The Pittsburgh Pipers were charter members of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967 and won the league’s first championship. Then promptly moved to Minnesota, only to move back to Pittsburgh after one season. When that didn’t improve their situation, the team changed its name to the Pittsburgh Condors.
The Providence Steamroller were one of six founding teams in the Atlantic Coast Football League in 1962. The ACFL franchise adopted the “Steamroller” name used by several Providence football teams of the past dating back to 1916. Most notably, Providence had an entry known as the Steamrollers in the very early days of the National Football League from 1925 until 1931.
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 Philadelphia Blazers were charter members of the World Hockey Association (WHA). However, after one season in the City of Brotherly Love, they moved to Vancouver.
The second incarnation of the Seattle Rainiers played in the Northwest League from 1972 through 1976. They were displaced when MLB’s Seattle Mainers arrived in 1977.
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
Arena Football League (1990-2000) Founded: April 19, 1990 – Arena Football expansion franchise Moved: October 19, 2000 (Indiana Firebirds) First Game: June 9, 2000 (W 16-12 vs. Washington Commandos) Last Game: August 5, 2000 (L 53-50 vs. Arizona Rattlers) Arena Bowl Champions: 1999 Knickerbocker Arena (13,652) Opened: 1990 Team Colors: Orange,
The Spirits of St. Louis played just two losing seasons in the defunct American Basketball Association during the mid-1970’s. The team was never particularly successful in the standings or popular at the box office. Nevertheless, the Spirits retain a dedicated cult following thanks to a fantastically talented collection of players and an outrageous deathbed settlement with the NBA that may just be the greatest financial deal in the history of professional sports.
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.
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