW 26–19Gator Bowl Stadium16,133 4SundayAugust 30, 1975Charlotte HornetsL 14–33Gator Bowl Stadium16,428 5SaturdaySeptember 6, 1975at Shreveport SteamerW 22–15State Fair Stadium13,6386SundaySeptember 14, 1975at HawaiiansL 15–33Aloha Stadium18,4797SaturdaySeptember 20, 1975Philadelphia BellW 16–10Gator Bowl Stadium10,2968SaturdaySeptember 27, 1975Birmingham VulcansW 26–18Gator Bowl Stadium10,881 9SaturdayOctober 4, 1975Portland ThunderW 32–29Gator Bowl Stadium8,119 10SundayOctober 12, 1975at Charlotte HornetsL 15–22American Legion Memorial Stadium7,750 11SundayOctober 19, 1975at Portland ThunderL 13–30Civic Stadium8,713
See also Jacksonville Sharks (WFL) 1975 World Football League season
References