The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a football league established in 1944 by Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Wald. He announced its formation at a press conference on September 2, 1944. It hoped to co-exist with the established National Football League, in much the same way Major League Baseball was set up. It didn’t quite work out that way.
United States Football League (1983-1985) Born: May 11, 1982 – USFL founding franchise Folded: August 1986 First Game: March 7, 1983 (L 9-7 vs. Michigan Panthers) Last Game: July 7, 1985 (L 28-14 vs. Baltimore Stars) USFL Championships: None Legion Field Opened: 1927 Team Colors: Red, White & Gold Cheerleaders:
The Seattle Steelheads were members of the West Coast Negro Baseball Association (WCNBA) in that circuit’s only season, 1946. The team was actually the Harlem Globetrotters baseball club and returned to barnstorming when the WCNBA ceased operations.
The Macon Whoopee was a minor league hockey team that played in the second iteration of the Central Hockey League. They played from 1996 to 2001 and were the second Macon hockey team to use that nickname, though their predecessors from the Southern Hockey League added an “S.”
Houston’s dreams of landing a Major League Baseball team go back at least as far as the 1950s. The threat of a third major league, the proposed Continental League, yielded Houston a National League expansion franchise that was known as the Houston Colt .45s for its first three seasons.
Independent (1993) United States Interregional Soccer League (1994) USISL Pro League (1995) USISL Select League (1996) USISL A-League (1997-1998) USL A-League (1999-2002) Born: 1993 Folded: January 2003 First Game: Last Game: A-League Champions: 1997 & 2002 Stadia: 1994: Hart Park 1994: Brown Deer High School 1995-2000: Uihlein Soccer Park (5,500) 2001-2002: Milwaukee
The Florida Bobcats were a hard luck Arena Football League outfit that wandered in the wilderness for a decade in the notorious pro sports graveyard of Southern Florida. Ownership squabbles and building problems plagued the franchise throughout its existence. The team was also reliably terrible in competition, posting ten straight losing seasons.
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was formed in 1967 as a competitor to the established National Basketball Association (NBA). It started with 11 teams, and within a few years was angling for a merger with the older league. In 1976, the NBA took in four ABA teams, while three other surviving teams disbanded.
The Memphis Mad Dogs were a short-lived chapter in the Canadian Football League’s expansion misadventure into the United States between 1993 and 1995. The Mad Dogs arrived at the Liberty Bowl just in time for the final season of the CFL’s three-year American experiment in the fall of 1995. The ‘Dogs featured an outstanding defense and CFL legend Damon Allen at quarterback but never quite put it all together and finished their only season at 9-9. The team did make a star out of unheralded community college wide receiver Joe Horn, who leapt from the Mad Dogs to a 12-year career in the NFL and four Pro Bowl nods. The team folded after the 1995 season.
Fun While it Lasted presents the Jersey of the Week, brought to you by Royal Retros. Each week, we feature a historic uniform. Click to learn more about the team that wore this classic gear.
