birtmc.com

As some of you more faithful readers may have noticed, last week went by without an Old Team Tuesday entry. This week will be more of the same. Why? I have decided to push the (usually) weekly feature until later on in the week. Starting next week, Old Team Tuesday will become Defunct Franchise Friday. It will still hold the same content, standards, and informative value with just a few extra days of preparation to ensure the articles are timely, organized, and well-edited. In the mean time, I'd like to hear from you as to what the first Defunct Franchise Friday should be. Cast your vote in the poll below: What team should next week's post discuss? — Matt Birt (@BirtMC) November 28, 2017

Old Team Tuesday is a weekly feature taking a look at former teams that have gone by the wayside. This week’s edition magnifies one of the pioneering franchises in women’s sports. ********************************************** The effects of the women’s liberation movement and Title IX on American society are nearly impossible to ignore. What were once considered traditional roles are now continuously challenged and overhauled in the name of equal opportunity. In the 1970s, few women were more synonymous with these efforts than Billie Jean King. After disrupting the pro tennis scene with a torrent of 30 combined Grand Slam victories before her 30th birthday, King defeated Bobby Riggs in the highly-publicized “Battle of the Sexes.” Riggs had managed to beat Margaret Court just a few months prior – the top-ranked female player in the world at the onset of 1973. King’s status – even before her triumph over Riggs – gave her a uniquely powerful voice in sports and beyond. S...

Old Team Tuesday is a weekly feature taking a look at former teams that have gone by the wayside. After a two-week hiatus, we return this week to close out a two-part series examining the history of professional roller hockey in Buffalo . ********************************************** After financial ruin laid waste to the Buffalo Stampede during the 1995 RHI season, Buffalo was left without a professional roller hockey team. The absence of a team meant Memorial Auditorium would close its doors for good in the spring, rather than in late summer when the roller hockey season would come to a close. Instability in pro roller hockey continued to be a problem, with teams folding and relocating at a frenetic pace. After playing for two years in Phoenix, the Cobras relocated to Glens Falls, New York for the 1996 season. The move failed to turn around the fortunes of the franchise, so they uprooted themselves yet again and signed a one-year agreement to play at the new Marine Midl...