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Logo of the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League, one of the league’s most stable franchises during it’s 3 year existence. They consistently led or were near the top of the USFL in attendance, and their merchandise outsold that of the NFL’s Buccaneers. One of the Bandits’ minority owners was actor Burt Reynolds, and the team derived it’s nickname from Reynolds’ popular Smokey And The Bandit movies of that time. Steve Spurrier coached the Bandits for all 3 of their seasons, and their roster included Nate Newton and Gary Anderson, both of whom would later play in the NFL, and Larry Pfohl, better known as professional wrestler Lex Luger.

Logo of the National Basketball Association’s Syracuse Nationals, who played in the league from 1949 until 1963, when they moved to Philadelphia and became the 76ers. The franchise is the oldest continued team in league history. The Nats won the NBA title in 1955 behind long-time NBA legend Dolph Schayes. Other notable players to wear the franchise uniform in the small-town Syracuse years were Al Cervi, Alex Groza, Johnny Kerr and Hal Greer.

Logo of baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies that was used by the team from 1970 until 1983. Those years included the team’s World Series championship team of 1980, led by manager Dallas Green, Hall of Fame 3rd baseman Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Greg Luzinski and star pitchers Steve “Lefty” Carlton and the late Tug “Ya Gotta Believe” McGraw.  Other notable Fightin’ Phils from this era were current team general manager Ruben Amaro, catcher and current broadcaster Tim McCarver, pitcher and current U.S. Senator Jim Bunning and flamboyant power-hitting outfielder Dick Allen.

Logo of the New York Raiders hockey team, an entry in the old World Hockey Association. The Raiders were supposed to be a flagship franchise for the WHA in the New York market, but struggled to compete with the NHL’s Rangers and the team’s original owners defaulted midway through the first season and the league took control of the team. Under new ownership in their second season they were renamed the Golden Blades but defaulted again and the league then moved them to New Jersey where they became the Jersey Knights. That didn’t last long either, and this franchise, after the 1974 season, was moved to San Diego and became the Mariners.

Logo of the United States Football League’s New Jersey Generals, who were easily the most hyped team in that league during their 3 years of existence between 1983 and 1985. The Generals were owned by Donald Trump, who brought in high profile players like Brian Sipe, Herschel Walker and eventually Doug Flutie over the years. The USFL had success playing spring football and not competing head-to-head with the NFL, and Trump’s insistence that the league move to the fall and compete with the established league pretty much was its’ downfall. The USFL folded prior to the 1986 season.

You have to love sports franchises that are stable and consistent over the years, and the NBA’s Indiana Pacers are one of those teams. The Pacers were a charter member of the old American Basketball Association and the logo on the left is their original from 1967. On the right is the team’s current logo. Taking advantage of the popularity of basketball in the state of Indiana, the Pacers were one of the ABA’s most successful teams on the court and at the turnstiles, and were solvent enough to be included as one of the teams absorbed into the NBA when the leagues merged. Led by coach Bob Leonard and players like Roger Brown, George McGinnis, Mel Daniels and Rick Mount, the Pacers were a dominant force in their ABA years, winning 3 titles and advancing to the Finals 5 times in the league’s 9 years of existence.

In 1958 the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, and in 1961 the American League decided to put another team in the City of Angels, and the Los Angeles Angels were born. On the left is their original logo from the ’61 season, on the right is the stadium logo from that same season. The team played in a minor league stadium known as “Wrigley Field”  in their inaugural season, then were tenants of the Dodgers in Dodger Stadium starting in 1962, with the stadium being called “Chavez Ravine” for Angels’ games. The club was founded by the old cowboy entertainer, Gene Autry, and he owned them until 1996. The team’s original baseball caps were unique in that they had halos on the top of the cap. One player from the original 1961 squad, shortstop Jim Fregosi, had his number retired by the franchise.

Logo of the current Stanley Cup champions of the National Hockey League, the Chicago Black Hawks. This logo was in use from 1937 until 1955. The Hawks joined the NHL in 1926 as part of the league’s original expansion into the United States, and are considered one of the “original six” teams. The “Black Hawk” name is in honor of the military division that their original owner, Frederic McLaughlin, commanded during World War I. That “Black Hawk” division got its’ nickname from Chief Black Hawk of the Sauk Nation, a prominent Native American figure in Illinois history. The 1938 BlackHawks won the Stanley Cup, but hold the distinction of being the team having the poorest regular season record to win the Cup – they won 14 games and lost 25 that season.

Original logo of the New York Jets of the American Football League from 1963, when Sonny Werblin purchased the franchise and changed the name from the original “Titans”. Their inaugural season as the Jets was also their first under coach Weeb Ewbank, who had great success in Baltimore in the NFL but was fired and replaced by Don Shula. The team drafted and signed, with much ballyhoo, Joe Namath in 1965 and eventually shocked the world by defeating Shula’s Colts in Super Bowl III – the ultimate revenge for Ewbank. With Monday Night Football beginning it’s 2010 campaign tonight, it’s also noteworthy that the Jets played in the first MNF game ever, in 1970.

Logo of the National Basketball Association’s Providence Steamrollers, who played in the league from 1946 until 1949. They were a charter member of the league when it still went by the name Basketball Association of America, but were a losing team and folded after the ’49 season. The club set a league record for least victories in a season – 6 –  that still stands today. The Steamrollers, in their inaugural season, had the league’s tallest player, George Nostrand, and the oldest player in NBA history, 46 year old Nat Hickey, played for them in the 1947-48 season.