The Seventies

The original Houston Aeros played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from its inception in 1972. The league and the Aeros gained instant credibility with the signing of hockey legend Gordie Howe. The team won two championships, 1974-74 and 1974-75, but folded in 1978,...

The Michigan Stags played in the World Hockey Association arriving in Detroit in 1974. They were previously the Los Angeles Sharks from 1972 until their move to the Motor City. Halfway through their only season in Michigan they moved to Baltimore and became the...

Added to National Register of Historic Places, the Gardens opened as the Jefferson County Armory in 1905. In 1975, it became Louisville Gardens. Lance Russell and Dave Brown hosted the infamous Tuesday Night Wrestling show from the Gardens on WDRB-TV. The building was the...

The Memphis Pros were originally the New Orleans Buccaneers, a charter member of the American Basketball Association. After three years in New Orleans, they moved to Memphis in 1970 and became the Pros. They were later known as the Tams, and finally the Sounds...

In its second season, 1979/80, the Major Indoor Soccer League welcomed the Wichita Wings. The team competed in every subsequent season until the league's demise in 1992 and was immensely popular. They went on to play in the National Professional Soccer League until 2001....

The Providence Reds (also known as the Rhode Island Reds) started in the Canadian-American Hockey League in 1926. They continued with that circuit when it became the American Hockey League in 1936. In 1976, they became the Rhode Island Reds, before moving to Binghamton,...

From 1969 to 1980, it was a Memorial Day Weekend tradition. At its peak, more than 300,000 rafters partook in this annual raft race held on the Chattahoochee River (where word has it, it gets hotter than a hoochey-coochey). The race started at Morgan Falls...

Beefsteak Charlie's was founded in Manhattan in 1910 and became a chain in 1976 with locations through out the New York metropolitan area. The chain went out of business in 1987, but a few locations soldiered on, the last one, in Nassau County, closed...

The original San Diego Sockers began as the Baltimore Comets in the old North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1974. The team moved to San Diego in 1976, becoming the Jaws. A year later, they were the Las Vegas Quicksilvers, before returning to Southern...

The New England Whalers were charter members of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and played 7 seasons in that league starting in 1972. The team made the playoffs in every season, won three straight Eastern Division Titles and won the Avco World Trophy defeating...

The Cleveland Crusaders played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976. In their first two seasons they played at the old Cleveland Arena before moving to the Richfield Coliseum in 1974. They relocated to Minnesota when hockey's California Golden Seals moved to town...

Riverfront Stadium, later Cinergy Field, was the home of the Cincinnati Reds (and Bengals) from 1970 until 2002. The Reds captured three World Series titles (1975, 1976, and 1990) while playing there. The Bengals won the AFC Championship there in 1981 in a game...

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 sold...

The Cleveland Jaybirds were a men's professional softball team that played in the American Professional Softball League (APSL) starting in 1977. After two seasons, the team was sold to local ad man Ted Stepian, who renamed them the Cleveland Competitors. After one more season...

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers joined the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1977. Their home was Lockhart Stadium which is considered to be America's first-ever soccer-specific stadium. In 1984, the team moved to Minnesota. Two subsequent, but unrelated, soccer teams have used the Strikers...

The Mount Carbon Brewery was located at 716 South Centre Street Mount Carbon, PA about 2 miles south of in Pottsville. It was established in 1845 and closed in 1976. Their slogan was "a mellow brew from the mountains".

Billed as an expansion team for the second season of the World Football League (WFL) in 1975, the Wings were actually the relocated Florida Blazers. Playing their home games at Alamo Stadium, they went out of business along with the rest of the WFL...

The San Antonio Toros began play in 1967 in the Texas Professional Football League (TPFL). In 1969, the teamed joined the Continental Football League (CoFL), along with rest of the TPFL. They also spent time in the??Trans-America Football League, and Southwestern Football League. The...

Van Leunens opened in the 1950s as China-Town. In 1973 the name was changed as its offerings had grown and diversified. The chain grew to seven locations: Amelia, Fairfield, Mason, Milford, and Monfort Heights in Ohio. There were also locations in Erlanger and Newport,...

The Calgary Cowboys began as the Philadelphia Blazers in the inaugural season of the World Hockey Association in 1972. The team moved to Vancouver in 1973, keeping their nickname. In 1975 they moved to Calgary and became the Cowboys. They folded in 1977.

Fontaine Ferry Park opened in 1905 at the end of West Market Street in Louisville. It closed in 1969 after a riot on opening day left the park heavily damaged. It re-opened in 1972 as Ghost Town on The River. A year later the...

Encouraged by the initial success of his American Basketball Association (ABA), which challenged the National Basketball Association (NBA), Gary Davidson and his cohorts turned their attention to hockey. On November 1, 1971, Davidson announced the formation of the World Hockey Association (WHA) to challenge...

The San Antonio Rampage began as the the Tidewater Wings, members of the American Hockey League (AHL), in 1971. They changed their name in 1972 to the Virginia Wings. In 1979, they moved to Upstate New York and became the Adirondack Wings. In 2002,...

Naugles was a Southern California fast-food Mexican restaurant chain that existed from 1970 to 1995. OS16262

Did you survive the Blizzard of '78? Known throughout the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region as the Great Blizzard of 1978 and the White Hurricane, the storm blasted the area from Wednesday, January 25 through Friday, January 27, 1978. The cities of Milwaukee,...

After the NHL's??California Golden Seals??sold their Columbus farm team of the same??nickname??to local interests, it was renamed the Owls and played on until 1977 when it moved to Grand Rapids. Their home ice was Stadium Arena.

Members of the original North American Soccer League, the Dynamos played two seasons in Denver, 1974 and 1975. In 1976, they moved to Minnesota to become the Kicks.

Charter members of the World Football League (WFL) in 1974, the Memphis Southmen began as the Toronto Northmen. However, before the team could play a down, the Canadian government passed legislation to block any U.S.-based football league from operating in Canada. Unwilling to undergo...

The Macon Whoopee played in the Central Hockey League (CHL) from 1996 to 2001. The team took its name from a previous squad that played in the city for part of the 1973-74 Southern Hockey League season. After the second Whoopee team folded, the??Tallahassee...

The Omni Coliseum, known simply as The Omni in Atlanta, opened in 1972 and was the home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and NHL's Atlanta Flames. The Atlanta Chiefs soccer team played their indoor games there as did the Atlanta Attack soccer team. The...