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

Alabama Hawks Program

Alabama Hawks

December 30, 2014 1 Comment

Professional Football League of America (1967) Continental Football League (1968-1969) Alabama Hawks Born: 1967 Folded: Postseason 1969 First Game: Last Game: PFLA Championships: CoFL Championships: None Milton Frank Stadium Team Colors: Owner: Background The Alabama Hawks were a minor league football team that played in the Continental Football League. The cool minor league

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

Marinette Pichon on the cover of a 2004 New Jersey Wildcats program from the USL W-League

New Jersey Wildcats

March 21, 2022 No Comments

For a remarkable three-year period between 2004 and 2006 this amateur women’s soccer club that played in a 1,500-seat community college field in the Trenton suburbs managed to sign up a jaw-dropping roster of top players from all over the world. The Wildcats ran roughshod over the USL’s W-League during these years with only one North American women’s club – the Vancouver Whitecaps – able to stay on the field with them.

Read More »

Arena Football

Baltimore Brigade Arena Football League

Baltimore Brigade

November 28, 2019 1 Comment

The Baltimore Brigade were a late-era entry in the now-defunct Arena Football League. The Brigade played during one the league’s darkest eras, when the once sprawling national league was reduced to a tiny cluster of survivors in the northeastern U.S. In 2018, the Brigade played in Arena Bowl XXXI, a bizarre spectacle that somehow saw the Brigade lose the championship game to the Washington Valor, the league’s last place team that went 2-10 in the regular season.

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

1994 Sacramento Gold Miners media guide from the Canadian Football League

Sacramento Gold Miners

March 5, 2019 3 Comments

The Sacramento Gold Miners were the first U.S.-based franchise admitted into the Canadian Football League during the CFL’s short-lived American expansion adventure from 1993 to 1995. The Gold Miners weren’t a brand new operation though. Owner Fred Anderson’s team previously played in the NFL-sponsored World League of American Football (WLAF) as the Sacramento Surge in 1991 and 1992. After NFL owners pulled the plug on the WLAF in September 1992, Anderson applied for entry to the CFL. The team retained its color scheme, Head Coach Kay Stephenson and a number of players from the WLAF era, but changed its name upon joining the CFL.

Read More »