Sandy and Kara
Lunchtime Quiz: The L.A. Raiders (and 11 Other Teams That No Longer Exist)
by Sandy and Kara - August 25, 2009 - 11:30 AM

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click to take the quiz!

Our recent quiz about NFL divsions seemed easy for many of you, so here’s one that might prove more challenging. Today’s Lunchtime Quiz is about NFL/AFL teams that no longer exist. One is the Los Angeles Raiders; the franchise returned to the city from which it moved, and the team is known once again as the Oakland Raiders. Other than the L.A. Raiders, ELEVEN other NFL/AFL teams from the past 50 years have also gone missing. Can you name all of them? Good luck!

Take the Quiz: The Los Angeles Raiders (and 11 Other Teams)

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Comments (16)

  1. Missing are the Dallas Texans, which played in the 1952 season with a record of 1-11. There’s a wikipedia page as well.

    AUTHOR’S NOTE: 1952 is longer than 50 years ago, Joel. However… (see next comment)

    posted by Joel on 8-25-2009 at 11:38 am

  2. There’s a mistake here. The Kansas City Chiefs were originally the Dallas Texans. Lamar Hunt moved the team after three seasons and right after they won the AFL Championship against Houston.

    AUTHOR’S NOTE: Smed, you’re correct. There were two Dallas Texans teams, it appears — one who left the NFL in 1952 (which is before our 50-year time frame begins) and another one from the AFL that became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963. That’s the reason for the mistake. Thanks for the heads-up!

    posted by Smed on 8-25-2009 at 11:43 am

  3. Dallas Texans screwed me up. I kept typing that in but it wouldn’t come up! Totally forgot the Titans were the Oilers for a while once they left Houston.

    posted by Kerry P on 8-25-2009 at 11:47 am

  4. I can’t believe that I missed the New York Titans even though I am a HUGE Jets fan.

    posted by Bill on 8-25-2009 at 11:53 am

  5. Nice job Joel, Sneed and Kerry. I thought of that one too.

    Also the Rams Started in Cleveland but I assume you left that out due to being older than 50 yrs.

    posted by Jay on 8-25-2009 at 12:15 pm

  6. Dallas Texans kept messing me up too – I kept thinking “maybe it wasn’t Dallas” but I knew it wasn’t Houston…

    posted by Dan on 8-25-2009 at 12:15 pm

  7. What about the wartime mash-up teams? They’re more than 50 years old (1943), but the mash-up of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers to form the Steagles due to WWII is one of the more interesting stories in the history of the NFL. I think there may have been a couple more, but I can;t remember them off the top of my head.

    posted by Sean O. on 8-25-2009 at 12:45 pm

  8. I got lost on the Tennessee Oilers as well. I know the Cleveland Browns still exist, but the Baltimore Ravens franchise was the Cleveland Browns. As a native Ohioan I now root against the Ravens every game. Thanks, Art Modell.

    posted by Pat on 8-25-2009 at 1:16 pm

  9. Oh, yes! Go Browns! That is one name they couldn’t take with them! Nyaaah!

    posted by Hyacinth on 8-25-2009 at 1:36 pm

  10. I did a cursory look for one that I thought was missing, I may look harder if I have the time.

    It was a team that was folded as part of a merger, and the owners I think still received royalties from the NFL even though their team hasn’t played in decades. For some reason I thought it was Tennessee/Nashville, long before the Oilers moved there.

    Perhaps it’s just faulty memory, and this mystery team may have been outside the 50 yr parameters set up for the quiz. Also, I was looking up the AAFL, but could only find stuff on the new league that hasn’t begun play yet, instead of the old one from the 40s.

    posted by Jonny on 8-25-2009 at 3:30 pm

  11. Missed the Chicago Cardinals… Got all the rest though!

    posted by Gregg on 8-25-2009 at 3:50 pm

  12. Jonny, that’s because you’re looking under the wrong name. The league you’re looking for the AAFC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-America_Football_Conference

    The Browns, Colts and 49ers are the only remnants of that league. As for the other issue, Are you sure you aren’t thinking about basketball and the ABA?

    posted by Kerry P on 8-25-2009 at 4:24 pm

  13. Jonny, the Tennessee Oilers/Nashville Predators (Preds were established in Nashville first, but the Oilers began play first) were the first major league teams of any kind in Nashville. Whatever team you are thinking of is not from here.

    posted by Patten on 8-25-2009 at 5:51 pm

  14. Phoenix Cardinals? They must have been very forgettable because I sure don’t remember that name.

    posted by Tex on 8-25-2009 at 11:11 pm

  15. The were known as the “Phoenix Cardinals” from 1988 (when they first moved to the desert) through 1993. They changed the name to “Arizona Cardinals” in 1994.

    posted by Kerry P on 8-26-2009 at 10:25 am

  16. I know it’s way older than the 50 year timeframe, but I have to put in a plug for the Pottsville Maroons. I always heard from my father that they were the greatest NFL team ever and were cheated out of the NFL title in 1925 by the lousy Chicago Cardinals. They would make a fine subject for a Mental_Floss entry.

    I missed the NY Titans on the quiz. I knew the Jets had a previous name, but I just couldn’t drag it out of the recesses of my brain.

    posted by JMB on 8-27-2009 at 1:26 pm

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