Defunct Football Pillows

The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union from 1888 to 1895, the National Football League from 1929 to 1930, the American Association from 1936 to 1941, the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1963 to 1964 and 1970, and the Continental Football League from 1965 to 1969. The team was based for most of its history in Orange, New Jersey, with many of its later years in Newark. Its last five seasons of existence were as the Orlando Panthers, when the team was based in Orlando, Florida. The NFL franchise was sold back to the league in October 1930.

The 1919 Buffalo Prospects season played in the New York Pro Football League and would go on to post a 9–1–1 record. The next year, the team would move into the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League). The war and flu restrictions that had hampered the 1918 pro football season were no longer in place, and statewide play reopened after a one-year hiatus. Tommy Hughitt, who led the Buffalo Niagaras to a dominating championship among four semi-pro teams in Buffalo in 1918, initially left for Ohio in an attempt to revive the Youngstown Patricians.

The Cincinnati Celts was the first professional football team to play in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team played in the unofficial "Ohio League" and the American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Football League in 1922). The Celts were a traveling team, playing all of their APFA games in other cities' stadia. In its only season in the APFA, 1921, the team had a record of 1–3. For the entire span of the team's existence, the Celts were coached by Mel Doherty, who was also the team's center.

The Racine Legion was a professional American football team based in Racine, Wisconsin, of the National Football League from 1922 to 1924. Its official name was the Horlick-Racine Legion. The team then operated as the Racine Tornadoes in 1926.

The Minneapolis Marines were an early professional football team that existed from 1905 until 1928. The team did not play in 1918 or 1925 to 1926 and was later resurrected from 1929 to 1930 under the Minneapolis Red Jackets name. The Marines were originally owned locally by the Marine Athletic Club of Minneapolis and later by Minneapolitans John Dunn and Val Ness. The Marines played their earliest games in the sandlots of Minneapolis and at Minnehaha Park. They made their first appearance at Lexington Park in 1909 and Nicollet Park in 1910. From 1912 to 1914, the team rented the North Minneapolis Athletic Association grounds at 25th Avenue North and Washington Avenue in Minneapolis, a site now overrun by Interstate 94.

Defunct Los Angeles Dons Football Team

Defunct Denver Dynamite Football Team Helmet

Defunct Memphis Southmen Football Team Helmet

Defunct Brooklyn/Rochester Tigers 1936-1937

Defunct Los Angeles Cobras Football 1988

Defunct Los Angeles Bulldogs Football Team

Defunct Saginaw Sting Football 2008-2015

Defunct Chicago Hornets Football 1946-1949

The original Milwaukee Mustangs is a franchise primarily recognized by the Arena Football League. They entered the league in 1994 and played until just after the turn of the century, 2001. The team's name would be revived roughly ten years later after a fan vote in 2011 changed the name of the 2009-10 Milwaukee Iron into the Milwaukee Mustangs, a team that would play until the 2012 season. The 1994 Milwaukee Mustangs are one of only six teams in AFL history to go winless in the regular season.

The Muncie Flyers, known as the Congerville Flyers for most of their existence, were a professional American football team from Muncie, Indiana, that played from 1905 to 1926. The Flyers were an independent squad for most of their existence, but are remembered mostly for their very brief stint in the American Professional Football Association (later known as the National Football League). With only three official league games, one in 1920 and two in 1921, the Flyers are the third-shortest-lived team in league history, behind the two games of the original New York Giants and the one game of the Tonawanda Kardex Lumbermen, and the shortest by a team not from the state of New York.

The Baltimore Brigade were a late-era entry in the now-defunct Arena Football League. The Brigade played during one the league’s darkest eras, when the once sprawling national league was reduced to a tiny cluster of survivors in the northeastern U.S. During the AFL’s final three seasons, the league owed its existence largely to the patronage of Ted Leonsis, the billionaire owner the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals. Leonsis invested in the league in 2016, establishing two 2017 expansion teams – the Brigade and the Washington Valor – at a time when the AFL had just three other viable franchises.

Defunct Dupage Eagles Football 1984-1987

Barons defunct hockey team logo

Defunct Las Vegas Sting Football 1988-1993

Defunct St. Louis Gunners Football 1934-1939

Defunct Dayton Triangles Football 1913-1929

Defunct Birmingham Fire Football 1991-1992

The Hammond Pros were one of the founding members of the NFL. They featured a number of pioneer black players, including Fritz Pollard.They were also George Halas's first team before the forming of the Chicago Bears.

Defunct Kansas City Brigade Football 2006-2008

LA Chargers - 60s Retro Design

The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union from 1888 to 1895, the National Football League from 1929 to 1930, the American Association from 1936 to 1941, the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1963 to 1964 and 1970, and the Continental Football League from 1965 to 1969. The team was based for most of its history in Orange, New Jersey, with many of its later years in Newark. Its last five seasons of existence were as the Orlando Panthers, when the team was based in Orlando, Florida. The NFL franchise was sold back to the league in October 1930.

Defunct Chicago Chargers Football 1977-1986

Defunct Baltimore Stars Football 1984-1986

Defunct Salt City Aces Football 1976-1982

Defunct Portland Thunder Football 2014-2015

Defunct Niagara Spartans Football 1979-1981

Detroit had four early teams in the National Football League before the Detroit Lions. The Heralds played in 1920, and had played as an independent as far back as 1905. The Tigers, a continuation of the Heralds, played in 1921, folding midseason and sending. In 1905, several University of Detroit football players organized the Heralds as an amateur team after the university did not field a squad. While the university's football team resumed play in 1906, the Heralds continued to play as an amateur team. In 1911, the team dropped its amateur status and became semi-professional. In 1916, several out-of-town players were brought in to replace some of the older players, several of whom had been with the Heralds since 1905.

Defunct Westchester Bulls Football 1967-1969

Defunct Toronto Rifles Football 1964-1967

Defunct Chicago Bruisers Football 1987-1989

Defunct Virginia Sailors Football 1965-1968