Ottawa Civics
April 8, 2026 No Comments
The Ottawa Civics were the former Denver Spurs. They moved to the Canadian capital in January 1976 but lasted just 11 games in Ontario.
Spotlight
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Portland Thunder (1975)
May 25, 2014 1 Comment
The 1975 Portland Thunder were the Rose City’s second and final go-round with the World Football League, a ramshackle mid-70’s start-up that briefly sought to challenge the NFL for top collegiate and veteran stars. The Thunder followed on the feels of the Portland Storm, who played in WFL’s debut season of 1974 before tax problems and bounced checks drove the team out of business. Like the Storm before them, the similarly-named Thunder dressed in green & blue and played at Civic Stadium. The Thunder had a record of 4-7 when the WFL went out of business midway through its second campaign in October 1975.
Honoring the Negro Leagues
Kansas City Monarchs (1920-1965)
April 15, 2025 No Comments
The Kanas City Monarchs are perhaps the best known Negro Leagues baseball team of all time. They played from the inception of the first Negro league in 1920 until finishing up as a barnstorming team in 1965.
Retro Hockey
Las Vegas Thunder
November 30, 2013 1 Comment
The Las Vegas Thunder were a six-year entry in the International Hockey League during that organization’s gold rush era of nationwide expansion in the mid-1990’s. Minor league baseball investors Hank Stickney and his son Ken paid a $2.0 million expansion fee for the Thunder in 1993. The Stickneys also owned the Las Vegas Stars Class AAA baseball team.
baseball History
Atlantic City Surf
December 31, 2017 2 Comments
The Atlantic City Surf were one of the six original franchises in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The Atlantic League was (and remains) the most ambitious league to arise out of the independent baseball boom of the 1990’s. The Surf played at the Sandcastle, a 5,900-seat ballpark built on the grounds of Atlantic City’s municipal airport, Bader Field. The stadium was built with $11.5 million in Casino Reinvestment Development Authority funds and $3 million in taxpayer bonds.
Soccer Indoor and outdoor
Milwaukee Wave United
June 18, 2021 No Comments
Throughout the 1990’s and into the early 2000’s, Milwaukee, Wisconsin was one of the most stable pro soccer scenes in the U.S. In late 2002, Milwaukee boasted both the reigning 2nd Division outdoor champions, the 10-year old Rampage, and the country’s longest running indoor soccer franchise, the Wave, about to enter their 19th season of competition. But in January 2003 the Rampage went out of business, foregoing the opportunity to defend their 2002 A-League title. The ownership of the Milwaukee Wave quickly stepped into the void, forming an expansion team known as Wave United to replace the Rampage in the outdoor A-League during the summer of 2003.
Arena Football
Wichita Stealth
January 24, 2015 No Comments
The Wichita Stealth were an indoor football team that played in Arena Football 2, the small-market developmental league for the Arena Football League from 2001 until 2004.
Carolina Cougars ABA (1969-1974)
April 7, 2026 No Comments
The Carolina Cougars played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1969 to 1974. The team was established as the Houston Mavericks and spent two seasons in Texas before being purchased by North Carolina syndicate. The team was sold and moved to Missouri and became the Spirits of St. Louis in 1974.
Shreveport Pirates
September 27, 2019 4 Comments
Yes, strange as it sounds, but the small, poverty-stricken city of Shreveport, Louisiana once had its very own Canadian Football League franchise: the Shreveport Pirates. The Pirates’ shambolic leadership made a series of head-scratching personnel moves, including the signings of troubled over-the-hill NFL stars Dexter Manley and Mark Duper, and fired the team’s first head coach before taking a regular season snap. Meanwhile the team staggered to a two-year record of 8-28 in the CFL before going out of business at the end of the 1995 season.