Raleigh IceCaps
November 27, 2011 15 Comments
The Raleigh IceCaps were a hockey team that played in North Carolina’s capital as members of the East Coast Hockey League from 1991 to 1998.
Spotlight
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Jacksonville Sharks (1974)
January 20, 2013 1 Comment
The Jacksonville Sharks were a high profile flop in the World Football League. The poorly financed club is remembered primarily for going out of business in the middle of the league’s first season in October 1974. The Sharks debut on July 11, 1974 seemed promising. A huge announced crowd of 59,112 showed up at the Gator Bowl to watch the Sharks defeat the New York Stars 14-7. The next Sharks home game on July 24th drew over 46,000. But word soon got out that many of the tickets were freebies. By September, crowds dwindled to fewer than 20,000 per game.
Honoring the Negro Leagues
Baltimore Elite Giants (1938-1951)
February 27, 2026 No Comments
The Baltimore Elite Giants got their start in Nashville, before moving to Columbus, Ohio for one year, then to Washington, D.C. They moved down the road in Baltimore in 1938 and played there until 1950, before spending their final season back in Tennessee.
Retro Hockey
Winnipeg Jets (1972-1996)
March 6, 2025 2 Comments
The original Winnipeg Jets were charter members of the WHA in 1972. They moved to the NHL in 1979, along with three other WHA squads. In 1995, they were sold and moved to Phoenix for the 1996-97 hockey season. The name was revived when the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Manitoba in 2011 and assumed the Jets name but not their history.
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
Lehigh Valley Steam
March 26, 2021 No Comments
This doomed 2nd division men’s club was part of the disastrous Lehigh Valley Multi-Purpose Stadium project, intended to bring minor league baseball and pro soccer to the Easton/Allentown region of Pennsylvania during the late 1990’s. The Steam would be the region’s first outdoor pro soccer team since the Pennsylvania Stoners, who played out of Allentown and Bethlehem, folded in 1984. When the stadium project failed to come to fruition, the Steam embarked on a single, futile season in the USL A-League during the summer of 1999, cobbling together a schedule of “home” matches in various sites around Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Steam officially disbanded in December 1999.
Arena Football
Chicago Rush
January 27, 2020 No Comments
Arena Football League (2001-2008 & 2010-2013) Chicago Rush Born: June 28, 1999 – AFL expansion franchise Folded: 2013 First Game: April 21, 2001 (L 45-44 @ Oklahoma Wranglers) Last Game: August 1, 2013 (L 69-47 @ Spokane Shock) Arena Bowl Champions: 2006 2001-2013: Allstate Arena (17,500) Opened: 1980 2013: BMO
American Basketball Association (1967-1976)
March 25, 2012 No Comments
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was formed in 1967 as a competitor to the established National Basketball Association (NBA). It started with 11 teams, and within a few years was angling for a merger with the older league. In 1976, the NBA took in four ABA teams, while three other surviving teams disbanded.
Baltimore Stallions (Baltimore Football Club/Baltimore CFL Colts)
March 18, 2025 4 Comments
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.