Tag: One-Year Wonders

1994 Pittsburgh Phantoms Media Guide from Roller Hockey International

Pittsburgh Phantoms (1994)

December 12, 2023

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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2004 Cedar Rapids River Raiders pocket schedule from the United States Basketball League

Cedar Rapids River Raiders

December 5, 2023

The Cedar Rapids River Raiders were a One-Year Wonder that competed in the United States Basketball League (USBL) during the spring of 2003. Despite a promising debut that saw the River Raiders excel on the court and lead the USBL in attendance, the team disbanded a couple of months after its inaugural season ended. 30-year old River Raiders head coach Dave Joerger went on earn head coaching jobs in the National Basketball Association with the Memphis Grizzlies (2013-2016) and Sacramento Kings (2016-2019).

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1999 Texas Terminators Program from the Indoor Professional Football League

Texas Terminators

March 7, 2023

The Texas Terminators were an Austin-based indoor football team that played for a single season in the Indoor Professional Football League from April to August 1999. The Terminators made their home at the Travis County Exposition Center, a 6,000-seat rodeo barn with no air conditioning. The team was stocked with former University of Texas Longhorns, including record-setting quarterback James Brown and running back Butch Hadnot. After a superb regular season, the Longhorns hosted the IPFL championship game in August 1999 in what would prove to be the team’s final game.

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Head coach Vaughn Hebron on the cover of a 2001 Trenton Lightning program from the Indoor Professional Football League

Trenton Lightning

February 25, 2023

The Trenton Lightning were an indoor football team that managed to play just six games during April and May of 2001. The team, coached by former Denver Broncos running back Vaughn Hebron, lost all six of its contests before financial scandals caused the team to disband. Later investigations revealed that Lightning founder Philip Subhan, an American Express Financial Advisor, funded the team with money embezzled from his clients. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2004.

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2000 Portland Prowlers Program from the Indoor Professional Football League

Portland Prowlers

February 23, 2023

The Portland Prowlers were an indoor football team that competed for one season in the Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL) during the summer of 2000. The Prowlers came into the Rose City on the heels of the departing Portland Forest Dragons of the Arena Football League, a higher-profile and bigger budget franchise that left town for Oklahoma City following the 1999 season. While the Forest Dragons played at the city’s sparkling new 18,000-seat Rose Garden arena, the Prowlers set up shop at Portland’s “old” NBA arena, Memorial Coliseum.

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