Rocket Ball

When I moved to Huntsville last year, one of the first things I did was research the professional sports scene in town. Being at the height of the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, I knew there was little chance I would get to see any pro sports teams play anytime soon, but I wanted to make sure I was well-versed in local sports when the time did come for play to resume. Throughout my studies, I found that Huntsville has a rich (if uneven) history of minor league professional sports, and one that seems to have a bright future.

Let's dig into the history of professional sports in Huntsville.

Baseball

Huntsville Stars (1985-2014)

The Stars are notable for being Huntsville's longest-tenured professional sports team (30 years)

In July 1984, an ownership group led by Larry Schmittou, President of the Southern League's Nashville Sounds, purchased the Evansville Triplets of the American Association. Schmittou essentially planned to swap the locations of the two teams: Send the Sounds to Evansville, Indiana and bring the Triplets down to Nashville. However, after the City of Evansville refused to pay for upgrades to the Triplets' home stadium, Schmittou made an agreement with Huntsville Mayor Joe W. Davis to construct a new, 10,000-seat multipurpose facility (later named "Joe W. Davis Stadium") in Huntsville that would serve as the new home of the Sounds, who would be renamed the Huntsville Stars and begin play as a "new" franchise in 1985. Meanwhile, Schmittou followed through with his plan to move the Triplets to Nashville, where the team assumed the name and history of the Nashville Sounds.

Beginning in 1985, the Stars played 30 seasons in Huntsville, first as an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics (1985-1998) and then the Milwaukee Brewers (1999-2014). During that time, the team fielded a number of future MLB stars (including Ryan Braun, José Canseco, Jason Giambi, Tim Hudson, and Mark McGwire) and won the Southern League championship in 1985, 1994, and 2001.

Just before the 2014 season and after several years of sagging attendance, the Huntsville Stars were purchased by an ownership group led by Ken Young with plans to relocate the team to Biloxi, Mississippi. The plan was to have the Stars play a final "farewell" season in Huntsville in 2014 before moving to Biloxi for the 2015 season and assuming a new identity as the Biloxi Shuckers. However, construction delays with the new stadium meant that for their first 54 games of the 2015 season, the Shuckers played exclusively on the road while the finishing touches were put on their new facility. On June 6, MGM Stadium hosted the Shuckers' home opener, finally completing the move.

Rocket City Trash Pandas (2020-Present)

Huntsville's newest professional sports team and current envy of minor league baseball

In November 2017, an ownership group led by Ralph Nelson purchased the Southern League's Mobile BayBears (who had been struggling with poor attendance and dilapidated facilities) with the intention to relocate the team to Madison, Alabama (a suburb of Huntsville). Following a fan poll, the distinctive name Rocket City Trash Pandas was chosen. 

Toyota Field. I've spent many an evening here

The deal also included the construction of a new, $46 million ballpark in Madison, later named "Toyota Field". While the new stadium was completed and the team's operations were migrated to Madison in time for the start of the 2020 season, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed and later canceled the season altogether. 

Undeterred, the Trash Pandas began play in 2021 as an affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Over the course of their inaugural season, the Trash Pandas led all of Double-A in attendance with an average of over 5,000 fans per game, good enough for 10th overall in minor league baseball.

Basketball

Huntsville Lasers (1991-1992)

The Lasers were the shortest-lived pro sports team to play in Huntsville

In 1991, the Huntsville Lasers were founded as a charter member of the newly formed Global Basketball Association (GBA). The Lasers had a short, tumultuous existence which included the firing of their general manager and publicity manager during the preseason. This disfunction, combined with low attendance and high costs (mostly due to travel), meant the Lasers lasted for only a season and a half, folding along with the GBA in December 1992.

Huntsville Flight (2001-2005)

One of the coolest logos I've seen

In 2001, the Huntsville Flight were formed as a founding member of the new NBA Development League (known today as the G League). The Flight played their home games at the Von Braun Center, and in their third season (2003-04) advanced to the league finals, losing by a mere two points to the Asheville Altitude. 

Unfortunately, the Flight suffered from both low attendance and the NBA Development League's shaky business model, the combination of which forced the Flight to relocate to Albuquerque, New Mexico to become the Albuquerque Thunderbirds following their fourth season in Huntsville. Today, the franchise still exists as the Cleveland Charge.

Football 

Huntsville Rockets (1962-1966)

In 1962, the Huntsville Rockets were formed as a member of the Dixie Professional Football League (DPFL). After one season of play, the Rockets moved to the new Southern Professional Football League (SPFL) where they played for two seasons (1963-1964) before the SPFL folded. Following the demise of the SPFL, the Rockets joined the North American Football League (NAFL) in 1965 where they played a season and a half, folding midway through the 1966 season after failing to pay league dues.

Huntsville/Alabama Hawks (1967-1969)

In 1967, the remnants of the Huntsville Rockets organization came together to form the Huntsville Hawks and joined the Professional Football League of America (PFLA), itself a reorganization of the NAFL. After a single season, the PFLA folded and the Hawks joined the Continental Football League (CoFL), rebranding themselves as the Alabama Hawks. The Hawks played in the CoFL for two seasons before both the team and the league folded.

It's worth noting that during their short existence, the Hawks served as an unofficial "affiliate" of the Atlanta Falcons. Several Hawks players eventually played for the Falcons and the two teams even played an exhibition game in 1969 (which the Falcons won 55-0), one of the rare occasions that an NFL team played a non-NFL team.

Tennessee Valley Vipers (2000-2010)

The Vipers won Huntsville's first pro football championship

In 2000, the Tennessee Valley Vipers were founded as a charter member of the AF2 (stylized as "af2"), the official developmental league of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Vipers played in af2 for five seasons (through 2004) before leaving af2 for a rival league, United Indoor Football (UIF), following a feud between league management and owner Art Clarkson.

This logo needs to go extinct

Upon joining UIF, the Vipers attempted to rename themselves the Tennessee Valley Pythons (as af2 retained ownership of the "Tennessee Valley Vipers" trademark). However, af2 threatened to sue, arguing that since both "Vipers" and "Pythons" referred to snakes, it had the potential to confuse fans. Under legal pressure, the Vipers settled on the name Tennessee Valley Raptors. 

Unfortunately, fans didn't connect with the team's new identity or the new league's peculiar rules. After playing a single season in the UIF, Raptors owner Art Clarkson relocated the team to Rockford, Illinois where the team once again rebranded as the Rock River Raptors. The team later folded in 2009.

In 2006, after the departure of the Raptors, the af2 founded a new franchise in Huntsville. The new team assumed the name and history of the Tennessee Valley Vipers (which the former team vacated upon leaving af2). The new Vipers played in af2 for four seasons (through 2009) and despite struggles with attendance, the team managed to win the league championship in 2008.

The Vipers' final incarnation

In 2010, the Vipers were moved up to the parent AFL and were renamed the Alabama Vipers. Competing against franchises based in major cities like Dallas, Phoenix, Orlando, and Cleveland, the Vipers played only one season in the Huntsville before relocating to Atlanta and rebranding as the Georgia Force. The franchise later folded in 2012.

Alabama Hammers (2011-2015)

Reminds me of my alma mater, Southern Miss

In 2011, following the departure of the Alabama Vipers to Georgia, a new ownership group stepped in the fill the void by founding the Alabama Hammers as an expansion franchise in the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL). Named after the Alabama state bird (the Yellowhammer), the Hammers played in the SIFL for one season before the league, plagued by financial instability, folded.

In 2012, the Hammers joined the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) where they played for four seasons, winning the league championship in 2013. After the 2015 season, both the Hammers and the PIFL folded.

Hockey

Huntsville Blast (1993-1994)

Huntsville was just a pit stop for the Blast

In 1993, the Roanoke Valley Rampage of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) relocated to Huntsville and became the Huntsville Blast. The Blast played a single season in Huntsville (1993-94), averaging barely 1,500 fans per game before being sold and relocated to Tallahassee, Florida to become the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks. The organization still exists today as the Utah Grizzlies.

Huntsville Channel Cats (1995-2004)

The Channel Cats won a championship in each league in which they played

In 1995, the Huntsville Channel Cats were founded as an expansion franchise for the Southern Hockey League (SHL) by Knoxville, Tennessee-based doctors John Minchey and John Staley. In their first and only season in the SHL, the Channel Cats won the league championship before the SHL folded after the 1995-96 season.

In 1996, following the demise of the SHL, the Channel Cats joined the Central Hockey League (CHL) for the 1996-97 season. The Channel Cats played a total of five seasons in the CHL (through the 2000-01 season), winning the league championship in the 1998-99 season.

After Minchey and Staley threatened to move the team following the 1998-99 season, the Channel Cats were sold to a local businessman, John Cherney. Cherney disliked the nickname "Channel Cats" and changed the team's moniker to the Huntsville Tornado beginning with the 2000-01 season, an unpopular move with fans. A combination of poor attendance and date conflicts with the Huntsville Flight and UAH Chargers led the organization to suspend operations for the next two seasons.

The team played as the Huntsville Tornado for one season (2000-01) before temporarily suspending operations

In 2003, Cherney helped found a new league called the South East Hockey League (SEHL) and revived team operations with the name returning to the Huntsville Channel Cats following a fan poll. The Channel Cats played in the SEHL for the 2003-04 season, winning the league championship before the league folded.

Following the demise of the SEHL in 2004, a plan was formulated to combine the remnants of the SEHL with that of the WHA2 (World Hockey Association 2, another defunct hockey league) to form a new league, the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). 

At the same time, a new ownership group proposed starting a new professional hockey team in Huntsville to join the SPHL in place of the Channel Cats. Ultimately, the decision on whether the Huntsville Channel Cats would survive as an SPHL franchise or if the new proposed team would replace them fell squarely on the venue, the Von Braun Center.

In the end, the Von Braun Center selected the new ownership group's franchise as their new tenant, which was soon christened the Huntsville Havoc. The Channel Cats folded immediately following the Center's decision.

Huntsville Havoc (2004-Present)

The Havoc are one of the SPHL's more successful franchises

In 2004, the Huntsville Havoc began play as a founding member of the SPHL. To date, the Havoc have played 17 seasons in the SPHL and won the league championship in the 2009-10, 2017-18, and 2018-19 seasons. Furthermore, the Havoc have regularly led the SPHL in attendance and are considered one of the league's most stable franchises.

Soccer

Huntsville Fire (1997-1998)

The name was appropriate, considering the circumstances

In 1997, the Daytona Beach Speedkings were founded as a charter member of the Eastern Indoor Soccer League (EISL). Due to dismal attendance (selling fewer than 200 tickets per game), the team was sold and relocated just 8 games into the season, arriving in Huntsville in in July 1997 as the Huntsville Fire.

Upon the team's arrival in Huntsville, attendance increased to about 2,500 per game and this number held steady through the team's second season in 1998. However, it wasn't enough to save the franchise or the league; the former suspended operations in September 1998 and the latter folded in December. 

Future

I know that the history of professional sports in Huntsville consists of more misses than hits, but that's the nature of minor league sports. However, the success of the Huntsville Havoc and Rocket City Trash Pandas (as well as the Huntsville Stars, who stayed around for 30 years before eventually moving) shows that with the right combination of ownership, venue, and fan engagement, professional sports franchises in Huntsville (and anywhere, really) can survive and thrive.

In the years since teams like the Flight, Hammers, and Fire have come and gone, Huntsville has experienced an incredible amount of growth. A generation of young, educated, affluent professionals has reshaped the area, and I think they're hungry for local sports that they can identify with.

Rendering of the proposed renovation of Joe Davis Stadium

A more tangible sign of hope may be the recent plan to renovate Joe W. Davis Stadium and turn it into a multi-purpose sports facility with the aim of attracting a minor league soccer team. I know this is a bit of a "down the road" scenario, but hey, if Huntsville keeps growing, why not? Given Huntsville's current trajectory, I don't see why this city can't be place where professional sports can thrive.