9 Toronto sports teams that no longer exist

While Toronto is home to many of Canada’s most successful — and infuriating — sports teams, it’s also been home to many, many, more teams that didn’t stick around for the long run.

Here are nine teams that didn’t last the test of time in Canada’s biggest sports market:

1. Toronto Toros, WHA

Years: 1973-1976

The Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association were an interesting era of hockey, with the team in a constant struggle with both the Toronto Maple Leafs and notoriously awful owner Harold Ballard for both their fanbase and use of Maple Leaf Gardens, which he owned at the time.

While Ballard did everything he could to make the experience uncomfortable for the Toros, the team folded after just three seasons, despite icing ex-Leafs stars such as Frank Mahovlich and Paul Henderson on their roster.

The team folded in 1976, with the league folding in 1979 with several of its teams eventually joining the NHL, including 19-year-old Wayne Gretzky.

2. Toronto Furies, CWHL

Years: 2010-2019

The winners of the 2013-14 Clarkson Cup as Canadian Women’s Hockey League Champs, the Toronto Furies iced some of the most iconic players of a generation, including Canadian national team players Tessa Bonhomme, Rebecca Johnston, Natalie Spooner, and Sarah Nurse.

Unfortunately, the team folded at the same time as their fellow league counterparts, when the league ceased operations in 2019, citing financial concerns.

3. Toronto Roadrunners, AHL

Years: 2003-04

The Roadrunners were perhaps a team ahead of their time, occupying Ricoh Coliseum (now known as Coca-Cola Coliseum) as the Edmonton Oilers’ farm team.

They played just one season in the city— 2003-04 — before relocating to Edmonton in the 2004-05 season, where they would last just one year.

In 2010, the team was revived as the Oklahoma City Barons franchise, which became the Bakersfield Condors in 2015. Evidently, AHL franchises aren’t always the most stable resource, making the Toronto Marlies’ consistent affiliation with the Leafs since 2005 all the more impressive.

4. Toronto Marlboros, OHL

Years: 1904-1989

Speaking of the Marlies, their namesake comes from another iconic hockey club — the original Marlboros organization that operated from 1904 to 1989, including an affiliation with the Leafs from 1927 to 1967.

The team first played in the Ontario Hockey Association, which was a precursor league to the modern Ontario Hockey League junior circuit.

In 1989, the team moved off to Hamilton for two seasons, being called the “Dukes of Hamilton” before moving to Guelph in 1991, where they have remained as the Storm ever since. The Marlboros brand does live on as a minor hockey team and one of the most successful organizations in Greater Toronto Hockey League history.

5. Toronto Blizzard, NASL

Years: 1971-84

Long before Toronto fans were getting stressed out about Toronto FC’s incompetence, the city had a team that folded in the months following a championship game.

Competing in the North American Soccer League, the Blizzard lost in the 1983 and 1984 “Soccer Bowl” — or league championship — the latter of which was their last time on the field.

Formerly known as both the Toronto Metros and the Toronto Metros-Croatia, the team won the 1976 Soccer Bowl, the city’s biggest soccer championship, until Toronto FC’s 2017 MLS Cup victory.

Oddly, the Blizzard fielded both an outdoor and indoor team, though the indoor team played just four seasons compared to 14 for the outdoor squad.

6. Toronto Huskies, BAA

Years: 1946-47

Known to many Raptors fans as the inspiration for one of the NBA’s all-time great throwback uniforms, the Toronto Huskies actually hosted the New York Knicks in the first-ever game in the Basketball Association of America, which rebranded to the NBA three years later.

The Huskies lasted just one season with a 22-38 record, but their legacy will live on forever on internet forums of NBA fans hoping to bring back the various blue-and-white Huskies uniforms the Raptors wore in 2009/10 and 2016/17.

7. Toronto Phantoms, AFL

Years: 2001-2002

The Toronto Phantoms existed in one of the greatest sports adapted for a smaller playing surface — arena football — playing two seasons at the Air Canada Centre in 2001 and 2002.

Going 8-6 in its first season before going 5-9 in its second year in the Arena Football League, the team was owned by Rogers, which ended up shutting down operations following the 2002 season.

8. Toronto Planets, RHI

Years: 1993

Much like the Vancouver Voodoo, the Toronto Planets were a member of the Roller Hockey International league that operated throughout the 1990s, playing their home games at Varsity Arena.

The team featured former NHLers Lou Franschetti and Dan Daoust as well as future NHLer Manny Legace.

Despite going 10-4 in the 14-game regular season, the team fell in the quarterfinals of the 1993 playoffs and folded shortly after.

9. Toronto-Buffalo Royals, WTT

Years: 1974

Imagine a team playing their home games in Toronto and Buffalo these days.

Well, outside of the 2021 Blue Jays, it’s a proposition that likely made little sense from a fans’ perspective but at least made some sense in the World Team Tennis circuit, a mixed-gender competition that still operates today.

The Toronto-Buffalo Royals were a founding member of the WTT but folded after just one season with a 13-31 record.

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