The Los Angeles Dons were a professional football team that played four seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) starting in 1946. The team merged with Rams after the NFL absorbed the AAFC following the 1949 season.
The Hawaiians pro football team was the first North American major pro sports franchise based outside the continental United States and Canada. The team was part of the rebel World Football League (1974-1975), formed to challenge the NFL in the mid-1970’s. Thanks to solid ownership and an alluring locale, the Hawaiians persuaded nearly a dozen NFL veterans to jump to the WFL, including All-Pros John Gilliam, Calvin Hill and Ted Kwalick. But only Hill would ever suit up for the team.
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.
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 Detroit Fury of the Arena Football League were a short-lived joint venture between Bill Davidson’s Palace Sports & Entertainment (owners of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons) and Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford, Jr. An earlier Motor City entry in the league, the Detroit Drive (1988-1993), won four Arena Bowl championships and drew large crowds to the Joe Louis Arena downtown. But the Fury were unable to replicate that success at the suburban Palace of Auburn Hills during four seasons from 2001 to 2004.
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.
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.
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.
