Pocketball Team Histories w/ Logos

[JMurr]

Next coming five team histories

Kentucky Wings

Albany Union

New York Towers (original)

Providence Red Roosters

Detroit Lakers / Chicago Lakers / Sault Ste. Marie Lakers / Superior Trolls

[JMurr]

Kentucky Wings

Founded in 1903 the Kentucky Wings belonged to Matt Winn the manager of Louisville’s famed Churchill Downs racetrack. Winn wanted to bring pocketball to Kentucky but he had no venue that was suitable to the leagues liking. Finally he was able to convince league officials to grant him a team and place them temporarily at Churchill Downs. He vowed to find a more suitable location within five years.

Kentucky Wings (1903-1930)

In 1905 an armory was built in Louisville and Winn had the opportunity to fulfill his commitment. For the 1906 season the Wings moved into the Jefferson County Armory.

Sadly the Wings were among the first wave of teams to fold following the stock market crash of 1929.

[Tyrano123]

I like the wings. Every Louisville team should have something to do with the derby. That's a huge thing around here. Love the logo.

[GeauxColonels]

I like what you're doing here. The back stories and histories of the clubs are well done. But I think you've made a mistake by not telling us what pocketball is from the beginning . We understand that it's made up.....but the people want more!

Also, one suggestion on the Tigers would be to swap the orange and white so that the strips are orange with white outlines.

[TheRicSlick]

Great job on the history and logos. I could never do something like this.

[JMurr]

I like what you're doing here. The back stories and histories of the clubs are well done. But I think you've made a mistake by not telling us what pocketball is from the beginning . We understand that it's made up.....but the people want more!

Also, one suggestion on the Tigers would be to swap the orange and white so that the strips are orange with white outlines.

I hear you. I really got to write an outline detailing the game.

Great job on the history and logos. I could never do something like this.

Thank you

[PSUcelticsWON95]

This is all really, really interesting. It'll be fun to watch this thread grow.

[NCCoachArete]

I remember my grandfather telling me how much he enjoyed the Indians games at the Armory with his father. Good memories.

[JMurr]

Albany Union

Between 1900-1905 the Tigers played in Albany. Though they had a loyal following in those days the intention of their owner was always to place the team in his hometown of Rochester as soon as he could. Following the move by the Tigers in 1906 many fans in Albany began demanding that they be given a new franchise.

Albany Union (1916-1930)

In 1916 a collection of New York politicians brought the game back to Albany. The leader of the group was Martin H. Glynn, he held 40% and controlling stake in the team. His partners each held 20%. They were Charles Evans Hughes, John Alden Dix, and Thomas F. Conway. They moved the team into Washington Avenue Armory, the same venue the Tigers had occupied while in Albany. They called their new team the Albany Union drawing upon the cities political nature and the fact that ownership was a group or union of individuals.

In 1924 Glynn died and Charles Evans Hughes became the majority and controlling owner when he purchased half of Glynn’s shares while a quarter each was purchased by the other two partners. The group would lose another partner in 1928 when John Alden Dix dies.

Albany would once again lose a pocketball team following the 1929 stock market crash, when team is among the first wave of teams to fold operations.

[PSUcelticsWON95]

All looking good. So the only two teams so far that have made it through the Great Depression are the original two teams of the Checkers and Challengers?

[JMurr]

All looking good. So the only two teams so far that have made it through the Great Depression are the original two teams of the Checkers and Challengers?

Yes. Only one other will survive. The league shrank down to just 3 teams for about a year. However following rapid expansion came.

[kevsim1]

Steamers boat logo looks good.

Ahhh! The Monsters and Standards are both gone? They were both a hell of a curling team

[JMurr]

I like what you're doing here. The back stories and histories of the clubs are well done. But I think you've made a mistake by not telling us what pocketball is from the beginning . We understand that it's made up.....but the people want more!

Also, one suggestion on the Tigers would be to swap the orange and white so that the strips are orange with white outlines.

I might explore your suggestion with the Tigers logo.

[JMurr]

New York Towers (original)

Three times New York City has had a team called the New York Towers. The first came about when boxing promoter Tex Rickard was awarded an expansion franchise. Rickard moved his team into Madison Square Garden II and called it the Towers in reference to the growing height of Manhattans skyline.

New York Towers (1921-1929)

In 1926 the Towers moved into the newly build Madison Square Garden III.

On January 6, 1929 Tex Rickard died. The league controlled the team through that season and intended to sale the team, however that October the stock market would crash and the league, by then believing it impossible to sale the team, would retract the franchise. For the next two years the league would be struck with two waves of massive retraction that would force the league down to three teams.

[JMurr]

Providence Red Roosters

In 1927 sports promoter Peter Laudati was granted an expansion team. He established his team in Providence, Rhode Island at the Rhode Island Auditorium and named the club the Providence Red Roosters in honor of the state bird.

Providence Red Roosters (1927-1931)

The Red Roosters history was very short as they were one of several teams to fold following the onset of the Great Depression. They folded in the second wave.

[JMurr]

Detroit Lakers / Chicago Lakers / Saulte Ste. Marie Lakers / Superior Trolls

In 1928 one of Detroit’s auto tycoons, Ransom E. Olds, was granted an expansion team. He moved his club into the Detroit Olympia and called them the Detroit Lakers. The name was inspired by the fact that Michigan is a state nearly surrounded by the Great Lakes.

Detroit Lakers (1928-1929)

In 1930 the team got the first of many new image changes. The new logo better reflected the inspiration for the name.

Detroit Lakers (1930-1934)

Ransom E. Olds lost interest in his team shortly after forming it, yet somehow his club was one of the few that survived the retraction years of 1931 and 1932. However Olds had decided to sale his team. At first he hoped to find an owner who would at least keep them in Detroit but by 1935 when he had not meet such an interested party he sold the club to Frederick H. Prince who moved the club to Chicago. The Lakers were moved into the International Amphitheater. The logo was changed but the name was preserved considering Chicago was a city that sat on the shores of a Great Lake.

Chicago Lakers (1935-1946)

Prince held the team until 1947 when he sold the club to James Hamet Dunn, a Canadian industrialist. Dunn moved specifically targeted aquire this team because it fitt his inention of moving a team to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This he did for the ’47 season. The team played at Sault Memorial Gardens under a new logo.

Sault Ste. Marie Lakers (1947-1973)

On January 1, 1956 Dunn died but he had made arrangments to assure the team would remain in the community of Sault Ste. Marie following his death. He had arranged for his friend Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook to inherit the team upon his death. Lord Beaverbrook had assured Dunn that he would keep the team in Sault Ste. Marie. Lord Beaverbrook lived up to his promise and kept the team in Sault Ste. Marie for the remainder of his life. Upon his own death in 1964 he left the team to his son Sir Max Aitken, 2^nd Baronet.

The 2^nd Baronet had little interest in running the team, he largly allowed for the teams hired staff to do so. However he did oversee the update to the teams image in 1974. He would also keep the team in Sault Ste. Marie for the duration of his life. When he died on April 30, 1985 he passed the team onto his son Maxwell Aitken, 3^rd Baron Beaverbrook.

Sault Ste. Marie Lakers (1974-1991)

If the 2^nd Baronet had little interest in owning the team his son had even less. He also felt that the promise his grandfather had made to keep the team in Sault Ste. Marie no longer applied to him; so in 1992 when Howard Schultz the founder of Starbucks approached the 3^rd Baron Beaverbrook about purchasing the club, the Baron sold.

Schultz moved the team into an area that had recently been built on the campus of his alma mater, Northern Michigan University. That area was the Superior Dome in Marquette, Michigan. With such a location the Lakers name could have been carried over but Schultz wanted a unique name and eventually, after hearing many suggestions, settled on Superior Trolls.

Superior Trolls (1992-2001)

Superior Trolls (2002-Present)

[JMurr]

What to watch for. The next five franchises I will be doing.

1. Chicago Knights / New York Knights / Los Angeles Dragons

2. Boston Grasshoppers / New England Grasshoppers

3. Toronto Terriers

4. Philadelphia Quakers

5. New Jersey Atlantics

[JMurr]

Chicago Knights / New York Knights / Los Angeles Dragons

In 1933 after two years of retraction the league went to work at rebuilding and recovering. The first step in those efforts was to expand. The man to be awarded that franchise was James E. Norris a hockey team owner. Norris also owned the Chicago Blackhawks and the arena they played in Chicago Stadium so he moved his pocketball team in and called them the Chicago Knights.

Chicago Knights (1933-1944)

The Blackhawks were not the only team that Norris had a business interest in the NHL. He also had interest in teams like the Red Wings and Rangers, the NHL however would only allow for him to have controlling interest in one team. That team he controlled in the NHL was the Blackhawks. Norris longed to also have an enterprise that he controlled in New York City, so in 1945 he moved the Knights into Madison Square Garden III and renamed them, with a new logo, the New York Knights.

New York Knights (1945-1969)

On December 4, 1952 Norris passed away and left the team to his children; James D. Norris, Bruce Norris, and Marguerite Norris. James D. was the majority and controlling partner with 40% while the remaining 60% was split evenly between the other two siblings. James D. would control the team until he died on February 25, 1966. Following his death Bruce Norris bought out the ownership stake of both his brothers estate and his sister; thus Bruce Norris became the sole owner of the team.

In the late 1960’s Jack Kent Cooke was a Canadian who was looking to bring hockey to Southern California by building The Forum in Inglewood, California. Considering the risk of this venture he looked for other revenue streams for his new arena. So Cooke went to Norris and offered to purchase the Knights, Norris abliged.

Considering he was making a drastic 180 change to the team by bringing them all the way across the country, Cooke decided that the teams new name should reflect this; thus the team was named the Los Angeles Dragons. However their original logo used a Chinese dragon to reflect the teams new local on the Pacific.

Los Angeles Dragons (1970-1993)

In 1988 the name of their home arena was changed from The Forum to the The Great Western Forum. A year latter Cooke who by now no longer had any other Southern California sports properties, sold the team to the company that had sponsered the building; Great Western Bank. The new owners picked a celbretie spokesperson, Dennis Weaver, to be the President of the team. Even though Weaver had very little interest in doing it. Weaver helped to orchestrate the sale of the team by 1991 when 60% ownership was sold to Steven Spielberg. Great Western Bank held onto 20% interest while the remaining 20% was sold to Dennis Weaver.

In 1993 Anaheim built an arena called the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. Just as the team had been brought to California to help offset the cost of the construction of an arena, the city of Anaheim orchestrated a purchase of the team to help offset the cost of building their arena. The City of Anaheim purchased 55% of the team, Donald Sterling bought 25%, and Micheal Eisner purchased the remaining 20%. The City of Anaheim hired Eisner, who was at that time the CEO of Disney, to be the President of the team. Along with their move to the Pond in 1994 the team got a new logo that was more of a English dragon.

Los Angele Dragons (1994-Present)

In 1997 the City of Anaheim decided they wanted to divest of their ownership in the team. Eisner bought them out and became the majority and controlling owner of the team with 75%. A year latter he would also buy out Sterling and become the sole owner of the club.

In 2007 their home arena received a new name when it became the Honda Center.

[JMurr]

Boston Grasshoppers / New England Grasshoppers

In 1935 Boston politician Robert H. Quinn was awarded an expansion franchise for the sports city of origin. Quinn moved his team into Faneuil Hall, the same area already occupied by the Boston Checkers. For a nickname for his team Quinn looked to the top of the building his team played in. Faneuil Hall is crowned with a famous weather vane in the likeness of a grasshopper; thus Quinn dubbed his team the Boston Grasshoppers.

Boston Grasshoppers (1935-1958)

In 1937 the Checkers moved into Boston Garden and the arenas manager Walter A. Brown was introduced to the sport of pocketball. He made offers to purchase the Checkers but owner James Micheal Curley would not sale. In 1940 he turned his attention to aquireing the Grasshoppers instead, this he accomplished and moved his team into the Boston Garden as well.

The motives for the Grasshoppers transfer of ownership were unique. David Sinton Ingalls was a distinquished graduate of Yale. In 1953 ground was broken on a project to construct a new arena on the campus of Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. The arena was to be named in Ingalls honor. Ingalls himself was a major contributor to its financing. To asure the success of a structure constructed in his name Ingalls purchased the Grasshoppers with the intention of moving them into Ingalls Rink once it was completed. In 1959 the team made the move and changed their name to New England Grasshoppers. The change also brought about a new logo.

New England Grasshoppers (1959-Present)

By 1966 Ingalls had secured the success of his namesake arena as well as had recouped some of his own personal investment, so he decided to sale the team so long as he could find someone who would keep the team at its current local. New Haven native Ted Bates, an advertising executive, was the man. In 1971 he sold the Grasshoppers to the founder of the New England Whalers hockey club, Howard Baldwin. Baldwin would keep the team through the 1984 season and then sale the team to Robert Kraft.

[PackerFan98]

I don't get why the Superior team name is the Trolls. That's what they call people from the lower penninsula, the UP people are called yoopers.