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In 1985 Smith founded the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation. [12] It provides grants to non-profit organizations across Georgia, focusing on programs which benefit children. Following his death, three of Smith's children (Rankin Smith Jr., Dorothy Smith Knox, and Taylor Smith) donated $3.5 million to the University of Georgia Athletic ...
The Atlanta Falcons franchise began when it was approved to begin play in 1966 by a unanimous vote of the NFL club owners on June 21, 1965. [1] NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle granted ownership nine days later on June 30 to Rankin M. Smith Sr., the executive vice president of Life Insurance Company of Georgia. [2]
The Atlanta Falcons franchise began when it was approved to begin play in 1966 by a unanimous vote of the NFL club owners on June 21, 1965. [19] Rozelle granted ownership nine days later on June 30 to 40-year-old Rankin Smith Sr., an executive vice president of Life Insurance Company of
The 1966 NFL expansion draft was a National Football League (NFL) draft in which a new expansion team, named the Atlanta Falcons, selected its first players.On June 30, 1965, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle awarded the first NFL franchise in the Deep South to the city of Atlanta and granted ownership to Rankin Smith Sr. [1]
The Falcons were founded on June 30, 1965, with the NFL awarding Atlanta a football team to prevent the franchise from joining the rival American Football League. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle granted ownership of the team to businessman Rankin Smith, beginning play in the 1966 season as an expansion team.
The Atlanta Falcons were founded by Rankin M. Smith Sr. and started playing in the NFL in the 1966 season. [14] In their initial years, the Falcons struggled, achieving only two winning seasons and failing to qualify for the playoffs. [15]
Former NFL football player Woody Thompson, an East High School graduate, was photographed in the Times-News studio on April 5, 2013. Thompson played for the Atlanta Falcons from 1975-1977.
There have been 18 head coaches for the Falcons franchise, 13 serving full-time. Among full-time head coaches, Mike Smith is the Falcons' winningest and longest tenured head coach, with a 66–46 regular season record. Under Smith's leadership, the team attained consecutive winning seasons (11–5 in 2008 and 9–7 in 2009), consecutive playoff ...