Logo of another team from the Ultimate Indoor Football League, the Lakeland Raiders. They lasted two seasons, 2012 and 2013. Following the 2013 season, they announced they would be joining the newly-formed X-League, changing their name to the Florida Marine Raiders.
This classic team logo is a special one that was used in 1997 to celebrate the Cincinnati Bengals’ 30th anniversary as an NFL franchise. The team actually started in the old American Football League, but team founder Paul Brown had only agreed to join the AFL after he was assured the league would merge with the established NFL, since he was convinced that the AFL was an inferior product. The start of that ’97 season was disastrous for the team, as they lost seven of their first eight games. The Bengals then inserted Boomer Esaison, whom they had re-acquired in the off-season even though he was in the twilight of his career, at quarterback and then won 6 of 8 to finish the year at 7-9.
Logo of a Canadian Football League team, the Ottawa RedBlacks, who play in the East Division of the league. The Redblacks are Canada’s capital city’s third entry in the CFL. The Rough Riders were a founding member of the league in 1876 and played until 1996. In 2002, the city was awarded another franchise, the Renegades, who lasted until the end of the 2005 season. An explanation of the team’s unusual name is that red stands for desire, black for power, while those 2 colors have long been associated with Ottawa sports teams.
Logo of a football team from the Ultimate Indoor Football League, the Johnstown Generals, who played 2 seasons in the league before the franchise suspended operations due to a conflict between the UIFL’s commissioner and team owner Jeff Bollinger. The most notable member of the team’s short-lived operations was offensive line coach Carlton Haselrig, a Johnstown native who played in the NFL for Pittsburgh and the New York Jets.
Logo of the Omaha Mammoths, who were a charter member of the Fall Experimental Football League, which is trying to become a developmental league for the NFL. The Mammoths played only one season, in 2014, finishing in second place. They quietly folded up operations following that season, with team ownership citing travel costs as the reason. The team’s roster included Alonzo Highsmith Jr., son of the former college All American, and a receiver named Gerald Ford – no relation to the former president.
Logo of the Canton Cougars, who began play in the Ultimate Indoor Football League in 2011, the league’s first season of play. In 2013 the league became the United Indoor Football League, then switched back to “Ultimate” in 2013. The Cougars finished 1-13 in that first year, with their only win coming when the team owner guaranteed a win to their fans. The team ceased operations in January of 2013.
Logo of a football team that played in the old defunct World Football League, the Philadelphia Bell. The club played 2 seasons, 1974 and ’75, in the league, and were owned by John B. Kelly Jr., brother of actress and princess Grace Kelly. Former Green Bay Packer star Willie Wood coached the Bell in their second season, becoming the first African American pro football coach of the modern era. Former Bell players include Tim Rossovich, Ted Kwalick and Vince Papale, who went on to play for the NFL Eagles and was the subject of the film Invincible.
Logo of an old Negro League team, the Baltimore Black Sox. They were founded in 1916 as an independent team, and existed until 1933. They were part of 4 different leagues over the years, and won the American Negro League title in 1929. That ’29 team boasted a “Million Dollar Infield” consisting of Jud Wilson, Frank Warfield, Ghost Marcelle and Sir Richard Lundy. The media dubbed them that since that would have been their prospective worth had they been white players.
Logo of a minor league hockey team that existed from 1996 until 2001, the Manitoba Moose. They played in the International Hockey League and moved from Minnesota to Manitoba to fill the void after the original Winnipeg Jets’ NHL franchise moved to Arizona. They were an independent club during their IHL existence and not affiliated with an NHL franchise. There is a current reincarnation of the Moose that plays in the American Hockey League that is affiliated with the new Winnipeg Jet team.
Logo of a team that plays in the NBA Developmental League, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, who came into existence in 2006, and who won their first D-League championship in 2014. Developmental teams in the NBA’s league usually have multiple affiliations, and over the years the Mad Ants have had ties with 13 different NBA teams. The team’s nickname is a salute to the city’s and fort’s namesake, General “Mad” Anthony Wayne.