San Antonio Wings
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The San Antonio Wings were the 1975 incarnation of the old Florida Blazers World Football League franchise. The Blazers existed for one season, in 1974, in Orlando, Florida. The Wings only existed for one season before the WFL folded.
Before the 1974 season had even started, the franchise had originally been planned to play in the Washington, D.C. area. E. Joseph Wheeler bought the rights to Washington. The team was initially called the Washington Capitols, then briefly the Americans, before finally naming the franchise the Washington Ambassadors. From the outset, Wheeler had a tough time trying to obtain a lease at R.F.K. Stadium, home of the NFL Washington Redskins. He investigated other cities, including Annapolis, Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia. In mid-April 1974, Wheeler moved the club out of Washington, D.C. to Norfolk. He renamed the team the Virginia Ambassadors. However, the team moved to Florida just a few weeks later.
The head coach was John "Jack" Pardee, who had a 13-year NFL career as a linebacker who had played for the Washington Redskins, Los Angeles Rams, and Chicago Bears. For his first ever head coaching position, Pardee brought the debt-ridden Blazers one point short of winning the World Bowl championship. Awarded WFL Coach of the Year, he relocated to Chicago to coach the Bears while the moribund Florida franchise was relocated to San Antonio, Texas, renamed the Wings before the WFL 1975 season.
The Blazers had played its home game in the Tangerine Bowl, in Orlando, Florida. Before the stadium, now known as the Citrus Bowl, was renovated, the Tangerine Bowl seated only 14,500. The San Antonio Wings would play their home games at Alamo Stadium for the 1975 season.
| World Football League |
| Birmingham Americans (1974) | Birmingham Vulcans (1975) | Charlotte Stars (1974) | Charlotte Hornets (1974-75) | Chicago Fire (1974) | Chicago Winds (1975) | Detroit Wheels (1974) | Florida Blazers (1974) | The Hawaiians (1974-75) | Houston Texans (1974) | Jacksonville Sharks (1974) | Jacksonville Express (1975) | Memphis Southmen (1974-75) | New York Stars (1974) | Philadelphia Bell (1974-75) | Portland Storm (1974) | Portland Thunder (1975) | San Antonio Wings (1975) | Shreveport Steamer (1974-75) | Southern California Sun (1974-75) |
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