How Many Of These Sports Teams That No Longer Exist Do You Remember?
North American professional sports can be volatile. A team may be firmly entrenched in a community, only to pull up stakes and seek out a home elsewhere.
Indeed, North America’s big four professional sports — MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA — have seen plenty of upheaval. These teams either moved, switched identities, or ceased to exist entirely. While some may be mostly forgotten, others are beloved to this day.
Hartford Whalers (NHL)
The Hartford Whalers emerged as the New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association, a competitor to the NHL. When the NHL absorbed the WHA in 1979, the Whalers were renamed the Hartford Whalers.
However, the Whalers were never able to supplant the Boston Bruins in New England’s oversaturated sports market. In 1997, they moved to North Carolina and became the Carolina Hurricanes.
Vancouver Grizzlies (NBA)
Amid the NBA’s popularity boom in the mid-’90s came expansion to two Canadian cities: Toronto and Vancouver. While the Toronto Raptors were able to find a foothold, the Vancouver Grizzlies only lasted a few short seasons.
Ownership issues and a poor team on the court eventually spelled doom for the Grizzlies, and they moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2001.
St. Louis Rams (NFL)
The team now known as the Los Angeles Rams has led a nomadic existence: Founded as the Cleveland Rams in the 1930s, they moved to Los Angeles in 1946, then to St. Louis in 1995, then back to Los Angeles in 2016.
The Rams’ stay in St. Louis was relatively short but sweet, as they won a memorable championship in Super Bowl XXXIV, led by Kurt Warner.
Montreal Expos (MLB)
Canada’s first MLB team, the Montreal Expos were founded in 1969. Their best season came in 1994, which was unfortunately the only season since 1904 that the World Series was not played.
Their talented core fell apart, their crumbling stadium was costly, and the team eventually came to play some of their regular season games in Puerto Rico. After the 2004 season, they relocated to D.C. and became the Washington Nationals.
Quebec Nordiques (NHL)
The Quebec Nordiques were another team to come out of the World Hockey Association and into the NHL. The Nordiques, playing out of the outdated Colisée de Québec, built a strong team in the mid-’90s.
The team relocated to Denver ahead of the 1995-96 NHL season and was rebranded the Rocky Mountain Xtreme, before adopting a more reasonable moniker, the Colorado Avalanche. In their first season in Denver, the former Nordiques won the Stanley Cup.
Seattle Supersonics (NBA)
The Sonics were a longtime member of the NBA’s Western Division, and later the Western Conference. They won the 1979 NBA Championship, and were strong contenders in the ’90s as well, falling short to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in two consecutive Finals appearances.
The team controversially relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008, despite promises from the owner not to pull up stakes.
St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)
The St. Louis Cardinals have competed in Major League Baseball for over a century, but for more than a quarter of a century, there was also a football edition of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The football Cardinals shared Busch Stadium with the baseball Cardinals, but never had much success, reaching the playoffs just four times in their 28 years in St. Louis. They moved to Phoenix for the 1988 season.
Milwaukee Braves (MLB)
Milwaukee was an intermediate stop for the Braves franchise, which started in Boston, moved to Milwaukee in 1953, and then to Atlanta in 1965.
The Milwaukee Braves weren’t around for long, but their stay in Wisconsin was memorable. They won the 1957 World Series and showcased the legendary Hank Aaron during the prime years of his career.
Atlanta Flames (NHL)
Controversially named for the fires that destroyed Atlanta during the Civil War, the Atlanta Flames were a moderately successful team from their inception in 1972 until their demise in 1980.
The team never made much money at the box office, and they pulled up stakes for Calgary in 1980. They kept their name, as it could be applied to the fires from Alberta’s oil derricks.
Atlanta Thrashers (NHL)
The NHL had been eyeing the lucrative Atlanta market ever since the departure of the Flames, and when the city secured a new arena deal in the late ’90s, the NHL awarded an expansion team to Atlanta.
The Thrashers, named for Georgia’s state bird, played their first game in 1999. They were entirely unsuccessful during their existence, and limited fan interest combined with ineffective ownership spelled their doom. They became the Winnipeg Jets in 2011.
Rochester Royals (NBA)
The team now known as the Sacramento Kings has made several stops in its history, which has spanned several time zones. They entered the NBL (later the NBA) as a charter member in 1945, and moved to Cincinnati in 1957.
In 1972, the Cincinnati Royals rebranded as the Kings and split their time between Kansas City and Omaha. Finally, in 1985, they relocated to Sacramento.
Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders (NFL)
Oakland has the distinction of losing the Raiders twice. Originally a member of the AFL, the Oakland Raiders enjoyed success in the 1970s before owner Al Davis moved them to Los Angeles in 1982.
In 1995, Oakland would get the Raiders back, and they’d stay at the Oakland Coliseum until 2019. At that time, they were lured to Las Vegas, and Oakland lost its beloved team for a second time.
Brooklyn Dodgers (MLB)
The Brooklyn Dodgers played their final game nearly 70 years ago, but they still remain a beloved icon for many New Yorkers, owing largely to their iconic home of Ebbets Field, as well as baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson.
The Dodgers, along with the New York Giants, moved to California ahead of the 1958 season.
California Golden Seals (NHL)
This NHL franchise existed for less than a decade, but it held four different names during this span: The California Seals, Oakland Seals, Bay Area Seals, and finally the California Golden Seals.
Repeated rebrandings and a below-par team on the ice led to dwindling fan interest, and the unsuccessful franchise relocated to Cleveland and became the Barons in 1976.
New Orleans Jazz (NBA)
The New Orleans Jazz were admitted to the NBA as an expansion team ahead of the 1974 season, and were led by local legend Pete Maravich during their early years.
The team couldn’t find a permanent home venue, and also had to spend a month on the road each year due to Mardi Gras. In 1979, they moved to Utah — curiously keeping their nickname.
Houston Oilers (NFL)
The Oilers were a charter member of the American Football League, and joined the NFL when the leagues eventually merged. They enjoyed a successful run, particularly in the 1980s, but never made it to a Super Bowl.
Owner Bud Adams lobbied for years to get a new stadium to replace the Astrodome, and eventually opted to move the team to Tennessee for the 1997 season. After two years as the Tennessee Oilers, the team was renamed the Tennessee Titans.
New York Giants (MLB)
The baseball New York Giants were a fixture in the Big Apple long before the NFL team, with a history dating all the way back to 1883.
The team had a strong rivalry with its crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and won five World Series championships. In the late 1950s, the Giants and Dodgers moved to San Francisco and Los Angeles respectively, becoming MLB’s first two west coast teams.
Minnesota North Stars (NHL)
The North Stars were part of the “next six” expansion of 1967 that doubled the NHL’s size from it’s original six teams to twelve. The team was a success in hockey-mad Minnesota, and reached the Stanley Cup playoffs 17 times.
In the early ’90s, despite a recent appearance in the Stanley Cup finals, the team was hampered by an inadequate arena and an owner who wanted to move. They moved to Dallas in 1993.
Cleveland Barons (NHL)
The Cleveland Barons were the relocated version of the California Golden Seals, and like the Seals, the Barons found almost no success on the ice.
Playing out of the Richfield Coliseum, far from Cleveland’s city center, the Barons failed to win many fans. They played for only two seasons, then merged with the Minnesota North Stars in 1978. To date, they’re the last “Big 4” North American sports franchise to cease operations entirely.
(Original) Cleveland Browns (NFL)
By the NFL’s official logic, the Cleveland Browns franchise has existed since 1946, with a brief hiatus in the mid-’90s. But the reality is more complicated: The Browns actually made a very controversial move to Baltimore in 1995.
Facing significant backlash, the NFL agreed not only to place a replacement team in Cleveland pending a new stadium deal, but to keep the Browns’ name and history in Cleveland. Still, true fans know that the original Browns moved to Baltimore, and the current Browns were a 1999 expansion team.
Seattle Pilots (MLB)
A true one-year wonder, the Seattle Pilots were an ill-fated expansion team that played its only season in 1969. They played at the aptly-named Sick’s Stadium, a woefully inadequate baseball venue.
After a lone, chaotic year in Seattle, the team fled town. They relocated to Milwaukee just days before the 1970 season began, and are now known as the Milwaukee Brewers.
Syracuse Nationals (NBA)
The unlikely city of Syracuse hosted one of the NBL/NBA’s first teams in the 1940s. The Nats found success through the 1950s, but the league was starting to favor larger cities.
In 1963, the Syracuse Nationals were uprooted and moved to Philadelphia, where they were rechristened the 76ers.
St. Louis Browns (MLB)
One of the worst teams in baseball during their entire history, the St. Louis Browns played their first game in 1902 after relocating from Milwaukee. They were never able to supplant the Cardinals as the city’s favored baseball team, and they moved to Baltimore to become the Orioles in 1953.
In their entire history, the Browns only made it to the World Series on one occasion — in 1944, when MLB rosters were depleted by World War II.
Washington Senators (MLB)
Washington actually has three defunct baseball teams known as the Senators. The first played in the 19th century, the second played between 1901 and 1960 before becoming the Minnesota Twins, and the final team started in 1961 to replace the preceding Senators.
This final edition of the Washington Senators were around for just over a decade before moving to Texas to become the Rangers in 1972. The market was without MLB baseball until the arrival of the Washington Nationals.
Oakland Athletics (MLB)
The most recently-vacated team on this list, the Oakland Athletics started in Philadelphia, then moved to Kansas City, then to Oakland in 1968.
During their time in the East Bay, they won four World Series championships. After years of threats to move, their owner made good on his promise after the 2024 season. They’re set to play several seasons in Sacramento before making a permanent move to Las Vegas.
Chicago Stags (NBA)
The early days of the NBA are full of short-lived teams that helped to establish the league, but became footnotes as the sport expanded — and the Chicago Stags are a prime example.
Playing out of Chicago Stadium, the Stags only existed between 1946 and 1950. The market would later be served by the Chicago Packers and then, most memorably, the Chicago Bulls.
New York/Brooklyn Americans (NHL)
Before the NHL’s Original 6 era, there were seven teams — and the New York Americans were that seventh team.
Known affectionately as the Amerks, the expansion team was founded in 1925 (before the New York Rangers), and played its final game in 1942.
San Diego Chargers (NFL)
The Chargers started out as an AFL expansion team, the Los Angeles Chargers, in 1960. After just one season, they’d move south to San Diego, where they’d play until 2016.
The San Diego Chargers won one AFL championship and made it to one Super Bowl, but never won the NFL’s biggest prize. They moved to Los Angeles, the city where they’d played their first season, ahead of the 2017 season.
(Original) Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
The Winnipeg Jets are a current NHL team, ever since relocating from Atlanta in 2011. But the current-day Jets were named after the original Jets, a team that was founded in the WHA in 1972 and then played in the NHL.
The Jets were one of the WHA’s best teams, but their strong NHL squads in the ’80s were always bested by Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers. In 1996, the original Jets moved to Phoenix to become the Coyotes.
Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes
When the Jets moved and became the Coyotes, there was palpable excitement about hockey in a growing southwestern market. However, the Coyotes never gained much momentum.
A series of arena snafus followed, culminating in the embarrassing situation of having the team playing in a 5,000-capacity college arena. In 2024, they relocated to Utah.
