Today's a very important day in Falcons history. The most important, in fact, as June 30, 1965 was the day the Atlanta was awarded the NFL's 15th franchise.
The date June 30, 1965, will always be remembered as both a termination and a commencement in the history of Atlanta sports. For on that day the end came to the many and disparate struggles to place a professional football team in the Southeast’s key metropolis. At the same time the Atlanta Falcons were born and began a storied tenure in the National Football League.
All that had gone before — the successes (an $18 million stadium to play in) and the near-misses (aborted attempts to place other franchises in the city) — was set aside for the immediate business of fielding a team in little over a year’s time.