Sports - Defunct Sports Teams, Retro Leagues

Previously the Cleveland Stars, the Cleveland Cobras came about in 1974 and were an American soccer??club based in Cleveland, Ohio??and a member of the American Soccer League.

Youngstown native Bernie Kosar played for the Browns from 1985 to 1993 and remains one the teams most beloved stars. Beginning with his rookie season in 1985, he led the Browns to five straight play-off appearances including the AFC Conference Championship game in 1986,...

"Positive waves" was a slogan used by the Indianapolis Racers hockey team who played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1974 to 1978. In 1979, the Indianapolis Checkers were granted an expansion franchise in the Central Hockey League.

The Pan Am games are held every 4 years during the summer before the Olympics, as athletes from North and South America compete in a variety of events. The 1987 games were held in Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis Olympians were formed in 1949, the same year the combined Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League became the National Basketball Association or NBA. They folded in 1953. Pro basketball would not return to the city until 1967 when the...

Though he's most famous for coaching UCLA to 10 Divisions I men's basketball championships, John Wooden??was an Indiana native who played his collegiate ball at Purdue. He coached at Indiana State before heading west.

Indiana Blast were a soccer team established in 1994. They played in the USISL and later the A-League at Kuntz Memorial Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis Daredevils, better known as the Indy Daredevils, played in the American Soccer League in 1978 and 1979.

The Indianapolis Chiefs hockey team played in the IHL from 1955 to 1962 at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum. They won the Turner Cup in 1958, despite having a losing record.

Following the demise of the Indianapolis Racers in 1978, the Indianapolis Checkers were formed, joining the CHL in 1979. In 1984, they moved to the IHL, moving to Denver after the 1987 season.

The original Cleveland Force were charter members of the first Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in 1978. They folded in 1988. In 1989, the Crunch were formed as an expansion team and in 2002 were renamed the Force. READ MORE

One of Cleveland's all-time most beloved sports franchises, and indeed one of America's most popular soccer teams ever, was the Force. They were a charter member of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in 1978 and played 10 seasons before folding in 1988. READ...

The Cleveland Nets were charter members of World Team Tennis in 1974. Their home court was the Richfield Coliseum.??In 1977, they split home matches between Cleveland and Pittsburgh (where the Triangles had just folded) before moving in 1978 to New Orleans where they became...

The Cleveland Stars joined the American Soccer League in 1972. In 1974, they became the Cleveland Cobras. The team folded after the 1981 season.

The Cleveland Stokers played in the United Soccer Association (USA) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (formed when the USA merged with the National Professional Soccer League) in 1968. They played their home games at Cleveland Stadium. The biggest highlight of their...

The Lumberjacks moved to Cleveland in 1992 from Muskegon, MI as the Internationl Hockey League (IHL) sought to place teams in bigger markets. The Jacks, as they were also known, began play in 1960 as the Zephyrs, then became the Mohawks in 1965. From...

Nashville's Sulphur Dell, in 1870, was the area was referred to as Athletic Park, and in 1885 it became the home of Nashville's first professional baseball team, the Americans, in the newly-formed Southern League. Grantland Rice re-named the ballpark "Sulphur Dell" in 1908 while...

The Texas Arrowheads were a cricket team that played for the United States Pro Cricket League in 2004, the circuit's lone season.

The Houston Outlaws were a part of the Regional Football League. The league played one season in the spring of 1999 before folding.??