The San Diego Clippers were born when the Buffalo Braves headed west in the summer of 1978. Almost as soon as they got there, the team was angling to move up the 5 to L.A., which they ultimately did in 1984.
The Long Island Bulls were a minor league football outfit that played two seasons at Hofstra University in 1969 and 1970. The Bulls were part of the burgeoning sports empire of Roy Boe, who also owned the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association and would later secure the New York Islanders NHL expansion franchise for Long Island in 1971.
The Seattle Steelheads were members of the West Coast Negro Baseball Association (WCNBA) in that circuit’s only season, 1946. The team was actually the Harlem Globetrotters baseball club and returned to barnstorming when the WCNBA ceased operations.
The Cleveland Crusaders were one of twelve original franchises in the World Hockey Association in the winter of 1972-73. The franchise originally intended to play in Calgary. But after hitting a dead end in Alberta, the club ended up in Cleveland, where they skated for seven seasons.
The Maine Phillies of the Class AAA International League were the top farm club of the Philadelphia Phillies during the summer of 1988. Previously known as the Maine Guides from 1947 to 1987, the ball club was also a lame duck, stranded in Old Orchard Beach that summer thanks to a ferocious legal dispute over the ownership of the franchise. After the 1988 season, the team executed its long-awaited move to Pennsylvania and became the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Red Barons in 1989.
Major League Soccer (1996-1999) Born: June 15, 1994 – MLS founding franchise Re-Branded: October 27, 1999 (San Jose Earthquakes) First Game: April 6, 1996 (W 1-0 vs. D.C. United) Last Game: October 6, 1999 (W1-0 vs Kansas City Wizards) MLS Cup Championships: None (during Clash era) Stadium: Spartan Stadium (26,000) Team Colors: Cloudy Jade,
The Toronto Phantoms were the only Arena Football League team ever placed outside of the United States. The team’s arrival in 2001 created strife and controversy with the Canadian Football League and its Toronto Argonauts franchise, with whom the Phantoms’ season partially overlapped. Those protectionist fears proved overblown as the Phantoms quietly evaporated in 2002 after completing just two seasons.
The Pittsburgh Pipers were charter members of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967 and won the league’s first championship. Then promptly moved to Minnesota, only to move back to Pittsburgh after one season. When that didn’t improve their situation, the team changed its name to the Pittsburgh Condors.
In the spring of 1982, the Canadian Football League’s venerable Montreal Alouettes franchise collapsed under a mountain of debt. Seeking a clean slate for new ownership, league officials folded the Alouettes on May 13, 1982 and awarded a new Montreal expansion club to Seagram’s liquor baron and Montreal Expos founder Charles Bronfman the next day. The club embarked on a star-crossed four year voyage under the new name “Concordes”, drawing inspiration from the iconic supersonic transatlantic jets of the era.
*Like our new look? Next up: site speed. You can help with a tip for our Speed Fund today. Thank you!
