Today marks the fourth in a series of posts in an effort to find The Most Insignificant Franchise in Buffalo History. Any current or former sporting franchises from the WNY area will be considered. A poll will be posted by the end of the week, and the franchise receiving the most votes will be deemed Most Insignificant.
Today's nominee is the Buffalo Stallions.
Who?
Buffalo Stallions
What? A indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League.
When? 1979-1984
Where? The Stallions played all of their home games at the Aud, even hosting the 1982 All-Star Game.
Why? To this point, there had never been a professional soccer team in Buffalo, so owner John Bellanti tried to capitalize on a new product.
The Story: Buffalo was awarded an expansion team in the relatively successful MISL before the 1979-80 season. Even though the games were seemingly well-attended (check out this site, though I can't vouch for the validity of the numbers,) the team would go on to post only one winning record, and lost in the first round of the playoffs three times. The team folded after the 1983-84 season, after just five in Buffalo. Pro soccer would return in 1992 with the now defunct Blizzard.
Overall Record in Buffalo:
Regular Season: 212 Games Played; 98 Wins; 114 Losses; .462 Winning Percentage
Playoffs: 3 Games Played; 0 Wins; 3 Losses; .000 Winning Percentage
Why the Stallions should be Most Insignificant: They lasted for only five seasons playing a sport that is largely forgotten (professionaly, at least) in Buffalo (and the U.S., for that matter.)
Why the Stallions should not be Most Insignificant: The games were generally well attended, and if you search around the interwebs, you can see that some people still care.
When? 1979-1984
Where? The Stallions played all of their home games at the Aud, even hosting the 1982 All-Star Game.
Why? To this point, there had never been a professional soccer team in Buffalo, so owner John Bellanti tried to capitalize on a new product.
The Story: Buffalo was awarded an expansion team in the relatively successful MISL before the 1979-80 season. Even though the games were seemingly well-attended (check out this site, though I can't vouch for the validity of the numbers,) the team would go on to post only one winning record, and lost in the first round of the playoffs three times. The team folded after the 1983-84 season, after just five in Buffalo. Pro soccer would return in 1992 with the now defunct Blizzard.
Overall Record in Buffalo:
Regular Season: 212 Games Played; 98 Wins; 114 Losses; .462 Winning Percentage
Playoffs: 3 Games Played; 0 Wins; 3 Losses; .000 Winning Percentage
Why the Stallions should be Most Insignificant: They lasted for only five seasons playing a sport that is largely forgotten (professionaly, at least) in Buffalo (and the U.S., for that matter.)
Why the Stallions should not be Most Insignificant: The games were generally well attended, and if you search around the interwebs, you can see that some people still care.
Posts
Haha. I was going to nominate these guys but figured that the fact that half of the original Blizzard players were on the Stallions was going to knock them out of consideration. I think this team should be the favorite going into the vote and I throw my full support behind them.
ReplyDelete\this coming from a soccer fan/player
No Gamblers? Today is a sad day.
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to have done the Gamblers, but I couldn't find a damn thing about them. I don't even know what sport they played
ReplyDeleteHeh. They were a lacrosse team that played during the Bandits' offseason.
ReplyDeleteI swear to god I remember Van Miller calling Stallions games on the Radio (couldn't have been WGR - maybe 930 AM?) in the mid-80s. For that and that alone they are significant to me .
ReplyDelete