Birmingham Bolts played in the Eastern Division, with the Chicago Enforcers, Orlando Rage and the New York/New Jersey Hitmen.

The team was frequently referred to by fans and the media as simply the Bolts with team merchandise almost always used the shortened Bolts moniker.

Allegedly, the league had originally planned to name the team the Blast; the XFL had named all of its teams with references to insanity and criminal activity, and the name "Birmingham Blast" likewise invoked images of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church and of Eric Rudolph's 1998 bombing of a local abortion clinic, two tragic events in Birmingham history. As the league soon realized that such a name would have been in extremely poor taste, at the last minute the league changed it to "Thunderbolts," or "Bolts" for short. The team's logo is said to be the same one originally designed for the Blast. The Thunderbolts were unusual in that their nickname was benign.

LOCATION

Birmingham,AL

2001

AFFILIATIONS

EAST DIVISION

2001

SEASONS

XFL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

0

DIVISION TITLES

0

PLAYOFFS APPEARANCES

0

LOGOS

HELMETS

STADIUMS