Will the NFL's Boston Patriots move to Birmingham?

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Will the NFL's Boston Patriots move to Birmingham?

January 27, 1970
Boston Patriots owner William H. Sullivan, Jr. states that he will move the team unless a suitable stadium is available by March 15, 1970.

Hugh Morrow III, head of an organization named Birmingham Pro Football, plans to talk with Sullivan about moving the team to Birmingham.

Sullivan is backing a bill that would allow the state of Massachusetts to take Harvard University's stadium over by eminent domain since Harvard refused to lease their stadium to the Patriots.

The upcoming 1970 season will be the first after the merger between the American Football League merged with the National Football League.

The merger also forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs, since there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams. Three NFL teams were transferred to balance the two new conferences, each with 13 teams. In May 1969, the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to join all ten AFL teams to form the American Football Conference, while the remaining NFL teams formed the National Football Conference. Each conference was divided into three divisions: East, Central, and West. The two Eastern divisions had five teams; the other four divisions had four teams each. The realignment discussions for the NFC were so contentious that the winning plan was allegedly drawn out of a vase containing the five plans by NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle's secretary, Thelma Elkjer.

As part of the merger, all 26 teams agreed to have stadiums that would seat 50,000 or more by 1970. The Patriots played last season at Boston College's Alumni Field, which seats 26,000. Harvard Stadium seats 40,000 with additional room for temporary stands. The Patriots also played at Fenway Park and at Boston University.

September 1970

			1970-71 National Football League
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx

	Atlanta Falcons		Baltimore Colts		Boston Patriots		Buffalo Bills		Chicago Bears


	Cincinnati Bengals		Cleveland Browns		Dallas Cowboys		Denver Broncos		Detroit Lions


	Green Bay Packers		Houston Oilers		Kansas City Chiefs		Los Angeles Rams		Miami Dolphins


	Minnesota Vikings		New Orleans Saints		New York Giants		New York Jets		Oakland Raiders


	Philadelphia Eagles		Pittsburgh Steelers		San Diego Chargers		San Francisco 49ers		St. Louis Cardinals


	Washington Redskins

Epilogue
Before the 1971 season, the Boston Patriots renamed themselves the New England Patriots and will be playing in the newly-built 61,000-seat Shaeffer Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

			Teams of the National Football League
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Akron Indians 1926		Akron Pros 1922 to 1925		Arizona Cardinals 1994 to 2023		Atlanta Falcons 1966 to 2023		Baltimore Colts 1950; 1953 to 1983

					NEED LOGO
	Baltimore Ravens 1996 to 2023		Boston Braves 1932		Boston Bulldogs 1929		Boston Patriots 1970		Boston Redskins 1933 to 1936

	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Boston Yanks 1944 to 1948		Brooklyn Dodgers 1930 to 1943		Brooklyn Lions 1926		Brooklyn Tigers 1944 to 1945		Buffalo All-Americans 1922 to 1923

			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Buffalo Bills 1970 to 2023		Buffalo Bisons 1924 to 1929		Buffalo Rangers 1926		Canton Bulldogs 1922 to 1926		Carolina Panthers 1995 to 2023


	Chicago Bears 1922 to 2023		Chicago Cardinals 1922 to 1959		Chicago Staleys 1921		Cincinnati Bengals 1970 to 2023		Cincinnati Reds 1933 to 1934

			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	Cleveland Browns 1950 to 2023		Cleveland Bulldogs 1924 to 1925; 1927		Cleveland Indians 1923; 1931		Cleveland Rams 1937 to 1945		Columbus Panhandles 1922

	NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	Columbus Tigers 1923 to 1926		Dallas Cowboys 1960 to 2023		Dallas Texans 1952		Dayton Triangles 1922 to 1929		Denver Broncos 1970 to 2023

			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Detroit Lions 1934 to 2023		Detroit Panthers 1925 to 1926		Detroit Wolverines 1928		Duluth Eskimos 1926 to 1927		Duluth Kelleys 1923 to 1925

	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Evansville Crimson Giants 1922		Frankford Yellow Jackets 1924 to 1931		Green Bay Packers 1937 to 2023		Hammond Pros 1922 to 1926		Hartford Blues 1926

									NEED LOGO
	Houston Oilers 1970 to 1996		Houston Texans 2002 to 2023		Indianapolis Colts 1984 to 2023		Jacksonville Jaguars 1995 to 2023		Kansas City Blues 1924

			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	Kansas City Chiefs 1970 to 2023		Kansas City Cowboys 1925 to 1926		Kenosha Maroons 1924		Las Vegas Raiders 2020 to 2023		Los Angeles Buccaneers 1926

							NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Los Angeles Chargers 2017 to 2023		Los Angeles Raiders 1982 to 1994		Los Angeles Rams 1946 to 1994; 2016 to 2023		Louisville Brecks 1922 to 1923		Louisville Colonels 1926

			NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Miami Dolphins 1970 to 2023		Milwaukee Badgers 1922 to 1926		Minneapolis Marines 1922 to 1924		Minneapolis Red Jackets 1929 to 1930		Minnesota Vikings 1961 to 2023


	New England Patriots 1971 to 2023		New Orleans Saints 1967 to 2023		New York Bulldogs 1949		New York Giants 1925 to 2023		New York Jets 1970 to 2023

	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	New York Yankees 1927 to 1928		New York Yanks 1950 to 1951		Newark Tornadoes 1930		Oakland Raiders 1970 to 2019		Oorang Indians 1922 to 1923

	NEED LOGO						NEED LOGO
	Orange Tornadoes 1929		Philadelphia Eagles 1933 to 2023		Phoenix Cardinals 1988 to 1993		Pittsburgh Pirates 1933 to 1939		Pittsburgh Steelers 1940 to 2023

	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Portsmouth Spartans 1930 to 1933		Pottsville Maroons 1925 to 1928		Providence Steam Roller 1925 to 1931		Racine Legion 1922 to 1924		Racine Tornadoes 1926

	NEED LOGO		NEED LOGO
	Rochester Jeffersons 1922 to 1925		Rock Island Independents 1922 to 1925		San Diego Chargers 1970 to 2016		San Francisco 49ers 1950 to 2023		Seattle Seahawks 1976 to 2023

	NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO				NEED LOGO
	St. Louis All-Stars 1923		St. Louis Cardinals 1960 to 1987		St. Louis Gunners 1934		St. Louis Rams 1995 to 2015		Staten Island Stapletons 1929 to 1932

							NEED LOGO
	Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1976 to 2023		Tennessee Oilers 1997 to 1998		Tennessee Titans 1999 to 2023		Toledo Maroons 1922 to 1923		Washington Commanders 2022 to 2023


	Washington Football Team 2020 to 2021		Washington Redskins 1937 to 2019