The Jersey Jays were a short-lived minor league football team that played first in Newark and later in Jersey City in 1969 and 1970. The Jays briefly worked as a farm club for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and – maybe/kinda/sorta – signed or worked out E Street Band legend Clarence “Big Man” Clemons.
The Indianapolis Capitols (1968-1970) were a short-lived effort in professional minor league football, a form of entertainment which largely ceased to exist by the mid-1970’s. The Caps were one of the first pro football franchises to put their team in the hands of a black quarterback. They were also one of the first dabblings in pro sports by future NFL and NHL power broker Edward DeBartolo.
The Toronto Rifles were a short-lived professional football team that played at Maple Leafs Stadium and Varsity Stadium from 1965 to 1967. The club originally formed in Montreal in 1964 and played one season there as the Quebec Rifles before moving to Toronto. Unlike teams of the rival Canadian Football League, the Rifles were members of the largely American-based Continental Football League and played by the considerably different American football rules. The financially troubled Rifles folded just two games into their third season in September 1967.
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