Falcons QB Michael Vick scrambles to find a receiver as Jaguars DT Marcus Stroud moves in for the tackle.  

 

June 30, 1965 will always be remembered as a significant day in Atlanta's sports history. On that day, the NFL awarded its 15th franchise to Rankin M. Smith, a 41-year-old life insurance executive, for $8.5 million. Smith's successful bid ended a long struggle by the Georgia capitol city to obtain a pro football team.

 

One of Smith's first orders of business was to announce a contest to come up with a nickname for the new team. Many people suggested Falcons, but a school teacher from Griffin, Georgia, was declared the winner. "The Falcon is proud and dignified," she wrote, "with great courage and fight. It never drops its prey. It is deadly and has a great sporting tradition."

 

Excited Georgia fans bought season tickets in record numbers. By Christmas Eve, when the Falcons cut off a brief 54-day ticket sale, 45,000 season tickets had been sold, an NFL-record for a new team. (Minnesota was the previous record-holder with 26,000 sales in 1961.)

 

On November 27, 1965, the Falcons participated in their first NFL draft. Their first pick was linebacker Tommy Nobis, who won the Outland Trophy at the University of Texas. (Nobis was also drafted by the AFL's Houston Oilers but he signed with the Falcons on December 14.)

 

Norb Hecker, who had been an assistant on Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers staff, was chosen as the Falcons' first head coach. The Falcons lost their first nine games before finally defeating the New York Giants, 27-16, on November 30. They finished with three wins, which tied the record for most wins by an expansion team at that time.

 

Falcons RB Warrick Dunn tries to stay on his feet as he gets tackled by Cowboys defenders Dat Nguyen (59) and Roy Williams.

 

In 1971, the Falcons recorded their first winning season (7-6-1) under fiery Coach Norm Van Brocklin. In 1973, they finished with a 9-5 mark, a new team record. In 1977, led by new coach Leeman Bennett, the Falcons' defense allowed just 129 total points in a 14-game season, a record low. Between 1978 and 1982, Bennett and the Falcons qualified for the playoffs three times in five years. In 1980, they won the NFC West title with a club-record 12 wins. That year, six players, including quarterback Steve Bartkowski and running back William Andrews, were named to the Pro Bowl.

 

If the Falcons haven't enjoyed much on-field success over the years, they've at least had their share of stars. Bartkowski, Nobis and Andrews, as well as players like defensive end Claude Humphrey, center Jeff Van Note, running back Gerald Riggs and Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, the NFL's all-time leading punt returner, have continued to keep things interesting for the fans.