Long before the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB secured reigns of dominance over their respective sporting realms, these titans had to deal with upstart sports leagues vying for a piece of the Iron Throne. Stealing top draft prospects, siphoning away veterans and in some cases securing lucrative television deals, these alternate leagues had a profound impact on the development of their separate sports.

Whether through merger or phase-out, all of these alternative leagues eventually went out of business. The retirement of the last players to have played in both the alternative and the dominant leagues marks the end of an era. Here are these players and a look inside the leagues that helped shape professional sports into what they are today.

Mark Messier, Moses Malone And Other Last Links To Defunct Sports Leagues Slideshow


ABA: Moses Malone

In 1967 a number of businessmen in cities devoid of a pro basketball franchise decided to create an alternative league to challengethe NBA: the American Basketball Association. The ABA's style was much flashier than was the NBA's: The three-point shot, players with huge afros, a red, white, and blue ball, games often interrupted by fights and bikini-clad cheerleaders. The two leagues eventually agreed to a merger, which took place in 1976. Moses Malone played two seasons for the ABA's Spirits of St. Louis before the team was phased out during the merger, averaging 17.2 points and 12.9 rebounds. Malone went on to have a Hall of Fame NBA career, winning three MVP awards, an NBA title and a Finals MVP.


WHA: Mark Messier

Dennis Murphy and Gary Davidson, the same men who helped orchestrate the creation of both the American Basketball Association and the World Football League, sunk their teeth into hockey in 1972 and began the World Hockey Association. The WHA tried to take on the NHL directly with franchises in major U.S. markets and Canada, which at times had just three franchises. Due to the WHA's instability, merger talks began almost immediately after its inception, and the two leagues merged in 1979. Two years before this merger, a teenage Mark Messier had already played 52 combined games for the WHA’s Cincinnati Stingers and Indianapolis Racers. After the merger, the Edmonton Oilers drafted the future Hall of Famer in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft and Messier captained the team to five Stanley Cup victories. In 1992, Messier was traded to the New York Rangers where he yet again led his team to hoist the Stanley Cup in 1994, the franchise's first in 54 years.


AFL: Gene Upshaw

As is a common theme with the rise of alternative sports leagues, a number of hopeful owners got snubbed by the NFL in their proposal for expansion, so they banded together and formed a league of their own. While early on the American Football League was plagued by low attendance and lopsided competition, it secured lucrative TV contracts first with ABC and then with NBC, which exposed AFL's offense-oriented style of football to a national audience and drew in a lot of top collegiate talent. The NFL agreed to merge with the AFL in 1966, began holding a common draft the next year and became a single entity in 1970. The Super Bowl was a product of the NFL-AFL rivalry. The last player to have played in both leagues was Hall of Fame guard Gene Upshaw, a symbol of consistency with 207 straight contests for the Raiders, including victories in Super Bowls XI and XV.


WFL: Larry Csonka, L.C. Greenwood, Curley Culp, Calvin Hill, D.D. Lewis

World Football League was over almost as soon as it began. Gary Davidson headed the league’s formation in 1973. The league's inaugural season was 1974. The league folded midway through the 1975 season amid report that four of its 10 teams were on the verge of bankruptcy. The league, like many of its alternative sports league counterparts, suffered from financial instability due to the WFL’s lack of attendance and the absence of a national television deal. However, despite the league’s brevity, the WFL did influence the NFL in a variety of ways. The NFL would come to adopt the WFL’s use of overtime to decide ties and positioning of the goal posts at the back of the end zone. The last players to have played in both the WFL and the NFL were L.C. Greenwood, Calvin Hill, D.D. Lewis, and future Hall of Famers Larry Csonka and Curley Culp all of whom retired in 1981.

Sean Landeta, USFL, Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams

USFL: Sean Landeta

The brainchild of Louisiana businessman David Dixon, the United States Football League was developed in 1982 upon the premise of competing with the established NFL by playing games in the spring. With Dixon's leadership (and Donald Trump's money), the USFL was able to steal a great deal of talent away from the NFL, including three straight Heisman Trophy winners: Herschel Walker, Doug Flutie and Mike Rozier. In 1986, the USFL decided to compete with the NFL directly in the fall and filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the predominant football league. While the USFL won the lawsuit, it was a hollow victory with just $3 in damages. The league was afflicted by financial instability since its inception, and the association folded the very next year. Sean Landeta started his 22-year career as the punter for the USFL's Philadelphia Stars. After the USFL folded, Landeta signed with the New York Giants and remained there for eight seasons, winning Super Bowls XXI and XXV In 2002, Landeta retired as one of the most decorated punters in NFL history, being named to both the 1980's and 1990's All-Decade Team in addition to his two Super Bowl rings.

Corey Ivy, XFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

XFL: Corey Ivy

Founded by WWE owner Vince McMahon in 2001, the XFL followed the original USFL model as a spring league. The XFL tried to gain appeal by adopting radical rule changes with the hopes of creating a more exciting product. For example, in place of a pregame coin toss to decide possession, the XFL enforced an “Opening Scramble” in which two players competed in a 20-yard dash, running toward a football and then struggling for possession. It wasn’t exciting enough. After NBC and WWE lost a reported $35 million each on the XFL's debut season, NBC dropped its television deal with the league, which convinced McMahon that the venture should be abandoned. The XFL had a number of players who played and went on to play in the NFL after the league folded including the infamous WR Rod “He Hate Me” Smart and QB Ron Carpenter. CB Corey Ivy, who retired from the NFL in 2009, was the last active player to have played in both leagues.

Edd Roush, Federal League, Cincinnati Reds

The Federal League: Edd Roush

The Federal League was the last serious attempt to create a professional baseball league that would compete with the American and National Leagues. Developed by John Powers in 1913, the Federal League's inaugural season began in 1914 with a total of eight teams. During the 1914-1915 offseason, Federal League owners brought an antitrust lawsuit against the American League and National League, which went all the way to the Supreme Court. It ruled against the Federal League on the grounds that the Sherman Antitrust Act did not extend to Major League Baseball, dealing the fatal blow to the struggling league. The short-lived Federal League did leave its mark on baseball history by paying its players more than both the American League and the National League, which ushering in the first era of serious free agency and players bargaining with teams over contracts. In addition, the Federal League built Wrigley Field with the purpose of it being used by the Chicago Whales. Once the league folded, the Cubs adopted the stadium in 1916. Hall of Famers Chief Bender, Joe Tinker and Edd Roush started in the Federal League. Roush played another 16 seasons in the American and National Leagues, leading the Cincinnati Reds to victory in the 1919 World Series and winning both the 1917 and 1919 NL batting titles.

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