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.
Big league professional football came to the Rose City in 1974 with the formation of the upstart World Football League. The Portland Storm were one of the WFL’s weaker entries initially, starting 0-7-1 before an infusion of NFL veteran talent helped spur a late season surge. The Storm folded after the 1974 season only to be replaced by the barely-renamed Portland Thunder for the 1975 season, which proved to be the WFL’s last.
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.
SUPER SOCCER LEAGUE Announced: January 5, 1978 Vanished: Summer 1978 Founders: Dennis Murphy, Jerry Saperstein, Richard Ragone, Norm Sutherland, Fredric Wise & Dr. Elliott Gorin Background Periodically, some persuasive entrepreneur claims to have developed the sport of the future. And from the 1960’s to the 1990’s that man was
Arena Football League (2006-2008) Born: September 2004 – AFL expansion franchise Folded: August 4, 2009 First Game: January 28, 2006 (W 48-35 @ San Jose SaberCats) Last Game: June 28, 2008 (L 49-44 vs. Colorado Crush) Arena Bowl Championships: None EnergySolutions Arena Opened: 1991 Team Colors: Owners: John Garff, Robert Garff &
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.
The San Antonio Texans were a One-Year Wonder in the Canadian Football League, playing a single season at the Alamodome in the autumn of 1995. The franchise had a twisty backstory, dating back to the formation of the NFL-backed World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1990.
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