Hockey’s San Francisco Seals were a popular entry in the minor Western Hockey League (WHL) in the 1960s. The team won two championships before being “promoted” to the NHL in 1966 for the 1967-68 season.
The Springfield Acorns were a short-lived pro football team in Western Massachusetts during the early 1960’s. The Acorns competed in the Atlantic Coast Football League, a minor league loop that featured teams from Maine to Georgia. The Acorns were notable for their quarterbacks. In 1963, rookie signal caller James Traficant took over the starting job at midseason. Another rookie, Dan Henning, replaced Traficant in 1964. Traficant went on to become a notorious U.S. Congressman from Ohio eventually felled by a federal prison sentence in 2002. Henning later served as an NFL head coach with the San Diego Chargers and Atlanta Falcons.
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 Chicago Cougars were charter members of the WHA in 1972. The team played three seasons in the Windy City before folding in 1975. They are perhaps best remembered as the team that was displaced by Peter Pan.
Omaha, Nebraska has hosted the top farm club of the Kansas City Royals since the Major League club’s inception in 1969. Initially known as the Omaha Royals, the Class AAA club won four league championships of the American Association, including back-to-back titles in their first two seasons in 1969 and 1970. The Royals survived the closure of the American Association, joining the Pacific Coast League in 1998. From 1999 until 2001, the team was briefly known as the “Golden Spikes” before returning to the Royals nickname. In 2011, the club re-branded as the Omaha Storm Chasers while simultaneously moving into the new $36M Werner Park.
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 Mohegan Wolves were a short-lived team in Arena Football 2 that played out of the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. When the Wolves joined up in 2002, AF2 was a sprawling 34-team league with franchises stretched from upstate New York to southern California. To keep costs down, the Wolves played primarily against regional opponents in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states.
The Los Angeles Stars basketball team was a short-lived effort by the American Basketball Association to plant its flag in L.A. during the early years of its rivalry with the National Basketball Association. The Stars labored in the shadows of the NBA’s Lakers and never established a substantial following. Coached by Hall-of-Famer (and future Lakers coach) Bill Sharman, the Stars did enjoy a thrilling Cinderella playoff run at the end of their second and final season in L.A.
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.
*Like our new look? Next up: site speed. You can help with a tip for our Speed Fund today. Thank you!
