Happy birthday Jacksonville Jaguars
Wayne Weaver poses with helmet moments after Jacksonville was awarded the franchise. (photo courtesy Florida Times-Union)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Getting an NFL team off the ground is almost as tough as connecting a Hail Mary pass. But where there's a will, there's a way.
This sleepy northeast Florida town that sports reporters once laughed off proved its gridiron grit after a years-long quest to land an NFL team culminated in the NFL awarding its 30th franchise to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 30, 1993.
Earlier this year, former Jaguars owners Wayne and Delores Weaver told News4Jax why they almost ended the quest to get an NFL team, and that in the angst-ridden moments after they won the team that he thought he had been mistaken.
Three-time Super Bowl winning coach Tom Coughlin remembered his nerve-wracking first impressions of working for a brand new franchise and two-time Super Bowl winner and five-time Pro Bowler Jimmy Smith and other NFL players explained why they playing for the inaugural Jaguars team, despite the low expectations, was a high point in their careers.
WATCH: WJXT Films' 60-minute documentary on how Jacksonville landed an NFL team
STORIES FROM WJXT DOCUMENTARY
The Weavers | Tom Coughlin | 1993 WJXT special
Copyright 2016 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.
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