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Atlanta Falcons Facts

Atlanta Falcons Facts
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional football team playing in the South Division of the NFC (National Football Conference) of the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons were established on June 30th, 1965 and joined the NFL, despite being offered the opportunity to join the NFL rivals American Football League (AFL). Rankin Smith, the Executive Vice President of Life Insurance Company of Georgia paid a record $8.5 million to establish the NFL franchise. The Atlanta Falcons have played their home games at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia since 1992, but in 2014 plans for a new Atlanta Stadium were underway, with an estimated 2017 date for completion.
Interesting Atlanta Falcons Facts:
The Atlanta Falcons were established by Rankin Smith in 1965. Rankin was 41 years old and paid the highest fee in NFL history (at the time) for the franchise.
Rankin Smith's son Taylor Smith took over the Atlanta Falcons when his father died on October 26th, 1997.
The current owner of the Atlanta Falcons is Arthur Blank. Arthur Blank is the co-founder of the Home Depot. He purchased the Atlanta Falcons in February 2002 from Taylor Smith.
From 1966 to 1991 the Atlanta Falcons home field was the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. From 1992 until present the home field has been the Georgia Dome. A new state-of-the-art stadium is being built.
It is estimated that the new stadium for the Atlanta Falcons will cost $1.4 billion. The stadium is also going to be used for a Major League Soccer team in Atlanta.
The Atlanta Falcons team colors are white, silver, red, and black.
The Atlanta Falcons played in Super Bowl XXXIII against the Denver Broncos, losing 34-19.
The first Atlanta Falcons head coach was Norb Hecker. He was head coach until 1968. Subsequent coaches include Norm Van Brocklin ('68-'74), Marion Campbell ('74-'76), Pat Peppler ('76), Leeman Bennett ('77-'82), Dan Henning ('83-'86), Marion Campbell ('87-'89), Jim Hanifan ('89), Jerry Glanville ('90-'93), June Jones ('94-'96), Dan Reeves ('97-'03), Wade Phillips ('03), Jim Mora ('04-'06), Bobby Petrino ('07), Emmitt Thomas ('07), and Mike Smith ('08 to present).
Members of the Atlanta Falcons' Ring of Honor include quarterback Steve Bartkowski, cornerback and return man Deion Sanders, running back and tight end William Andrews, center Jeff Van Note, linebacker Jessie Tuggle, middle linebacker Tommy Nobis, offensive line Mike Kenn, defensive lineman Claude Humphrey, and running back Gerald Riggs.
Atlanta Falcon Hall of Fame members include Claude Humphrey, Deion Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Chris Doleman, and Tommy MacDonald.
The Atlanta Falcons team headquarters are located in Flowery Branch, Georgia.
Atlanta Falcons members whose numbers have been retired include Steve Bartkowski (#10), William Andrews (#31), Jeff Van Note (#57), Jessie Tuggle (#58), Tommy Nobis (#60), Mike Kenn (#78), and Claude Humphrey (#87).
Tie games are rare in professional football but the Atlanta Falcons had two of them in 1970.
Hollywood actor Samuel Jackson worked at the Fulton County Stadium as a vendor during Atlanta Falcons games, prior to 1991.
The Atlanta Falcons have not won an NFL Championship yet (as of 2014).


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