🏈 NFL: 1967-2021 55 1
The New Orleans Saints were founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city of New Orleans on November 1, 1966, the Saints joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1967. They are named after the...
The Pelicans were established as the New Orleans Hornets in the 2002–03 season when then-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, George Shinn, relocated the franchise to New Orleans. Due to the damage caused ...

Defunct Teams

Teams that have folded or moved away from the New Orleans area.
F i l t e r   &   S o r t 
The franchise began play as an expansion team in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz (as a tribute to New Orleans' history of originating jazz music). The Jazz moved to Salt Lake City in 1979. The Jazz were...
WHA: 1977-1979 3
Prior to being in Birmingham, the team was known as the Ottawa Nationals and the Toronto Toros
The Memphis Sounds were an American professional sports franchise that played in Memphis, Tennessee from 1970 until 1975 as a member of the American Basketball Association. The team was founded as the...
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.