Spotlight

Chicago Feds opening day ad

Chicago Whales – Chicago Chifeds (1913-1915)

May 22, 2026 No Comments

The Chicago Whales were established in 1913 as the Chicago Feds in 1913, charter members of the Federal League (FL). The FL was an attempt to start a third major league to compete with the established American and National Leagues. The circuit was done after three seasons, the last two as a major league. The most recognizable piece of the league’s legacy is Wrigley Field, opened as Weeghman Field, the Whale’s home in 1915, later taken over by the NL Cubs.

Read More »

historic Football

Quincy Giants Atlantic Coast Football League

Quincy Giants

January 31, 2021 1 Comment

The Quincy Giants were a minor league football outfit that played for one season in this border city on the southern edge of Boston during the fall of 1969.  The franchise previously played in northern Massachusetts as the Lowell Giants from 1966 to 1968. The Giants were members of the Atlantic Coast Football League, competing against teams from Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Read More »

Honoring the Negro Leagues

Cleveland Buckeyes

Baltimore Elite Giants (1938-1951)

February 27, 2026 No Comments

The Baltimore Elite Giants got their start in Nashville, before moving to Columbus, Ohio for one year, then to Washington, D.C. They moved down the road in Baltimore in 1938 and played there until 1950, before spending their final season back in Tennessee.

Read More »

Retro Hockey

Winnipeg Jets program

Winnipeg Jets (1972-1996)

March 6, 2025 2 Comments

The original Winnipeg Jets were charter members of the WHA in 1972. They moved to the NHL in 1979, along with three other WHA squads. In 1995, they were sold and moved to Phoenix for the 1996-97 hockey season. The name was revived when the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Manitoba in 2011 and assumed the Jets name but not their history.

Read More »

baseball History

1998 Atlantic City Surf baseball program from the Atlantic League

Atlantic City Surf

December 31, 2017 2 Comments

The Atlantic City Surf were one of the six original franchises in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The Atlantic League was (and remains) the most ambitious league to arise out of the independent baseball boom of the 1990’s. The Surf played at the Sandcastle, a 5,900-seat ballpark built on the grounds of Atlantic City’s municipal airport, Bader Field. The stadium was built with $11.5 million in Casino Reinvestment Development Authority funds and $3 million in taxpayer bonds.

Read More »

Soccer Indoor and outdoor

Milwaukee Wave United Sooccer

Milwaukee Wave United

June 18, 2021 No Comments

Throughout the 1990’s and into the early 2000’s, Milwaukee, Wisconsin was one of the most stable pro soccer scenes in the U.S.  In late 2002, Milwaukee boasted both the reigning 2nd Division outdoor champions, the 10-year old Rampage, and the country’s longest running indoor soccer franchise, the Wave, about to enter their 19th season of competition. But in January 2003 the Rampage went out of business, foregoing the opportunity to defend their 2002 A-League title. The ownership of the Milwaukee Wave quickly stepped into the void, forming an expansion team known as Wave United to replace the Rampage in the outdoor A-League during the summer of 2003.

Read More »

Arena Football

Head Coach Earle Bruce on the cover of a 1994 Cleveland Thunderbolts program from the Arena Football League

Cleveland Thunderbolts

May 4, 2014 1 Comment

The Cleveland Thunderbolts were a bottom-dwelling Arena Football League franchise that played for three seasons at the suburban Richfield Coliseum from 1992 to 1994. The T-Bolts were one of the weakest entries in the Arena League in the mid-1990’s, posting an 8-26 record during their three seasons in Cleveland, including back-to-back 2-10 campaigns in 1993 and 1994. The ‘Bolts signed two big names from the world of college football. Two-time Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback Major Harris of the University of West Virginia played for the team in 1992 and 1994. Former Ohio State boss Earle Bruce coached the Thunderbolts during their final season in 1994.

Read More »

Pro Basketball

1970-71 Sporting News American Basketball Association Guide

American Basketball Association (1967-1976)

March 25, 2012 No Comments

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.

Read More »

Canadian Football League

Shreveport Pirates Canadian Football League

Shreveport Pirates

September 27, 2019 4 Comments

Yes, strange as it sounds, but the small, poverty-stricken city of Shreveport, Louisiana once had its very own Canadian Football League franchise: the Shreveport Pirates. The Pirates’ shambolic leadership made a series of head-scratching personnel moves, including the signings of troubled over-the-hill NFL stars Dexter Manley and Mark Duper, and fired the team’s first head coach before taking a regular season snap. Meanwhile the team staggered to a two-year record of 8-28 in the CFL before going out of business at the end of the 1995 season.

Read More »