⚾ MLB: 1961-2020
60 1
Joined the American League as an expansion team to begin the 1961 season.
Left Los Angeles and relocated to Anaheim to begin the 1966 season.
⚾ MLB: 1884-2020
137 11
Left the American Association to join the National League to begin the 1890 season. Left Brooklyn and relocated to become the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1957.
🏈 NFL: 1960-2020
61 1
The Chargers club was founded as a Los Angeles-based team on August 14, 1959, and began play on September 10, 1960, as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). They spent their first se...
🏈 NFL: 1936-2020
85 3
The franchise began in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams, based in Cleveland, Ohio. The club was owned by Homer Marshman and featured players such as William "Bud" Cooper, Harry "The Horse" Mattos, Stan Pinc...
🏀 NBA: 1971-2020
50
The franchise was founded as the Buffalo Braves in 1970 as an expansion team. Led by Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo, the Braves reached the NBA playoffs three times during their eight seasons in Buffalo. Co...
🏀 NBA: 1947-2020
74 19
The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began playing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, calling themselves the M...
NHL: 1994-2020
27 1
The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were founded in 1993 by The Walt Disney Company. The franchise was awarded by the NHL in December 1992, along with the rights to a Miami team that would become the Florida ...
NHL: 1968-2020
53 2
The team was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent Cooke was awarded an NHL expansion franchise for Los Angeles on February 9, 1966, becoming one of the six teams that began play as part of the 196...
Defunct Teams
Teams that have folded or moved away from the Los Angeles area.F i l t e r & S o r t Filter & Sort
🏈 NFL: 1982-1994
13 1
The Raiders were founded on January 30, 1960, and originally based in Oakland, California, the Raiders played their first regular season game on September 11, 1960, as a charter member of the American...
WHA: 1973-1974
2
The Los Angeles Sharks were an ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1974. Their primary home arena was the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena but they sometimes play...
🏀 ABA: 1968-1970
3
The team was founded as the Anaheim Amigos, a charter member of the ABA based in Anaheim, California. They played at the Anaheim Convention Center. The team's colors were orange and black. The Anaheim...
🏀 ABL3: 1962-1963
2
The American Basketball League played one full season, 1961–1962, and part of the next season until the league folded on December 31, 1962. The ABL was the first basketball league to have a three poin...
🏈 AAFC: 1946-1949
4
In 1946, a new professional football league was launched to do battle with the long-established National Football League (NFL). This new league, the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), included ei...
🏈 APFL: 1937-1939
3 1
The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948 (the last year as the Long Beach Bulldogs). Formed with the intention of joining the National Footba...
The early history of sports contains hundreds of teams that appeared for only 1 or 2 seasons before folding. Most of these teams have no historical photographs or articles, so are omitted from this list to reduce clutter. To view a comprehensive list of all defunct teams, browse to the early leagues section for baseball, football, basketball, or hockey.