The Birth of the Birds: The Origin of the Atlanta Falcons

The origin of the Atlanta Falcons is a story of a high-stakes bidding war, a city desperate for professional validation, and a local schoolteacher who left an indelible mark on NFL history. In the mid-1960s, Atlanta was a rapidly growing metropolitan hub in the South, but it lacked a major professional sports franchise. This void set the stage for a dramatic conflict between the established National Football League (NFL) and the upstart American Football League (AFL).

The Battle for Atlanta

The saga began in earnest in 1965. The AFL, seeking to expand its footprint and challenge the NFL’s dominance, was the first to act. On June 7, 1965, AFL Commissioner Joe Foss granted a franchise to Cox Broadcasting executive James Cox, contingent on the city providing a stadium. The city had recently completed Atlanta Stadium (later known as Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium), and the AFL seemed poised to take over.

However, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle was not willing to concede the lucrative Southeastern market to his rivals. Rozelle moved swiftly, leveraging the fact that the NFL held more prestige at the time. He approached Rankin M. Smith Sr., an executive vice president for the Life Insurance Company of Georgia, and offered him the opportunity to bring the NFL to Atlanta.

The decision for the city was essentially a choice between leagues. On June 30, 1965, the Atlanta Board of Aldermen voted to give the lease of the stadium to the NFL-backed Smith family. Smith paid $8.5 million for the franchise—at the time, the highest price ever paid for an NFL team. With that, the NFL’s 15th franchise was officially born.

Naming the Team

Rankin Smith wanted the community to be involved in the identity of the new team. He launched a “name the team” contest that drew over 1,300 unique suggestions among 13,000 entries. Common suggestions included “Knights,” “Bombers,” “Rebels,” and even “Peaches.”

While several people suggested the name “Falcons,” it was Julia Elliott, a high school teacher from Griffin, Georgia, who won the contest based on her reasoning. She famously wrote: “The Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and fight. It never drops its prey. It is deadly and has a great sporting tradition.”

Taking the Field

With a name and an owner, the team began building its roster. On November 22, 1965, the Falcons participated in an expansion draft, selecting veterans from other NFL teams. For their first-ever college draft pick in 1966, they chose linebacker Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas. Nobis would become the team’s first superstar, earning the nickname “Mr. Falcon.”

The Falcons played their first regular-season game on September 11, 1966, against the Los Angeles Rams. Though they lost 19–14 and finished their inaugural season with a 3–11 record, professional football had finally arrived in the South. The team’s colors—red, black, and white—were chosen by Smith partly to represent the colors shared by both the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Georgia Bulldogs, a gesture aimed at uniting the local college football fanbases under one professional banner.