Rider Prophet Salutes US Expansion: Birmingham Barracudas

The year was 1995, the CFL was looking for additional American franchises to add to its US expansion efforts. Along came a Georgia business man by the name of Art Williams wanting to put a franchise in Birmingham. And who did he name as the GM of his new franchise? … None other than Roy Shivers.

 

Years in the League: 1995

Overall Record: 11-7

Notable Players: QB Matt Dunnigan, DB Eddie Davis, DL Anthony Drawhorn, WR Jason Phillips, OL Fred Childress. Roy Shivers.

The Good

- Winning record and a playoff appearance.

- Dunnigan had his best season ever

- Attendance started out very good… well at least until college football season started at which point it plummeted.

The Bad

- The nickname Cudas. Owner wanted a team name that would “scare the spit out of people”… I somehow doubt much saliva was lost due the name Cudas.

- Like the Memphis Mad Dogs they decided to buck the trend when it came to jerseys and put a logo on the front. Now that design is bad enough before you factor in the lovely colour scheme the Cudas had going for them.

- The owner openly criticized the Canadian rules and favoured chancing things to be more like the NFL… this included changing the name of the league. If only there were some option for people who want 4 down football on a small field with 11 players and not called the CFL.

- Brought Reggie Slack into the league

Fate

Tried moving the team to Shreveport following the 1995 season but the CFL ended up ceasing US operations completely so the team folded.

Video Evidence