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| Orlando's
12 Professional Sports Championships |
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Continental
Football
League |
Continental
Football
League |
Southern
League
(AA Baseball) |
Southern
League
(AA Baseball) |
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Roller
Hockey
International |
Women's
Pro Softball
League |
Arena
Football
League |
Southern
League
(AA Baseball) |
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Arena
Football
League |
International
Hockey
League |
Atlantic
Coast
Hockey
League |
World
Hockey
Association 2 |
| Orlando's
Current Pro Teams |
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Orlando
Magic
NBA
Started Play: 1989
Owner: RDV Sports (Amway
billionaire Rich DeVos and his family)
Home: TD Waterhouse
Centre
Notable: With a young
kid named Shaquille O'Neal, the Magic won
the Eastern Conference title and reached
the NBA Finals in the 1994-95 season.
They were swept by the Houston Rockets.
Shaq left two seasons later, and the
franchise has never been the same. T-Mac
may change that. |
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Orlando
Predators
Arena
Football League
Started Play: 1991
Owner: Large group of
local individuals
Home: TD Waterhouse
Centre.
Notable: The Preds were
the bridesmaids of the Arena League for a
long time, reaching and losing in the
ArenaBowl championship game in 1992, 1994
and 1995. Finally, the Preds won their
first title in 1998 with new coach Jay
Gruden. They lost in the title game in
1999, then won in 2000. |
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Florida
Seals
Southern
Professional Hockey Association
Start Play: Fall 2002
Home: Silver Spurs Arena
Notable: Orlando's first
hockey team, the Solar Bears, had a small
but dedicated following. Since RDV Sports
pulled the plug on the O-Bears in 2001,
puck heads have been wishing for a new
team for Central Florida. This team won
the championship of the Atlantic Coast
Hockey League in its fist season. For
Year 2, they switched to the World Hockey
Association 2. Then they switched to the
Southern Professional Hockey League and
moved to Kissimmee. |
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| Central
Florida's Other Pro Teams |
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Brevard
Blue Ducks
United
States
Basketball League
Home: Bayside High School, Palm
Bay
Notable: Relocated from
Lakeland for the 2002 season. Wants to
build a 6,000-seat arena in Viera. Coach
is Harvey Grant, brother of Magic's
Horace Grant. |
Brevard
Manatees
Florida
State League
(Class A Baseball)
Home: Space Coast Stadium, Viera
Notable: Space Coast is
the former spring home of the Florida
Marlins. The Manatees changed from being
a Marlins affiliate to an Expos affiliate
in 2002. |
Daytona
Cubs
Florida
State League
(Class A Baseball)
Home: Jackie Robinson Ballpark,
Daytona Beach
Notable: Jackie Robinson
opened in 1930 and was previously known
as City Island Stadium. The Islanders, an
earlier Daytona minors team, played at
the ball park. |
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| Orlando's
Pro Football Teams - Past and Present |
Orlando's
football history has included
seven professional teams. The Orlando
Panthers of the Continental Football
League were the city's first pro team,
arriving in 1966, winning the league
championship a year later and staying in
town until 1970. They were followed by
the World Football League's Florida
Blazers (1974), the American Football
Association's Orlando Americans (1981),
the United States Football League's
Orlando Renegades (1985) and the World
League of American Football's Orlando
Thunder (1991-92). The Orlando Predators
of the Arena Football League moved the
game indoors in 1991 and are the only one
of the city's teams still playing in
Orlando. The XFL's Orlando Rage lasted
just one season (2001) at the Florida
Citrus Bowl before the league disbanded.
The Orlando Broncos (1962-63) of the
Florida Football League and Southern
Football League were actually the first
team in the city, but they were more
semi-pro than pro. |
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