⚾ MLB: 1882-2021 140 15
After the American Association folded, they joined the National League in 1892. Franchise currently exists as the St. Louis Cardinals.
NHL: 1968-2021 54 1
The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the six teams from the 1967 NHL expansion and is named after the W. C. Handy song "Saint Louis Blues". They play their home games at the 19,150-seat Enterpr...

Defunct Teams

Teams that have folded or moved away from the St. Louis area.
F i l t e r   &   S o r t 
🏈 NFL: 1995-2015 21 1
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...
The team was established in Chicago in 1898 as an amateur football team and joined the NFL as a charter member in 1920 as the Chicago Cardinals
The Spirits of St. Louis were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1974 to 1976. This was the third and last city of a franchise that had begun as a charter ...
🏀 NBA: 1956-1968 13 1
The team's origins can be traced to the establishment of the Buffalo Bisons in 1946 in Buffalo, New York, a member of the National Basketball League (NBL) owned by Ben Kerner and Leo Ferris. After 38 ...
⚾ MLB: 1902-1953 52
Began as Milwaukee Brewers in 1894 and were one of the original AL franchises in 1901. Became St. Louis Browns in 1902 and relocated to Baltimore to become Orioles in 1954.
The St. Louis Bombers were originally part of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. The BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949 to become the National Basketball A...
Hoping to revive the success of years past, the owners named the team the ABCs; the third such team to do so and the first in five years. Almost immediately, financial difficulties forced the team to relocate to St. Louis, and then New Orleans and Harrsiburgh before folding in 1943
The St. Louis Gunners were an independent professional football team based in St. Louis, Missouri, that played the last three games of the 1934 National Football League season, replacing the Cincinnat...
NHL: 1935-1935 1
The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League (NHL) and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934. The club, which was officially the Ottawa Hockey Club (...
⚾ NNL1: 1911-1931 21 3
Competed independently from as early as 1906 to 1919, and then joined the Negro National League (NNL), winning three pennants in four years from 1928 to 1931.
The idea for the All-Stars came to Ollie Kraehe while he was still a substitute offensive lineman playing for the Rock Island Independents. Kraehe figured that if small towns markets, like Green Bay a...
Team disbanded after the Federal League folded following the 1915 season.
⚾ NL: 1884-1886 3 1
Only team to continue after the Union Associaton folded in 1884, joining the National League in 1885. Left St. Louis for Indianapolis to begin the 1887 season. Folded following the 1889 season.
One of 8 teams that founded the National League in 1876. Franchise folded following the 1877 season when two players were banned for gambling.
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.