The Alabama Steeldogs, originally known as the Birmingham Steeldogs, were incorporated in 2000 as one of the charter teams in the AF2, the developmental league of the Arena Football League. Entering their eighth season as of 2007, they were the longest running of many professional football franchises in the city of Birmingham. Management announced that it would not field a team in 2008 but had hopes of returning in 2009. But the team's front office has since been dissolved, and with no announcements of further plans, the team is defunct.

The team's first head coach was former University of Alabama standout Bobby Humphrey. In October 2005, Ron Selesky, formerly of the Arena Football League's Columbus Destroyers, Carolina Cobras and Tampa Bay Storm, as well as the AF2's Albany Conquest and Louisville Fire, was hired as the team's second coach.

The team played its home games at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex Arena in downtown Birmingham. The arena was the site of the first AF2 game in 2000, between the Steeldogs and the Tennessee Valley Vipers, based in Huntsville, Alabama.

The team's colors were black, orange, and white. The team's name — unique in all of sports — paid tribute to Birmingham's steel industry.

The team's logo, depicting a dog with a spiked collar and metal lower jaw, represents "Rusty", the team's mascot. The team's cheerleaders were known as the "Showsteelers."

Team history

Beginnings

On April 20, 1999, Birmingham's franchise was one of the charter teams in the Xtreme Football League, which soon brokered a deal with the more-established Arena Football League to form the latter's second tier. Christened "Arena Football 2" or "AF2" for short, the new league would play by the same rules patented by its parent organization.

After a contest, the team became the "Steeldogs", paying homage to the steel industry that helped grow the city into an industrial giant during the early 20th century.

At a press conference on August 12, 1999, the team's name, logo, colors and head coach were all introduced. Humphrey, the University of Alabama's second all-time leading rusher, would be the team's first coach.

The first Steeldogs ownership group, consisting of Charles Felix, David Berkman and Bruce Burge, also owned the Birmingham Bulls hockey franchise. Both teams were to compete and be headquartered at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in downtown Birmingham.

On January 11, 2000, the Commissioner of the AF2, Mary Ellen Garling announced the league would kick off its inaugural season at the BJCC Arena on March 31, 2000. The Steeldogs first opponent would be the Tennessee Valley Vipers, Birmingham's neighbor 100 miles to the north in Huntsville.

First season (2000)

The inaugural game was played before 14,831 fans and a regional television audience in the BJCC Arena on March 31, 2000. The game was a tremendous hit and is ranked 3rd in the league's largest regular season crowds. The scoreboard, as is typical in arena football, got quite a workout. Tennessee Valley won the first game in the series, 59-18.

Birmingham's first win came one week later at the BJCC, as the Steeldogs shut down the Greensboro Prowlers 18-7 in one of the lowest scoring games in the history of arena football.

Birmingham would finish the year with a 7-9 final record. In addition to the win over the Prowlers, Birmingham racked up victories over Roanoke (twice), Richmond, Tallahassee, Arkansas and Tulsa. The Steeldogs’ win over Tallahassee, an 86-74 barnburner, still ranks as the fourth-highest scoring game in AF2 history.

By the end of the first season, 71,402 fans had crossed the turnstiles.

Second season (2001)

The second season of Steeldogs football brought the team's second ownership group. Steve and Kathryn Umberger purchased the team on December 13, 2000. The couple also purchased the AF2's Jacksonville Tomcats in the same year, but he decided that Birmingham would be his more "hands-on" investment. Humphrey was retained as the team's head coach for a second season.

The league expanded nearly twofold in 2001 as 28 teams took the field in 2001. Birmingham opened their season at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, La., against the expansion Bossier City BattleWings. Birmingham won a thrilling overtime affair, 63-57. It was the first of three consecutive wins to open the 2001 season.

The Steeldogs finished the regular-season 12-4, earning them their first postseason trip. Birmingham traveled to Richmond, Virginia to face the Richmond Speed on July 21, 2001. Despite reaching the 60-point plateau, a feat that Coach Humphrey stressed in every game, the Steeldogs collapsed in the fourth quarter and fell 67-60.

2002 was the beginning of years of stability in the executive office. The Umbergers sold the franchise to two local men, both of whom were well-acquainted with Birmingham's professional sports history. Buddy King and Scott Myers became the majority and minority owners of the team on January 2, 2002. The two had met when King played with and Myers marketed for the Birmingham Fire of the World League of American Football. The pair was anxious to parlay the Steeldogs’ early success into a third season. They retained Humphrey for a third year.

Third season (2002)

Adopting the motto "One Team, One Goal", Birmingham set out to make a playoff run in their third season. After an early loss at Tulsa, Birmingham rebounded to win eight of their next nine games before dropping three of their next four. The Steeldogs ended the regular-season with an 11-5 record, good enough to earn a trip to Huntsville to face the Vipers in the first round of the playoffs at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. There the 'Dogs cast off three years of frustration at the hands of their fiercest rival, dominating Tennessee Valley in a 65-51 victory. Almost secondary to the outcome of the game was the fact that the Steeldogs had now earned themselves a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a second-round match-up against the top-ranked team in AF2.

On August 10, 2002 Birmingham pulled off the biggest upset in team history. The Steeldogs thoroughly dominated the league's top-ranked team, handing them their first home loss in 18 games (a streak that started in 2000 with a seven-point victory over Birmingham) and also exacting revenge for the team's opening night loss. The Steeldogs returned home to host the Peoria Pirates in the National Conference Championship game on August 17, 2002, the winner of which would host the ArenaCup. But the Pirates surprised the Steeldogs with a first-half offensive clinic on their way to a 79-33 victory. The game enjoyed the 4th largest playoff attendance in league history.

Team deactivated

On October 26, 2007, owner/managing partner Scott Myers announced that the Steeldogs had collapsed and would not put a team on the field in the 2008 season. Myers had been seeking anyone to help finance the team, but was not able to find one. Myers had guaranteed that the team would return for the 2009 season.