The story of the Seattle Pilots is one of the most fascinating in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB). It began years before the team’s 1969 debut, and is tale filled with hope, excitement, money (and lack thereof), franchise relocations, and political influence.
The Los Angeles Dons were a professional football team that played four seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) starting in 1946. The team merged with Rams after the NFL absorbed the AAFC following the 1949 season.
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 Cincinnati Stingers hockey team began life in the upstart World Hockey Association in the winter of 1975-76. Owners Bill DeWitt Jr. and Brian Heekin originally sought to land an NHL expansion club for the Queen City, failed, and then accepted the first expansion franchise awarded by the fledgling WHA as a fallback option in May 1973.
The Havana Sugar Kings were a minor league AAA baseball team based in Havana, Cuba. The team moved up to the International League in 1954 and stayed on the island nation until being forced to flea to New Jersey following the Cuban Revolution in the middle of the 1960 season.
Major Indoor Soccer League (1978-1980) Houston Summit Born: September 1978 – MISL founding franchise Moved: May 1, 1980 (Baltimore Blast) First Game: December 26, 1978 (W 10-3 vs. Cleveland Force) Last Game: March 23, 1980 (L 7-4 @ New York Arrows) MISL Championships: None The Summit (15,208) Opened: 1975 Team
This brief entry in the Arena Football League shared Portland, Oregon’s 19,000-seat Rose Garden arena with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Largely undistinguished in competition, the Dragons did help to jumpstart the NFL career of wide receiver Oronde Gadsden, who went on to a solid 6-year stint with the Miami Dolphins after excelling in Portland.
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 Baltimore Stallions played two seasons in the CFL starting in 1994. The most successful of the league’s American teams, they went to the Grey Cup following both seasons, winning in 1995. The team experienced grief off the field from the NFL, first with a lawsuit over using the name Colts, then by the relocation of the Cleveland Browns.
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.
