The Dayton Triangles were founding members of the American Professional Football Association (APFA) in 1920. In 1922, the APFA became known as the National Football League (NFL). In 1929 the team was sold and moved to Brooklyn where they became the Dodgers. For ten seasons, though, they represented Dayton in the NFL.
Continental Football League (1969) Born: 1969 – CoFL expansion franchise Folded: September 21, 1969 First Game: August 30, 1969 (W 34-33 vs. Oklahoma Thunderbirds) Last Game: September 18, 1969 (W 17-3 @ Dallas Rockets) CoFL Championships: None University City (52,000) Team Colors: Gold & White Owner: Red McCombs Background The Mexico
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 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.
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
This long-gone Arena Football League entry was notable mainly for its celebrity ownership and and its naming rights agreement with a briefly popular beer of the late 1990’s, Miller Brewing Company’s Red Dog lager. Former NFL 1st round draft pick Tommy Maddox started at quarterback for the Red Dogs during their final season in 2000. Maddox would later return to the NFL for five more seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2001-2005) and earned that league’s Comeback Player-of-the-Year Award in 2002 along with a Super Bowl championship ring.
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.
