Phantom franchises
by Dan Krieger
January 31, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
When planning a season in any sports league, whether it's a newly developed league or an established league, events happen to force a previously announced team to fold, move, or change its name before the team or league even begins play. The following is my list of some of the 2005 "phantom franchises" that never started play, or switched names before playing a game under its original name. Some teams announced in various developing leagues might not be included because there was still a chance these teams could start play in 2006 or beyond.
| Arizona Rhinos | Proposed American Basketball Association (ABA) team announced in 2004, but decided to leave the ABA in May 2005. |
| Aurora (CO) Outlaws | First nickname announced for the city's new International Basketball League (IBL) franchise in July 2005; nickname was changed to the Cavalry a few weeks later. |
| Billings (MT) Rims | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), which disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06. |
| Binghamton Brigadiers/Brigade | Brigadiers was the first nickname for the American Indoor Football League (AIFL) 2006 expansion team; franchise changed owners and was renamed the Binghamton Brigade, but that team could not obtain an arena lease for 2006. |
| Brooklyn Heat | Proposed American Basketball Association (ABA) franchise announced in 2004; franchise moved to Queens as the Kings in early 2005. |
| Butte (MT) Bandits | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), which disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06. |
| California Buzz | First nickname given to the American Basketball Association (ABA) team that replaced the Orange County Crush in the 2004-05 season (early January 2005); before the team played a game as the California Buzz, it was renamed the Orange County Buzz. |
| California Terminators | Proposed 2005-06 American Basketball Association (ABA) expansion franchise announced in late March 2005 for the Thousand Oaks area of West Los Angeles County; team did not play in 2005-06 and was not listed as a proposed 2006-07 ABA team. |
| Carolina Sharks | Proposed Charlotte-based 2005 Atlantic Indoor Football League (AIFL) franchise; lease problems forced the league to operate it as a 2005 road team called the AIFL/Carolina Ghostriders based out of Greensboro (NC). |
| Chattanooga Steamers | Proposed 2005-06 American Basketball Association franchise; folded just prior to start of its season. |
| Cedar Rapids Ball Hogs | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL) that disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06; team was moved and became the Hutchinson (KS) Ball Hogs in 2005. |
| Cleveland Copperheads | Original nickname for a World Basketball Association (WBA) franchise called the Cleveland (TN) Majic, located near Chattanooga; a team called the Chattanooga Majic was proposed for the inaugural 2004 WBA season, but did not play. The WBA team resurfaced in Cleveland, first as the Copperheads and then the Majic for 2005. |
| Columbus Mustangs | Proposed 2005-06 American Basketball Association (ABA) expansion franchise; did not play in 2005-06 and not listed as a proposed team for 2006-07 ABA season. |
| Edmonton Cheetahs | Proposed 2005-06 American Basketball Association (ABA) expansion franchise; did not play in 2005-06 and not listed as a proposed team for 2006-07 ABA season. |
| Fayetteville Heat | Original nickname of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) franchise that operated as the Carolina Rays in 2004; the Rays franchise was moved to Fayetteville for 2005 and announced as the Heat, but later changed to the Fayetteville Guard prior to the 2005 season. |
| Great Falls (MT) Cowboys | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), which disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06 |
| Houston Hurricanes | Proposed 2005-06 American Basketball Association (ABA) franchise announced in October 2004 and to be operated by the Texas Tycoons owner; by early 2005, Houston was no longer listed as a 2005-06 expansion team |
| Hutchinson (KS) Ball Hogs | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), which disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06; team was originally the Cedar Rapids (IA) Ball Hogs; Hutchinson team was planned as a "road team" for its first season. |
| Lincoln (NE) Generals | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), which disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06. |
| Long Beach/Maywood Laguneros (Lakers) | The Long Beach Laguneros were announced as an American Basketball Association (ABA) franchise to replace the Long Beach Jam; became the Maywood Laguneros (Lakers), but Maywood was replaced by the Beijing Aoshen Olympian team. |
| Mankato Mallards | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), which disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06 |
| Miami Fire | Proposed American Basketball Association (ABA) expansion franchise first listed in March 2005; the Pennsylvania Pit Bulls moved to Miami and replaced the Fire franchise. |
| Minot Minutemen | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), which disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06; team was originally the Pueblo (CO) Aztecs before moving to Minot (ND) in 2005; Minot team was planned as a "road team" for its first season. |
| Peoria Mutineers | First nickname selected after the Peoria Pirates left the af2 to join the new United Indoor Football (UIF) for 2005; this nickname was changed to the Rough Riders before the UIF's first season in 2005. |
| Pueblo (CO) Aztecs | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), which disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06; franchise was switched to Minot (ND) as the Minutemen in 2005. |
| Queens Kings | Proposed American Basketball Association (ABA) franchise originally granted to Brooklyn in 2004 (Brooklyn Heat), but became the Queens Kings in early 2005; Queens was not listed as proposed team for the 2006-07 season. |
| Reno Rockers | Proposed American Basketball Association (ABA) expansion team for 2004-05 and again for 2005-06; not listed as a proposed team for 2006-07 ABA season. |
| San Antonio Stallions | Proposed 2005-06 American Basketball Association (ABA) expansion team; did not play in 2005-06 and not listed as a proposed team for 2006-07 ABA season. |
| Tampa Bay Tornados | Proposed 2005-06 American Basketball Association (ABA) expansion team; did not play in 2005-06 and not listed as a proposed team for 2006-07 ABA season. |
| Tennessee Valley Pythons | First team nickname selected after the Tennessee Valley Vipers left the af2 to join the new United Indoor Football (UIF) for 2005; this nickname was changed to the Raptors before the UIF's first season in 2005. |
| Tijuana Toros | Team announced for the inaugural 2005 season of the Golden Baseball League; stadium problems forced the league to replace the Toros with the Japan Samurai Bears traveling team. |
| Topeka Tornado | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), which disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06. |
| Wichita Bombers | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), which disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06. |
| Wyoming Golden Eagles | Proposed franchise in the All American Professional Basketball League (AAPBL), which disbanded prior to its inaugural season planned for 2005-06. |
Dan Krieger is the creator of "Leagues, Teams & Nicknames", an annual almanac that tracks the changes in alignments, franchise movements and team nicknames in today's top sports leagues. He can be contacted at dankrieger@leaguesteamsnicknames.com.
Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.
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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
