Logo of the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team, used from their first season in 1996 until 2003. The Coyotes were born in the old World Hockey Association as the Winnipeg Jets, and transferred to Phoenix in ’96 despite great fan support in the Canadian city. A combination of the weak Canadian dollar and the smallest arena in the NHL doomed the franchise there. Some star players from the early Phoenix years include Jeremy Roenick, Mike Gartner, Keith Tkachuk and Rick Tocchet.
Logo of a team from the old World Football League, the Chicago Fire, who existed for only season in the league, 1974. The Fire played their home games at Soldier Field, and were coached by Jim Spavital. The franchise became the first WFL team to sign a player when they inked receiver Jim Seymour to a contract, and then signed the first “name” player when they brought in former NFL quarterback Virgil Carter. One other notable player on the Fire roster was running back Leroy Kelly, a Hall of Famer who starred in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns.
Logo of the Chicago Zephyrs, a franchise in the National Basketball Association that began play in the 1961-62 season as the Packers, then changed their name to the Zephyrs for the ’62-’63 season. The club then moved to Baltimore and was renamed the Bullets in 1963. Some of their key players during their one year stint as the Zephyrs include Terry Dischinger, Walt Bellamy, Bob Leonard, Bill McGill, Don Nelson and Sihugo Green.
This is an “alternate” logo of baseball’s New York Mets, used officially from 1963 until 1970, known as Mr. Met. The logo was popular with young fans, and eventually became a team mascot. He is a familiar site around the stadium at Met games today. He was the first “live” human mascot seen at games, and has the distinction of having been the team’s first “bobblehead” doll.In 2007, Mr. Met was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame. Really? There’s a Mascot Hall of Fame?
Logo of a hockey team from the defunct World Hockey Association, the San Diego Mariners, who played in the league beginning in 1974 and continued until folding prior to the 1977 season. They were owned by San Diego Padres owner and McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc in their final season, but drew poorly at the box office despite making the playoffs all 3 years they existed. Notable Mariner players included Harry Howell, a long-time NHL player who also served as a player/coach for the team, Andre Lacroix and goaltender Ernie Wakely.
Logo of the Jacksonville Bulls football team, a short-lived franchise in the United States Football League for 2 seasons – 1984 and ’85. The franchise was a big hit at the box office – drawing the only two 70,000+ crowds in the USFL’s short history. They were coached by Lindy Infante, who would go on to coach the Green Bay Packers. Two notable players from the Bulls were QB Brian Sipe and RB Mike Rozier, who was a Heisman Trophy winner.
Logo of a National Basketball Association franchise that was founded as an expansion team in 1988, the Charlotte Hornets. This logo was used for the first 2 years of the team’s existence. They played in Charlotte until 2002, when the club was relocated to New Orleans. Some notable players from the team’s early years include Kelly Tripucka, the team’s leading scorer in their first 2 seasons, Muggsy Bogues, at 5’3″ the shortest player in NBA history, Rex Chapman, Kendall Gill and Larry Johnson.
Logo from the early 1970s of major league baseball’s Cleveland Indians. This logo, showing “Chief Wahoo” swinging a bat, was used from 1973 until 1979. During this era, the Indians named baseball’s first African American manager when Frank Robinson became player/manager in 1975. Unfortunately, it was also the era of the Tribe’s ugly fire engine red “beer league softball” uniforms, and the infamous Ten Cent Beer Night in 1974, which ended in a fan riot and a forfeit of the game by Cleveland.
This is the original team logo of hockey’s Toronto Maple Leafs, an “original six” member of the National Hockey league, and one of North America’s most storied sports franchises. They joined the NHL in 1917, and from 1919 until 1927 played as the Toronto St. Patricks. They became the Leafs in 1927, and the logo remained pretty much the same, but switched from the Irish green color to the current blue. The Leafs have won 13 Stanley Cups over the years, second only to Montreal’s total of 24.
Logo of the Pittsburgh Maulers, a pro football team that played one season, in 1984, in the old United States Football League. The team was owned by Eddie DeBartolo, Sr., whose son owned the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. The Maulers made a big public relations splash when they drafted and signed college football’s Heisman Trophy winner, running back Mike Rozier, but the team didn’t have a competent quarterback on their roster, and wound up with the USFL’s worst record, 3-15, in their lone season. When the league voted to move to the fall, the Maulers’ franchise was effectively killed, as there was no way they could compete with the NFL’s Steelers.