The Baltimore Stallions played two seasons in the CFL starting in 1994. The most successful of the league’s American teams, they went to the Grey Cup following both seasons, winning in 1995. The team experienced grief off the field from the NFL, first with a lawsuit over using the name Colts, then by the relocation of the Cleveland Browns.
The St. Louis Quest were one of four Midwestern members of the United States Professional Volleyball (USPV), a women’s pro volleyball promotion that managed to stage only one season during the winter & spring of 2002. The Quest played their inaugural season home matches at the Washington University Field House. The entire league disbanded in January 2003 on the eve of a planned second season.
This short-lived Arena Football team played just one last place season at the Laredo Entertainment Center during the spring & summer of 2004 before disbanding. The team finished its only season with a 3-13 record. The team’s lone highlight was the play of Defensive Specialist Traco Rachal who earned Arena Football 2’s Defensive Player of the Year Award. The Law were owned and operated by the then-popular local minor league hockey franchise, the Laredo Bucks.
The Denver Invaders were an outstanding minor league hockey club that played one season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) during the winter of 1963-64. The Invaders relocated to Denver from Spokane, Washington the previous spring and served as a farm club of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Under head coach Rudy Pilous, the team was terrific on the ice, dominating the WHL with a 44-23-3 regular season record. But lackluster attendance at the Denver Coliseum and disputes between local investors and the Maple Leafs led the franchise to leave Colorado for British Columbia after only a year.
The Pittsburgh Phantoms were a one-and-done professional roller hockey promotion that played at the Civic Arena during the summer of 1994. The club was owned by Pittsburgh Penguins owner Howard Baldwin and had a heavy Pens flavor, featuring former NHLers Bryan Trottier, Warren Young and Alain Lemieux (older brother of Mario) on the roster. Former Penguins star Rick Kehoe coached the team, which performed well and reached the Roller Hockey International playoff quarterfinals. But the team disbanded after one season due to Baldwin’s unhappiness with the league’s management.
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