Pottstown Firebirds revisit glory days with new website
POTTSTOWN » It was a blue-collar team for a blue-collar community ... a champion in a region that would go 58 years between pro football titles.
The Pottstown Firebirds were the pride of the area during their brief, but nonethless memorable, residence here in the 1960s. Now, fans of the Firebirds have a resource for revisiting those glory days of minor-league football ... and a champion that called the borough home.
A website( pottstownfirebirds.org) was recently created by Bruno Baltazar. The site is filled with photos and stories about the team’s players, its history and Pottstown area residents who were involved behind the scenes and on the sidelines.
“A lot of the items used were old clips from The Mercury,” Baltazar said. “It’s still a work in progress.”
The Firebirds were a professional minor-league team and member of the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1968 to 1970. The team’s roster was comprised of former National Football League, college level and highschool players driven by their love of the game.
The Firebirds at one time were a “farm club” of the Philadelphia Eagles and were provided with equipment/helmets already emblazoned with Eagle wings. They played their home games at Pottstown High School stadium, and in their final two seasons of existence in Pottstown (1969 and 1970), the Firebirds won the Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) Championship.
“There are some unpublished stories ... some funny, some interesting,” Baltazar said. “Stories about what happened.”
1. » Firebelles, the Firebirds’ cheerleading corps. 2.» Team rosters for 1968 to 1970 seasons. 3. » The Firebirds’ unofficial anthem. 4.» Photos of ball boys Lynn Seip, Dave Musser and John Katch — part of a slideshow. 5.» Memorabilia and historical items 6. » Buyable items — profits going toward acquisition of new items. 7. » Slideshow of players who either had been, or eventually went on to, the NFL.
The Firebirds’ affiliation with the Eagles was short-lived, withdrawn in 1970. In 1971, they merged with the Norfolk Neptunes and left the Pottstown area.
The Firebirds were perhaps best remembered as the subject of a 1970 NFL Films documentary “Pro Football, Pottstown, Pa.” which documented the ties between the minor-league club, its players and their Pottstown hometown. Of particular note was the portrayal of the Firebirds’ star quarterback, King Corcoran. “The King” was considered the “Poor Man’s Joe Namath” and had stints on the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Denver Broncos and the Philadelphia Eagles before landing in Pottstown.
In 2000, NFL Films returned to Pottstown for an episode of their Lost Treasures series. “Pottstown Revisited” covered some surviving players reminiscing about their days on the team, remembered the town’s relationship with the long-gone football team, and filmed a 30-year player reunion.
Baltazar is also working on a book about the team that could come out in the autumn months of this year. He’s seeking stories and memorabilia about the Firebirds.
Baltazar can be contacted on the web at bruno@pottstownfirebirds.org.