Defunct Football Socks
Description: The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the defunct World Football League. Soon after Gary Davidson announced the WFL's formation in October 1973, he was approached by a man named Bud Hucul about putting a team in Detroit. In a harbinger of things to come, however, it emerged that Hucul had a long history of legal problems, including 30 arrests and 27 lawsuits. A more credible offer came from a consortium of ten Detroit-area investors who were formally awarded a franchise on December 13, 1973. The group would eventually expand to 33 people, including singer Marvin Gaye, Motown Records vice-president Esther Gordy Edwards, Milford Fabricating owner Edward Nishon, and Little Caesars founder Mike Ilitch.
Description: The Milwaukee Badgers were a professional American football team, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Milwaukee's north side. The team was notable for having many African-American players for the time. After the team folded following the 1926 season (largely due to being left broke because of a $500 fine by the NFL for using four high-school players in a 1925 game against the Chicago Cardinals, a game arranged after the Badgers had disbanded for the season), many of its members played for the independent semi-pro Milwaukee Eagles. Some of the players from this team went on to play for the NFL.
Description: Louisville, Kentucky had two professional American football teams in the National Football League: the Louisville Breckenridges (or Brecks for short) from 1921 to 1924 and the Louisville Colonels in 1926. The NFL intended for the Brecks to be a traveling team, however the team played a series of "home" games. All Brecks home games were played at Eclipse Park, until the stadium caught fire and burned to the ground on November 20, 1922. Meanwhile, the Colonels played all of their games on the road. While the Colonels were really a traveling team out of Chicago they are usually accepted as a continuation of the Brecks franchise.
Description: The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the newly formed football league the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 to 1949, and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Dons were the first professional football team to play a regular season game in Los Angeles, California, two weeks before the first game of the rival Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League, who had moved from Cleveland.
Description: The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team. The Pros were established by local businessman Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young. Young, a boxing promoter and owner of a racing stable, also served as doctor/trainer (and part-owner) for a semi-pro football team operated by the Hammond Clabby Athletic Association from 1915 to 1917. In 1918, Young presided over a new team known as the "Hammond All-Stars" and played against many of the teams that would form the backbone of the American Professional Football Association (including the Racine Cardinals, Detroit Heralds, Rock Island Independents, Minneapolis Marines, Cleveland Tigers, Canton Bulldogs, and Toledo Maroons).
Description: The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as the Louisville Colonels from 1885 to 1891; the latter name derived from the historic title of the Kentucky Colonel. After the AA folded in 1891, the Colonels joined the National League and played through the 1899 season. "Colonels" was also the name of several minor league baseball teams that played in Louisville, Kentucky, in the 20th century.
Description: The Albany Firebirds were a professional arena football team of the AF2 based in Albany, New York. Albany was granted an expansion team in 2002 and began play as the Albany Conquest. The Firebirds played their home games at the Times Union Center. They are the second arena football team for Albany, as the city was granted an expansion team, the Albany Firebirds, in the Arena Football League in 1990. The team moved to Indianapolis, Indiana in 2000 and played as the Indiana Firebirds through 2004 before disbanding. Then the city of Albany ventured into the world of arena football again, this time joining the AF2 in 2002, creating a new franchise by the name the Albany Conquest.
Description: The Cleveland Bulldogs were a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922. However, after team owner Samuel Deutsch purchased the Canton Bulldogs in 1924, he merged the Canton team with his Indians and renamed his franchise the Cleveland Bulldogs. The Canton Bulldogs remained a part of the team until 1925, when they were sold back to Canton. The Cleveland Bulldogs played in the NFL until 1928 when they were relocated to Detroit and became the Detroit Wolverines. The team was later incorporated into the New York Giants in 1929. The Cleveland Bulldogs won the 1924 NFL championship.
Description: The Albany Firebirds were a professional arena football team of the AF2 based in Albany, New York. Albany was granted an expansion team in 2002 and began play as the Albany Conquest. The Firebirds played their home games at the Times Union Center. They are the second arena football team for Albany, as the city was granted an expansion team, the Albany Firebirds, in the Arena Football League in 1990. The team moved to Indianapolis, Indiana in 2000 and played as the Indiana Firebirds through 2004 before disbanding. Then the city of Albany ventured into the world of arena football again, this time joining the AF2 in 2002, creating a new franchise by the name the Albany Conquest.
Description: The Anaheim Piranhas were a professional arena football team that played in the Arena Football League from 1994 to 1997. They played their home games at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. The team was originally known as the Las Vegas Sting, prior to moving to Anaheim in 1996. The team was owned by future Arena Football League commissioner C. David Baker.
Description: The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern part of the state. Founded in 1920, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. In 1929 they relocated to Boston, where they played one season as the Boston Bulldogs. The team was founded as the Pottsville Eleven, an independent team playing in the local eastern Pennsylvania circuit. Home games were played at Minersville Park, a high school stadium in nearby Minersville.
Description: The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangle Park, which was located at the confluence of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers in north Dayton. They were the longest-lasting traveling team in the NFL (1920–1929), and the last such "road team" until the Dallas Texans in 1952, who, coincidentally, descended from the Dayton franchise.
Description: The Dallas Texans played in the National Football League (NFL) for one season in 1952. They posted a record of 1–11. While based in Dallas, the 1952 Dallas Texans were later based in Hershey, Pennsylvania and Akron, Ohio during their only season. After the team folded, the league awarded its assets to the new Baltimore Colts (who moved to Indianapolis in 1984). Professional football returned to Dallas in 1960, as the American Football League (AFL) commenced operations with one of its eight charter members in Dallas (also called the Texans), while the NFL added the Dallas Cowboys.
