The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a football league established in 1944 by Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Wald. He announced its formation at a press conference on September 2, 1944. It hoped to co-exist with the established National Football League, in much the same way Major League Baseball was set up. It didn’t quite work out that way.
The San Antonio Toros were a powerhouse minor league football squad of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Between 1967 and 1971 the Toros won five consecutive league titles, thanks to a unusually stable core of returning players that came back to the Toros year after year. The Toros disappeared from the scene in 1975 after getting displaced by the San Antonio Wings of the more ambitious World Football League.
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 Macon Whoopee was a minor league hockey team that played in the second iteration of the Central Hockey League. They played from 1996 to 2001 and were the second Macon hockey team to use that nickname, though their predecessors from the Southern Hockey League added an “S.”
Houston’s dreams of landing a Major League Baseball team go back at least as far as the 1950s. The threat of a third major league, the proposed Continental League, yielded Houston a National League expansion franchise that was known as the Houston Colt .45s for its first three seasons.
United Soccer League (2018) Born: November 15, 2017 – Re-branded from Harrisburg CIty Islanders Ceased Operations (professional club): Late 2018 First Match: March 24, 2018 (L 1-0 @ Charleston Battery) Last Match: October 13, 2018 (T 0-0 vs. Toronto FC II) USL Championships: None FNB Field Opened: 1987 Team Colors: Blue,
The Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings were a minor league Arena Football team that competed for nine seasons in northwestern Louisiana. The team was known as the Bossier City Battle Wings from 2001 to 2003. It adopted the Bossier-Shreveport moniker in 2004 after an ownership change. Former Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Quincy Carter played for the Battle Wings during the 2007 season.
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.
The San Antonio Texans were a One-Year Wonder in the Canadian Football League, playing a single season at the Alamodome in the autumn of 1995. The franchise had a twisty backstory, dating back to the formation of the NFL-backed World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1990.
Fun While it Lasted presents the Jersey of the Week, brought to you by Royal Retros. Each week, we feature a historic uniform. Click to learn more about the team that wore this classic gear.
