Alabama Steeldogs 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 very 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 cheerleader s 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 “ arenafootball2 ” 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 national television audience into 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 fotball , 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 . The 2002 off - season was much less chaotic than in previous years as Humphrey was retained once again and , for the first time in team history , so was the ownership group . Fourth season ( 2003 ) . Injuries plagued the 2003 edition of the Birmingham Steeldogs , as the team struggled to field a healthy and consistent quarterback . After two early season victories at home , the Steeldogs fell at Macon in the first road contest of the year . The team dropped four of their next five games , with the one bright exception being a 38 - 35 overtime victory over the Florida Firecats at Fort Myers . After three straight victories in the middle of the season , the team dropped five of the last six games to close out the year . Injuries riddled the team from the offensive line , to the quarterback position , to wide receivers and defensive backs . Humphrey and his team limped into the off - season , where he was rewarded for his efforts with his fourth contract extension . He was about to become the longest - tenured coach in the history of af2 football . Fifth season ( 2004 ) . The Steeldogs rebounded nicely to begin the 2004 season . After an opening - night loss at Bossier City , a game in which the Steeldogs ’ starting quarterback was hurt on the first play of the second half , Birmingham reeled off six straight victories on the arm of backup quarterback Jeff Aaron . But inconsistency at the quarterback position , along with several key injuries cooled the Steeldogs in the second half of the 2004 regular - season . Birmingham limped into the postseason with a 10 - 6 record , falling in the first round at Cape Fear , North Carolina , 54 - 53 . Humphrey and the King - Myers ownership combo stuck around for 2005 . Humphrey , who had been inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame , had become the af2 ’ s all - time winningest coach in 2004 . The team ’ s 59 - 58 win over the Rio Grande Valley Dorados on June 26 , 2004 gave Humphrey his 47th victory , making him tops among all current and prior head coaches through the 2004 season . Sixth season ( 2005 ) . The Steeldogs kicked off the 2005 regular season with a marquee player signing . Andrew Zow , the all - time leading passer at the University of Alabama , joined the team on March 15 , 2005 . He had signed with the team in 2004 for one game as an emergency quarterback at the behest of Coach Humphrey , but did not see any action . He had not competed on a regular basis since his senior year at Alabama in 2001 and did not see action in the team ’ s first game , a home loss to the San Diego Riptide , but finally took the field a week later at Macon . Zow was remarkably efficient in his first contest , finishing 20 of 36 for 273 yards , three touchdowns and one interception . He also ran for a touchdown . Zow ’ s season ended a week later when he suffered a leg injury in the following week ’ s game at home versus the eventual league champion Memphis Xplorers . Much like Zow ’ s arena football career , the 2005 Steeldogs season never fully got off the ground . The quarterback position changed hands six times during the year . The offensive and defensive lines , hampered by injuries dating back to early season workout camps , never quite jelled into a functioning unit . The defense allowed an average of nearly 56 points per game , worst in the league . The Steeldogs finished with a 2 - 14 record , dead last in the af2 . The lowly record cost Humphrey his job ; he was relieved of his coaching duties on August 9 , 2005 . Humphrey finished his six - year career as the longest - tenured coach in the league ’ s history , as well as its second - most victorious . Seventh season ( 2006 ) . On October 4 , 2005 , Ron Selesky was selected as the second head coach in the history of the Birmingham Steeldogs . He led the team to an improved 7 - 9 mark in the 2006 season , good for fourth place in the Southern Division . Birmingham lost both games played to the Tennessee Valley Vipers in 2006 , accounting for two of the Vipers ' three overall wins . On December 11 , 2006 , the Steeldogs ' management team changed the team ' s name from the Birmingham Steeldogs to the Alabama Steeldogs , in an effort to broaden the team ' s appeal to the city ' s more - affluent suburb s and exurbs . The only change to the team logo was replacing the word " Birmingham " with " Alabama . " Eighth season ( 2007 ) . The Steeldogs struggled again , but managed to make the playoffs with a 7 - 9 record and third place in the division . They lost to Rio Grande Valley in the first round of the playoffs . After the end of the season , Selesky resigned to move up a level in arena football , taking the position of defensive coordinator and player personnel director of the Grand Rapids Rampage . Team deactivated . On October 26 , 2007 , owner / managing partner Scott Myers announced that the Steeldogs would not put a team on the field in the 2008 season . Myers had been seeking new majority ownership to help finance the team , but was not able to find one . Myers said that the team hoped to return for the 2009 season . But those plans did not come to fruition . Notable players . Several former Steeldogs have gone on to be players in other professional leagues . Four players went to the National Football League : Brian Holmes ( Atlanta , Tennessee ) , Brian Haugabrook ( Cleveland ) , Detronn Harris ( Carolina ) and Erick Harris ( Philadelphia ) . In addition to the NFL , ten players were signed to AFL teams : Bobby Keyes ( Dallas ) , Terrell Browden ( Colorado ) , James Clark ( Georgia ) , Jerry Turner ( Las Vegas ) , Mike Geselbracht ( Las Vegas ) , William Mayes ( Las Vegas ) , Herman Bell ( Detroit ) and Ernest Ross ( Detroit ) . Three players also played in the Canadian Football League : Aryvia Holmes ( Montreal ) , Bennitte Waddell ( British Columbia ) and Michael Gholar ( Saskatchewan ) .