Chicago

For their final season, the Chicago Rockets of the AAFC were known as the Hornets. When the league merged with the NFL after the 1949 season, the Hornets players were divided between the Bears and, the then Chicago, Cardinals of the NFL.

The All-America Football Conference, or AAFC, was founded in 1945 by Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward in 1944 to challenge the established National Football League. Ward's new circuit debuted in 1946 with eight teams and played for three seasons before the NFL absorbed...

With it's popular flagship store on State St. in the Loop, Marshall Field's was a landmark, destination, and a Chicagoland institution. In 2005, the chain was acquired by Macy's with all stores rebranded with the new owner's name.????

Burger Chef was a fast-food hamburger chain that started in Indianapolis in 1958. At its peak in the mid 1970s, it was second only to McDonald's in the number of nationwide locations. The chain even made inroads into Canada. In 1982, the chain was...

Remember kids, Electricity is your friend, but he can kill you. Check out the sticker!

Zantigo was a chain of fast food Mexican restaurants that served fresh and tangy delicacies from 1976 to 1987. It was famous for its chili, taco burritos, taco salads, cheese chilitos, and cheap chips & cheese that were to die for according to former...

Introduced in 1982, the Commodore 64 is the single best selling computer model of all time. Along with the Apple II, it helped usher in the era of home computing for millions.

The DuMont Television Network began broadcasting on June 28, 1942, the nation's third TV network behind NBC and CBS. Regular network service began on August 15, 1946. It was started by DuMont Laboratories, a maker of TVs. Financial strains and fierce competition from NBC,...

Penny for your thoughts! Buy 12 CDs or tapes (or LPs), for a penny and buy just four more at "regular club prices." Not many did that last bit.

"Hot Dan The Mustard Man" was a cartoon spokesperson for a large, nationally distributed mustard company. He was primarily used in print ads in the 40's and 50's. Hot Dan can be yours on our comfy, tan fleck tee.

Musicland was founded in Minneapolis in 1955.?? In 1964, it merged with music distributor JL Marsh followed by merger in 1968 with record label and distributor Pickwick International. In 1977, American Can Company bought Pickwick and a year later, famed New York record store...

In the 1980s, it was the battle cry of the British Phonograph Industry (BPI), later championed by similar organizations around the world. Little did they know that a much scarier beast was lurking on the horizon.

What could be more convenient? Drive up to the little booth, drop off your film, come back the next day and see your pictures. Mail them to friends and family! Established in the early 1960s in Southern California, Fotomat grew to over 4,000 locations...

Tape World was a mall-based chain of music stores owned by Trans World Entertainment, operators of Record Town, Coconuts, and FYE among others. While the name suggested emphasis on the one format, it did offer CDs, briefly, before being retired by Trans World.

Chesty Potato Chips were created by Chesty Foods in??Terre Haute, Indiana. They were available throughout the Midwest. Unable to compete with the giant national brands, the company ceased operations in the mid-'80s. Relive the crunch with this cotton/poly blended tee.

National Record Mart, or NRM for short, started in 1937 in downtown Pittsburgh as Jitterbug Records. In the 1940s, it changed its name and began to grow, eventually opening 130 stores in 30 states, including every mall and shopping center in Pittsburgh.

Zayre and was a chain of discount department stores that operated throughout the U.S. from the 1960s through the 1980s. After selling the Zayre locations to competitor Ames, the company focused on its TJ Maxx storeds as well as sibling retailers Marshalls, Home Goods,...

Founded in 1912 as Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the larger Standard Oil corporation, Esso gas stations were found all over the Northeastern United States and parts of the South starting in the 1930s. In 1972, most were re-branded Exxon....

Media Play was an attempt by The Musicland Group to compete with so-called big box retailers such as electronics stores Best Buy and Circuit City, who sold CDs at near cost to lure customers in. In addition to music, Media Play also carried books,...

In the early 1950s, between 20,000-60,000 people a year were becoming afflicted with polio. Jonas Salk and his team at the University of Pittsburgh developed a polio vaccine in 1952. By 1955 a campaign to vaccinate children in the U.S. was launched. ALbert Sabin...

Moo Juice was a brand of flavored packets milkshake mix. It was introduced 1966 and was originally available in chocolate or strawberry. Two flavors, vanilla and chocolate malt, were added a few years later.

Chico's Bail Bonds lets freedom ring! They also sponsor a winning little league team.

ON TV was an over-the-air subscription TV service that started broadcasting in 1977. With the use of a set-top descrambler, subscribers could watch movies, sports, and other premium content. By 1985, competition from cable TV forced ON TV and similar services out of business.

Woodsy Owl first appeared in 1971 and asked Americans to take better care of the environment by disposing of trash properly. An??updated version??of Woodsy was developed in the 1990s.

Before Spot, there was Fresh Freddie who first introduced kids to 7-Up back in the 1950's.

The International Record Syndicate, or I.R.S. Records, was a label founded by Miles Copeland (brother of The Police's Stewart Copeland) and Jay Boberg. A division of A&M Records, its roster included some of the most important new wave acts of the '80s including R.E.M.,...

The Continental Football League (COFL) formed in 1965 with hopes of achieving a status approaching that of the NFL and AFL. The CFL played primarily in Eastern cities not served by the other two leagues. However, by its second season, it focused on becoming...

In the 1920s, three Swedish immigrants and brothers, Hans and Gunnar Lenell and their friend Aagard Billing, launched Lenell's, a Swedish bakery offering cakes, breads and cookies. The bakery was later renamed Lenell's Cookies, and later Maurice Lenell's Cooky Company, it remained family-run through...

Venture was a chain of discount department stores headquartered in St. Louis in 1968. It was founded by former executives from Target and May Company and at its height had nearly 50 locations in the Midwest. The chain went out of business in 1998.

The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) debuted in 1978 with six teams. Playing on a astroturf-covered hockey rinks, the league quickly grew in popularity through the 1980s. Interest began to wane toward the end of the decade. Teams included the very popular St. Louis...