
New Orleans Buccaneers (1967-1970) ABA
A detailed history of the New Orleans Buccaneers (1967-1970) a founding member of the ABA that played three seasons in the Big Easy and later moved to Memphis.

A detailed history of the New Orleans Buccaneers (1967-1970) a founding member of the ABA that played three seasons in the Big Easy and later moved to Memphis.

Not to be confused with the modern day Major League Soccer franchise, the Chicago Fire were founding members of the upstart World Football League in the summer of 1974. The WFL sought to challenge the supremacy of the National Football League as a major league football product and launched raids on NFL rosters. The Fire got off to a promising 7-2 start and drew strong crowds to Soldier Field. But an 11-game losing streak and a series of embarrassing financial setbacks across the league cooled Fire boss Tom Origer’s enthusiasm. The exasperated owner forfeited the Fire’s final game and shuttered the franchise soon afterwards. Rookie receiver James Scott was the Fire’s breakout star. After the demise of the WFL Scott went on to play seven seasons for the Chicago Bears from 1976 to 1983.

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.

The Denver Spurs started in the Western Hockey League in 1968. When that circuit folded, they joined the Central Hockey League in 1974. The following year, they joined the World Hockey Association, but moved to Ottawa halfway through the season.

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.

The New Jersey Stallions are a long-time youth club soccer program operating out of Clifton, New Jersey. But during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s the organization also operated men’s – and, briefly, women’s – pro & amateur teams in the United Soccer Leagues. The Stallions debuted in 1996 and the Lady Stallions women’s club joined the USL in 2003. Following the 2004 season, the Stallions shuttered both their men’s and women’s USL adult clubs.

The Norfolk Nighthawks were one of 15 founding franchise in Arena Football 2, a lower-budget, small-market offshoot of the original Arena Football League (1987-2008). AF2 debuted in the spring of 2000 and the Nighthawks lasted for four seasons before folding. Former NFL defensive standouts Kenny Easley and Bruce Smith, both Virginia natives, owned the franchise.

A detailed history of the Miami Floridians, later just The Floridians, the former Minnesota Muskies that played four seasons in the Sunshine State before folding.

In the spring of 1982, the Canadian Football League’s venerable Montreal Alouettes franchise collapsed under a mountain of debt. Seeking a clean slate for new ownership, league officials folded the Alouettes on May 13, 1982 and awarded a new Montreal expansion club to Seagram’s liquor baron and Montreal Expos founder Charles Bronfman the next day. The club embarked on a star-crossed four year voyage under the new name “Concordes”, drawing inspiration from the iconic supersonic transatlantic jets of the era.