The Las Vegas Athletics and other franchises which moved locations

The Oakland Athletics are soon to be a Las Vegas-based team, making Sin City the fourth city the Athletics franchise will be based out of. Originating in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City, the A’s have been in the Bay Area since 1968. Moving cities isn’t new in American sports, so let’s take a look at some of the other big moves.

The Cardinals franchise pre-dates the NFL, making it the oldest continually running franchise in America. Originally the Morgan Athletic Club, they became the Racine Cardinals in 1901, 19 years later they were the Chicago Cardinals, moving to St. Louis in 1960 before moving to Arizona in 1988.

Originally based out of Baltimore, the Colts moved under the cover of darkness in 1984. The controversial relocation saw the team end up in Indianapolis.

The Raiders are another team now based in Las Vegas, but before that, they spent their first 60 years flipping between Los Angeles and Oakland.

The Rams are settled back in Los Angeles currently, having been originally a Cleveland-based team. After their initial move to LA, they had a 20-year spell in St. Louis before returning to their spiritual home.

One of the most dominant teams of the last 10 years, the Warriors are currently based out of San Franciso, but for the first 16 years of their existence, they were based in Philadelphia.

Probably the most iconic name in baseball actually makes very little sense, with the Lakers initially based in Minneapolis, an area surrounded by lakes, they later moved to Los Angeles, an area with very few lakes.

For 41 years the Thunder were not only based in Seattle, but they also played under a different name. The SuperSonics were controversially moved to Oklahoma City despite fan protests and a series of lawsuits.

Another team whose name makes more sense when you know their origins. The team was formed in New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz and moved to Utah, which certainly has less connection to the genre.

The Braves franchise has stops in Boston and Milwaukee before settling in Atlanta, but more interesting than that are some of the names they had before settling on Braves. Boston Beaneaters and Boston Red Stockings are just a couple of the better ones!

Another baseball team with myriad names, the Dodgers were once called the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and the Brooklyn Superbas. The Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers preceded their permanent name and eventually a move to Los Angeles was secured.

Very rarely do soccer clubs move cities, but in 2002 Wimbledon F.C.were moved, with great protest, to Milton Keynes, attempting to keep a connection to the original club by using the ‘Dons’ nickname.

Originally known as the New York Gothams, the Giants got their name in 1885 but were still based in the Big Apple. It was only in 1958 did the franchise up sticks and move to San Francisco.

Up until 2004, there were two professional baseball teams in Canada, with the Expos playing out of Montreal. But after discussions of mergers with other teams, the franchise found itself in Washington D.C. and renamed the Nationals.

There are a few layers to this one, with the Winnipeg Jets moving south and becoming the Arizona Coyotes, this was followed by the Atlanta Thrashers moving north and becoming… the Winnipeg Jets. Right, got that? No, me neither.

For nearly 50 years, the Browns were a stalwart of the NFL, but in 1995 it was announced the franchise would relocate to Baltimore and become the Ravens. Only four years later, the Browns were reborn like they had never left.