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Old Team Tuesday is a weekly feature taking a look at former teams that have gone by the wayside. This week’s edition rewinds to the earliest days of organized team tennis. ********************************************** For every Jackie Robinson, there is a Kenny Washington. For every Colin Kaepernick, there is a Curt Flood. And for every Lamar Hunt, there is a Leonard Bloom, Larry King, and Dennis Murphy. Bloom, King, and Murphy were very familiar business partners and sports enthusiasts, having co-founded the American Basketball Association together in 1967 and the World Hockey Association in 1971. King and Murphy also set out to create Roller Hockey International later on in 1991. While the ABA and WHA both left lasting impacts on their respective sports, it can be argued that their efforts with tennis have been the greatest and most lasting pieces of their legacy. --- Hoarders and borders --- Formed in 1973, World Team Tennis was designed to attract the world’...

Old Team Tuesday is a weekly feature taking a look at former teams that have gone by the wayside. This week’s edition does not look at the history of a single team, but revisits the entire scope of upper-level soccer in Western New York as a whole. ********************************************** The relationship between Buffalo and soccer has been more unstable than a marriage to Zsa Zsa Gabor. Nine teams have set up shop here, with few finding any measure of success and most being forced to close down or move away. Now, as Americans finally seem to be falling for the beautiful game, that sentiment is echoed in Western New York, where Buffalonians finally have a team they can cozy up to. Let’s start in 1976, near the tail end of Gabor’s sixth marriage. The Buffalo Blazers of the Canadian-based National Soccer League opened play at War Memorial Stadium. A mediocre first season didn’t disparage the team, and in 1977, the club finally made progress, going 12-3-3 to wind up th...

Old Team Tuesday is a weekly feature taking a look at former teams that have gone by the wayside. This week’s edition revisits the entire history of soccer in Western New York. This is the original, unedited version of the same topic that appeared on queencityblitzers.com on April 23, 2014. ********************************************** The relationship between Buffalo and soccer has been more unstable than a marriage to Zsa Zsa Gabor. Nine teams have set up shop here, with few finding any measure of success and most being forced to close down or move away. Now, as Americans finally seem to be falling for the beautiful game, that sentiment is echoed in western New York, where Buffalonians finally have a team they can cozy up to. Our Past: Let’s start in 1976, near the tail end of Gabor’s sixth marriage. The Buffalo Blazers of the Canadian-based National Soccer League opened play at War Memorial Stadium. A mediocre first season didn’t disparage the team, and in 1977,...