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The Charlestown Chiefs are a fictitious team in the Federal League in the 1977 film Slap Shot, staring Paul Newman. The Chiefs are a losing team, and the citizens don't go to the games because the mill closed, putting many people out of work. Fearing the impact of the financial crisis, it's announced publicly that the team will be folding at the end of that season.

The Oklahoma minor league team was originally known as the Oklahoma City 89ers from 1962 to 1997. It first competed in the Triple-A American Association (AA) in 1962, moved to the PCL from 1963 to 1968, and returned to the AA from 1969 to 1997. The franchise's original name made reference to the Land Run of 1889, which led to the founding of Oklahoma City.

The Salem Buccaneers was a minor league baseball team based in Salem, North Carloina, that played in the Carolina League from 1987 to 1994. The team was affillated with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Prior Salem teams included the Redbirds, Rebels, and the Roxsox.

The Virginia Lancers were a minor league hockey team that played in several leagues from 1983 until 1990. Their home ice was the Vinton Sports Complex. The Virginia were founded as the result of the Nashville South Stars relocating in December 1983, halfway into the 1982–83 season of the ACHL. They would continue to play in the ACHL from 1983 until 1987. Prior to the 1990–1991 season, the name was changed to the Roanoke Valley Rebels.

The Omaha Cardinals was the name of an American minor league baseball club based in Omaha, Nebraska, from 1947 through 1959. It played in the Class A Western League through 1954 and in the Triple-A American Association from 1955–1959 as an affiliate of its major league namesake, the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Tampa Bay Bandits was a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL. The Bandits were one of the most successful teams in the short-lived spring football league both on the field and at the ticket booth. However, the franchise folded along with the rest of the USFL when the league suspended play after the 1985 season.

The Bay State Bombardiers were a short-lived minor league basketball club in the Continental Basketball Association (1978-2009). The CBA was the official developmental league of the NBA during the 1980’s and 1990’s. The team originated in Bangor, Maine as the Maine Lumberjacks (1978-1983). The club moved south in March 1983 when Lumberjacks investor John Ligums relocated the team to Brockton, Massachusetts, twenty minutes south of his home in the tony Boston suburb of Milton.

The Riverside Pilots were a Minor League Baseball team in Riverside, California from 1993 to 1995. They were a Class A-Advanced team that played in the California League, and were a farm team of the Seattle Mariners. In spite of making the playoffs each year of its existence, poor attendance plagued the franchise throughout its tenure. The Pilots finished last in the league in attendance for three consecutive seasons. The franchise was moved to Lancaster, for the 1996 season as the Lancaster JetHawks.

The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington. The North Stars made the NHL playoffs 17 times, including two Stanley Cup Finals appearances, but were ultimately unable to win the Stanley Cup. After the 1992–93 season, the franchise moved to Dallas, and is now known as the Dallas Stars.

The Philadelphia Firebirds were a minor league professional ice hockey team that played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1974 to 1979, and later the franchise moved to Syracuse, New York, and played one final season as the Syracuse Firebirds. From 1974 to 1977 the Firebirds were a member club of the North American Hockey League.

The Memphis Southmen, also known as the Memphis Grizzlies, was an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. From the beginning, Memphians disliked "Southmen" and the team was informally known as the Memphis Grizzlies. The name appeared to come from the logo, a representation of a bear backed by the sun. Elvis supported this team. They played in the World Football League (WFL), which operated in 1974 and 1975. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

The Cincinnati Swords were an American Hockey League team that played at the Cincinnati Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1971 to 1974. They were owned by and the affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. Although they were in existence for only three years, the Swords were immensely popular with Cincinnati fans.

The San Francisco Shamrocks are a defunct minor professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Hockey League (PHL) during the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons. Based in Daly City, California, the team played its home games in the Cow Palace. The 1977–78 team compiled a 24-17-1 record, and won the Pacific Hockey League championship.

The St. Louis Stars were a soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri that played in the original North American Soccer League from 1968 to 1977. The Stars were known for playing mostly American players, many from the St. Louis area, in contrast to other NASL teams' reliance on foreign players. The team moved to Anaheim in 1978 and became the California Surf.

The franchise was established in 1961 as the Chicago Packers based in Chicago, Illinois, and were renamed to Chicago Zephyrs the following season. In 1963, they relocated to Baltimore, Maryland and became the Baltimore Bullets, taking the name from a previous team of the same name.

The Gold Coast Suns was one of the eight original franchises that played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in its inaugural 1989 season. The club split their home games between the cities of Miami and Pompano Beach in Florida. The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the Senior League, was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had eight teams in two divisions and a 72-game schedule.

The Maine Mariners were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League from 1977 to 1992. They played in Portland, Maine. The Mariners are the only franchise in league history to win the Calder Cup title in their first two seasons (1977–78, 1978–79) and at the time were the only team to ever capture the Calder Cup during their inaugural season.

The Boston Astros was an American soccer club based in Boston, Massachusetts, that was a member of the American Soccer League from 1969 to 1975.

The Des Moines Demons were a minor league baseball team that was located in Des Moines, Iowa from 1925-1937 and 1959-1961. The teams played at Holcomb Park. The first professional night baseball game was played at Holcomb Park when the Demons played at home on May 2, 1930.

The Albuquerque Six-Guns were a professional ice hockey team playing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. They were in the Central Hockey League in the 1973-74 season only. They played in the Tingley Coliseum. They were set up as a farm team of the Kansas City Scouts but that team did not enter the National Hockey League until the following season.

The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were initially named for the indigenous Native American population of the Pacific Northwest, and changed their name after being acquired by the Rainier Brewing Company, which was in turn named for nearby Mount Rainier.

The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons, from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played their home games at Honolulu Stadium, Aloha Stadium, and Les Murakami Stadium. After being one of the most successful minor league teams, the Islanders faltered and ultimately moved to the mainland as the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 1988.

A team known as the Jacksonville Suns competed in the Triple-A International League from 1962 to 1968. The franchise was relocated to Norfolk, Virginia, as the Tidewater Tides in 1969. After one season without professional baseball, a different Suns team came to the city in 1970 as members of the Double-A Southern League (SL). From 1985 to 1990, the team was known as the Jacksonville Expos during an affiliation with the Montreal Expos, but they returned to the Suns moniker in 1991. The club rebranded as the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp before the 2017 season.

The Detroit Lightning were a U.S. Junior A hockey team based in Fraser, MI playing in the Continental Elite Hockey League from 2001 to 2004.

The Tupelo T-Rex was a professional ice hockey team in the Western Professional Hockey League in Tupelo, Mississippi from 1998 to 2001. The franchise was originally owned by Bill MacFarlane and was later taken over by a local ownership group in January 2000.[2] During the 2000–01 season, the team brought in key play makers including Jason Firth, Brant Blackned, and Barry McKinley who helped lead the T-Rex to a regular season championship.

The Pittsburgh Condors were a professional basketball team in the original American Basketball Association from 1971-72. Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team played their home games in Pittsburgh's Civic Arena.U.S. Condors" staggered to the end of the 1971-72 season with a 25-59 record, the league had finally seen enough. The ABA finally folded the franchise and held a special dispersal draft for those Condors players who were still under contract.

The franchise was established in 1961 as the Chicago Packers based in Chicago, Illinois, and were renamed to Chicago Zephyrs the following season. In 1963, they relocated to Baltimore, Maryland and became the Baltimore Bullets, taking the name from a previous team of the same name. The Bullets stayed in Baltimore until 1973 when the team moved to Washington DC. The Bullets name was revived in 1963, when the former Chicago Zephyrs relocated to Baltimore; even after these Bullets relocated to Washington in 1973, they kept their name for 24 more years until they were renamed the Wizards.

The Tucson Mavericks were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League from 1975 to 1976.

The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the NHL from 1976 to 1978. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise that had played in Oakland since 1967. After just two seasons, the team merged with the Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars). As a result, the NHL operated with 17 teams during the 1978–79 season. As of 2024, the Barons remain the last franchise in the four major North American sports leagues to cease operations. Ohio did not have another NHL team until the Columbus Blue Jackets joined the league 22 years later in 2000.

The Denver Bears were a minor league professional baseball team dating from the 50's until 1983 when the team was renamed the Zephyrs. There was an earlier Denver Bears team playing in the Western League from 1901 to 1954, but this logo is from the later team that played at what became known later as Mile High Stadium, but was originally known as Bears Stadium.

Originally based in Boston, the team joined the WHA in the league’s inaugural season, and was known as the New England Whalers throughout its time in the WHA. The Whalers moved to Hartford in 1974 and joined the NHL in the NHL–WHA merger of 1979.

The Oakland Clippers were one of ten founding franchises in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) of 1967. The team was initially known as the California Clippers when the NPSL kicked off in the spring of 1967, then switched to the Oakland Clippers moniker midway through the season. The team closed its doors after its second season.

The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL, until the last iteration ended playing in 2010.

The New York Apples were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT). The team was originally known as the New York Sets to match the names of other successful New York sports teams including the New York Mets, the New York Jets, and the New York Nets. They won the 1976 WTT championship under that name led by Billie Jean King. Prior to the 1977 season, the defending champion Sets held a contest to choose a new name for the team, and Apples was selected. With their new name, the Apples produced the same results winning their second consecutive WTT title in 1977. On October 27, 1978, the Apples folded after their fifth season. WTT suspended operations of the league shortly thereafter.

The Topeka Owls was the primary name of the minor league baseball franchise based in Topeka, Kansas from 1939–1942 and again from 1946–1954. The Topeka minor league team, starting in the 1860s, had other names over the years as well, including the Capitals, Hawks, Senators, Jayhawks, Kaws, and Populists.

The Philadelphia Freedoms were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT). The Freedoms played only one season in Philadelphia before being sold at the end of the 1974 season, moving to Boston and changing their name to the Boston Lobsters. Led by Billie Jean King, the Freedoms posted the best regular-season record in WTT's inaugural season with 39 wins and 5 losses. The Freedoms won the Eastern Division Championship and reached the WTT Finals where they lost to the Denver Racquets.