The Panthers were announced as the league's 29th franchise in 1993, and began play in 1995 under original owner and founder Jerry Richardson. The Panthers played well in their first two years, finishi...
The original Hornets franchise was established in 1988 as an expansion team, owned by George Shinn. In 2002, Shinn's franchise relocated to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Hornets. In 2004, the...
NHL: 1973-2021 49 2
The franchise was formed in 1971 as the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Whalers saw success immediately, winning the Eastern Division in the WHA's first three seasons, a...

Defunct Teams

Teams that have folded or moved away from the Carolina area.
F i l t e r   &   S o r t 
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 ...
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.