Did Memphis ever have a pro football team?

Answer 1

Memphis had a team in not only the World Football League in 1975 (the Southmen were previously in Toronto in 1974), but also a team in CFL-US (the Mad Dogs) as well as the Arena Football League in 1995 & 1996 (the Pharaohs) as well as the Tennessee Oilers in 1997 before the team moved to Nashville in 1998 and would eventually become the Tennessee Titans in '99.Memphis had an entry for a possible expansion team in the NFL known as the Memphis Hound Dogs, which lost out to Jacksonville and Carolina in 1995. Both of the other answers are technically right but do not answer the question posed. Memphis had the Tennessee Titans franchise come here before they were the Titans. At the time they were called the Tennessee Oilers stemming from the Houston Oilers which eventually became the Tennessee Titans. They were here to my recollection for about two seasons before their eventual move to Nashville or Shnashville as we in Tennessee refer to it. The team never intended to stay here in Memphis which led to poor attendance as the fans did not want to support a team whose intention was to never stay in the first place. Contrary to popular belief their is no oil in Tennessee despite the Beverly Hillbillie's theme song which claims so. God rest Jim Varney's soul.

Yes, they have, including the NFL .When the Tennessee Oilers first moved from Houston in 1997, they played their home games in the Liberty Bowl. They moved to Nashville the following year & have played in Nashville ever since.

The other "big" league Memphis team was the Memphis Southmen, which played in its only full season of 1974 (the league disbanded 12 games into the 1975 season).

The Memphis Southmen played in the original World Football League that operated in 1974-75 (not to be confused with the current NFL minor league of the same name).

I might note that the WFL put themselves out of business by raiding the NFL rosters of stars. Some of the stars playing for the Southmen included future Dallas Cowboy Danny White, All-American Lucious Selmon, former Super Bowl star (with Miami) Paul Warfield and NFL alumus John Huarte, among others.

Since then there have been numerous other pro teams, starting with the USFL Memphis Showboats in 1984-1985, the Memphis Maniax of the XFL (that only lasted the 2001 season) and Memphis' current pro team that has been around for 3 years, Arena Football 2's Memphis Xplorers.

You forgot the Mad Dog's that played in the CFL for one season, they died out when the Oilers moved.

Memphis also had an Arena Football League team in 1995 and 1996 called the Memphis Pharaohs. The Pharaohs relocated to Portland, Oregon for three years as the Portland Forest Dragons (1997-99) and then moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for the final two years as the Oklahoma Wranglers (2000-2001)

Memphis also had a team called the Memphis Tigers in the American Football League (1934).

Memphis Tigers. Formed in 1927 as "New Bry's Hurricanes" and renamed in 1928, the Tigers were the dominant football team of the South from 1929 to 1932. In 1929, Memphis defeated the Green Bay Packers 20-7 (the Packers eventually won the 1929 NFL championship without losing a league game).

Memphis could also get another team as there are plans on a return of the USFL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Football_League_%282010%29