This Macon-based semi-pro football squad played a single season in the Minor League Football System during the summer of 1990, only to see the league come apart at the seams. Former Buffalo Bills chief Lou Saban was the Heat Wave head coach initially but left the team midway through the season, leaving the squad in the hands of long-time New England Patriots defensive stalwart Julius Adams, a Macon native.
The Las Vegas Dealers were one of seven founding teams in the Western Basketball Association in 1978. The Dealers proved to be the league’s shakiest franchise and barely made it through the season. Dealers founders James Speed and his wife Sylvia came to the ownership suite through unusual – and sad – circumstances. 6′ 7″ James Speed was a prized recruit for the University of Iowa basketball program in 1970. Before he ever took the floor for the Hawkeyes, complications from routine medical procedures left him permanently blind in both eyes. Speed later used part of his $750,000 malpractice judgment to buy the Dealers.
The Atlanta Apollos were a One-Year Wonder in the North American Soccer League that competed for just four months between May and August 1973 before closing up shop. The Apollos replaced Atlanta’s previous NASL franchise, the Chiefs, who folded following the 1972 season.
Appalachian League (1960) Born: 1960 Re-Branded: 1961 (Wytheville Twins) First Game: June 24, 1960 (L 10-4 vs. Bluefield Orioles) Last Game: September 1, 1960 (W
The Toledo Pride were a One-Year Wonder indoor soccer outfit, playing in the Midwest-based American Indoor Soccer Association. The Pride played a winter schedule during 1986-87, filling empty dates at the Toledo Sports Arena after the city’s long-time minor league ice hockey club went out of business earlier in 1986. The Pride closed their doors after one season of play.
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