Good Seats Still Available

This week, we offer a refresher course in the history of forgotten pro sports leagues with veteran newspaper editor, current long-form author and fellow defunct sports enthusiast Stephen Provost – whose recent book A Whole Different League is an essential primer for anyone seeking an entrée into the genre. Provost serves up a smorgasbord of highlights gleaned from his personal memories of and research into the various nooks and crannies of what “used-to-be” in professional team sports, including: The curiosity of 9,000 Los Angeles Aztecs NASL soccer fans in a cavernous 100,000-seat Rose Bowl; The oft-forgotten Continental Football League of the late 1960s, operating in the shadows of the mighty NFL and colorful AFL; The enigmatic one-season wonder of the 1961-62 National Bowling League; Jackie Robinson’s almost pro football career; Federal League all-star Benny Kauff and the major league baseball career-ending auto theft he didn’t commit; AND The legend of the World Football League’s Jim “King” Corcoran – th