Fort Worth Braves

Last updated
Fort Worth Braves
Founded1967
Folded1970
League Texas Football League, Continental Football League, Trans-American Football League
Based in Fort Worth, Texas
Arena Farrington Field
Colors  
Championships0
Division titles0

The Fort Worth Braves were a professional American football team based in Fort Worth, Texas. The team, first known as the Fort Worth Texans, was announced in 1967 as a member of the Texas Football League, [1] and played their 1967 home games at Turnpike Stadium. The franchise was renamed as the Braves and moved its home games to Farrington Field for the 1968 season. In 1969 the Braves, along with the rest of the TFL, joined the Continental Football League as part of its new Texas Division.

When the COFL folded after its 1969 season the Braves returned as part of a fully autonomous, six-team TFL. The 1970 Braves made the postseason and advanced to the TFL title game, where they lost 21-17 to the San Antonio Toros. The Braves were just one of the four TFL franchises to remain in the league when it changed its name to the Trans-American Football League (TAFL) in late 1970. The TAFL lasted just one season, after which it and the Braves ceased operations.

Season-by-season

YearLeagueWLTFinishCoach
Fort Worth Texans1967 Texas Football League 5902nd, Western Division John Hatley
Fort Worth Braves1968Texas Football League10202nd, Western Division
1969 Continental Football League 5703rd, Texas Division West
1970Texas Football League6603rd, TFL Duncan McCauley
1971Trans-American Football League1403rd, TAFLn/a

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Football League</span> League that merged with the NFL in 1970

The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference.

The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, which retained the "National Football League" name and logo, to become the most popular sports league in the United States. The merger was announced on the evening of June 8, 1966. Under the merger agreement, the leagues maintained separate regular-season schedules for the next four seasons—from 1966 through 1969 with a final championship game which would become known as the Super Bowl—and then officially merged before the 1970 season to form one league with two conferences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Worth Cavalry</span> Arena football team

The Fort Worth Cavalry was an Arena Football League team which operated for a single season, 1994, in the National Conference. The league did not want to abandon the idea of having a franchise in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, a major media market, after the demise of the Dallas Texans (1990–1993), and granted a new franchise to an ownership group in Fort Worth. The team was owned by Peter "Woody" Kern and led by head coach Michael Trigg. The team struggled with ticket sales and financial issues lead to the team being folded after the 1994 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Football League</span> Professional American football league (1965–1969)

The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It owed its name, at least in part, to the Continental League, a proposed third Major League Baseball organization that influenced MLB significantly, although they never played a game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milwaukee County Stadium</span> Former stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also used for Green Bay Packers football games, ice skating, religious services, concerts, and other large events. Its final season was in 2000, when it was replaced by the adjacent Miller Park.

The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Commanders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta Chiefs</span> American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia

The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968 to 1973 and again from 1979 to 1981. For the 1973 season, the team played as the Atlanta Apollos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Bragan</span> American baseball player and manager (1917–2010)

Robert Randall Bragan was an American shortstop, catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball and an influential minor league executive. His professional baseball career encompassed 73 years, from his first season as a player in the Class D Alabama–Florida League in 1937, to 2009, the last full year of his life, when he was still listed as a consultant to the Texas Rangers' organization.

The Fort Worth Texans were a professional ice hockey team based in Fort Worth, Texas. The Texans started playing in 1967 as the Fort Worth Wings, a minor league affiliate for the Detroit Red Wings. The team were part of the Central Hockey League and played their home games at Will Rogers Coliseum. Eventually, the Texans won their only Adams Cup Championship in 1978, by defeating their rival Dallas Black Hawks 5–4 in overtime of game seven of the finals.

The Dallas Black Hawks were a minor-league professional ice hockey team in Dallas, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was a member of the Central Hockey League and played home games at State Fair Coliseum.

The Central Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league that operated in the United States from 1963 to 1984. Named the Central Hockey League for the 1968–69 season and forward, it was owned and operated by the National Hockey League and served as a successor to the Eastern Professional Hockey League, which had folded after the 1962–63 season. Four of the CHL's initial franchises were, in fact, relocations of the previous year's EPHL teams, while the fifth came from the International Hockey League. Its founding president was Jack Adams, who served in the role until his death in 1968. The CHL's championship trophy was called the Adams Cup in his honor.

Texas is home of several national sports league franchises among other professional sports, being the second most populated U.S. state. Since the state is located in the South Central United States, most teams are part of the Central / South or West league divisions, with the notable exception of the NFL Dallas Cowboys, which is an NFC East franchise.

The 1969 Major League Baseball expansion resulted in the establishment of expansion franchises in Kansas City and Seattle in the American League and in Montreal and San Diego in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Pilots began play in the 1969 Major League Baseball season. One of the reasons for expansion was increasing pressure to maintain the sport as the US national pastime, particularly because of the increasing popularity of professional football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Dallas</span>

The city of Dallas and the Dallas metropolitan division is home to teams in six major sports: the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers, Dallas Stars, FC Dallas, and Dallas Wings.

The Texas Football League (TFL) was a low-level American football minor league that operated in primarily in the United States from 1966 through 1968, and again between 1970 and 1971 as a new incarnation called the Trans-American Football League (TAFL).

The West Texas Rufneks were a professional American football team based in Midland, Texas. They began play as the Odessa-Midland Comets in the Texas Football League in 1966. In September 1968 the franchise was purchased by Dallas investor Alton Fairchild, who changed the team's name to the West Texas Rufneks. When the Texas Football League merged with the Continental Football League for its 1969 season, the Rufneks became a member of the COFL's new Texas Division East. The team announced plans to relocate after the 1969 season, but the move never happened and the Rufneks dissolved before the 1970 Texas Football League season.

The Texarkana Titans were a professional American football team based in Texarkana, Texas. They began play in 1967 as a member of the Southern Football League and by 1968 joined the Texas Football League (TFL), and became a member of the Continental Football League when the former merged operations with it in 1969. The Titans played in the TFL's championship game in 1968, losing 21-16 to the San Antonio Toros. After the Continental Football League dissolved in 1970, most of the Texas Division teams returned to an autonomous TFL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Hatley</span> American football player and rodeo performer (1930–2001)

Johnny Ray Hatley was an American football player and coach, and rodeo performer. He played college football at Baylor, Corpus Christi, Southwest Texas JC and Sul Ross State and was selected in the 16th round of the 1953 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He played one season with the Bears before being traded to the Chicago Cardinals, where he played for two seasons. Hatley was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1956 but did not play. He then retired from football to become a rodeo performer, winning several competitions and placing thirteenth at the 1959 National Finals. Hatley returned to pro football in 1960, being signed by the Dallas Texans and later being traded to the Denver Broncos. In 1961, he briefly had a stint with the New York Titans. From 1966 to 1969, he was a player, coach, executive, and administrator in the Texas Football League (TFL) with the Odessa-Midland Comets and Fort Worth Texans/Braves. Hatley was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2004.

References

  1. "TPFL Makes Plans for 1967 Season". The Odessa American. Associated Press. 19 March 1967.