Charlotte Hornets ( WFL ) The Charlotte Hornets were an American football team in the short - lived World Football League . They were relocated to Charlotte , North Carolina , from New York City in the middle of the 1974 season . History . The Charlotte Hornets franchise began in 1973 in Boston as the Boston Bulldogs , which was also the name of the relocated Pottsville Maroons , Boston ' s first professional football franchise . The name was shortened in October to Bulls . They were owned by Howard Baldwin , president and minority owner of the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association . Unlike most other WFL owners , he didn ' t have to pay a franchise fee because of his close ties to WFL founder and Commissioner Gary Davidson . He hired Vito " Babe " Parilli , who had been a back - up quarterback to Joe Namath in Super Bowl III , as head coach . Baldwin was unable to attract more investors . More seriously , he couldn ' t find a suitable place to play . Realizing he had no hope of putting together a viable product in Boston , Baldwin opted to merge with the WFL ' s as - yet - unnamed New York franchise on January 26 , 1974 . That team was owned by Whalers and Boston Celtics majority owner Bob Schmertz and three of his New York - based limited business partners ; Henry Fujawski , John Lander and Steven Cohen who together made up the core of the Stars ownership and like Baldwin hadn ' t had to pay a franchise fee . The two teams had already worked together very closely in the draft . The merged team took the name New York Stars . Finding a home field for the fledgling team proved just as difficult as finding a name . Yankee Stadium was closed for renovation right after the Yankees finished the 1973 season in October ; it would not reopen until 1976 . Shea Stadium was fully booked as the Yankees shared the park with the Mets and the NFL ' s Jets . The Stars had only two other options in the city proper : Downing Stadium , a 22 , 000 - seat facility built during the Depression as a WPA Project on Randall ' s Island near the East River , or Baker Field , the 32 , 000 - seat wooden stadium that served as the home of Columbia University ' s teams . Apparently unable to come to terms with Columbia , Downing Stadium was ultimately chosen . The legendary Bob Sheppard , longtime voice of the New York Yankees , handled public address duties for the Stars . Parilli signed a number of former Super Bowl III Jets including wide receiver George Sauer , who was coming out of retirement after three years , and former All - Pro defensive men Gerry Philbin , as well as John Elliott . The WFL needed New York in order to have a presence in the largest U . S . media market . The Stars sold between 5 , 500 and 8 , 000 season tickets . After losing 14 - 7 at Jacksonville in front of a league high crowd of 59 , 112 at the Gator Bowl , the Stars ' first home game against the Birmingham Americans attracted 17 , 943 New Yorkers . After leading 29 - 3 at halftime , the Stars were toppled by the efforts of Americans quarterback George Mira , who threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as Birmingham pulled out a 32 - 29 comeback win . The Stars finally won their first game as kicker Moses Lajterman kicked the winning field goal for a 17 - 15 win at Philadelphia . The Stars and Bell performed in front of the largest WFL crowd , with 64 , 179 on hand . It later came out that most of the tickets were sold at large discounts or were given away to make the league appear more successful than it was . New York then went on a tear , winning five in a row . Among the victims were the Jacksonville Sharks , Southern California Sun , Portland Storm , and Houston Texans . Coincidentally , the team ' s winning streak was stopped by those same Texans a week later , with a surprise addition to the Houston roster : John Matuszak . Matuszak had been AWOL from the NFL ' s Houston Oilers just 48 hours earlier . The Stars had mixed results in the next few weeks , winning over Portland again , but losing to Florida in the rain and The Hawaiians in the sun . To improve the roster , New York picked up several NFL players from the waiver wire . Among them were cornerback John Dockery , who played for Parilli with the New York Jets , and Don Highsmith , a running back released by Oakland who turned out to be a great addition to the Stars running attack . The Stars performed better on the field and were a nice alternative to the more expensive , yet losing , Giants and Jets . For all their on - field success , the Stars were dragged down by serious off - field financial problems . Like most WFL teams , they were badly undercapitalized . Their fiscal structure began to founder when Schmertz ' s construction company ran into trouble . He was also involved in a nasty divorce , as well as a legal dispute over his ownership of the Celtics . The Stars ' biggest problem was Downing Stadium . Despite Schmertz pumping over $ 200 , 000 into renovations , it was completely inadequate even as a temporary facility . It was nearly inaccessible from most parts of the city , and it had not been well maintained in at least 20 years . The field was mostly sand and dirt . Amenities for fans , players and the press were virtually nonexistent . The toilets in the locker room frequently overflowed . During the home opener , the Stars ' radio announcers had to sit on orange crates because there were no chairs in the press box ; their Birmingham counterparts had to stand . Parking and lighting were both inadequate . It soon became obvious that Schmertz and Baldwin wouldn ' t have enough money to finish the season . With the Stars over a million dollars in debt and unable to afford to upgrade Downing Stadium to anything approaching professional standards , the WFL resigned itself to abandoning the nation ' s biggest market . September 24 , 1974 was their final game at New York ( the game was moved from Wednesday because of Yom Kippur ) . Ironically , that same day , the Detroit Wheels ' 33 owners filed for bankruptcy . Called the " Bankrupt Bowl , " the Stars blew out the destitute Wheels , 37 - 7 . Charlotte Stars / Hornets . While they were packing up for the next night ' s game against the Chicago Fire , Parilli announced the team was moving to Charlotte for the rest of the season as the Charlotte Stars . Part - owner Bob Keating told reporters that due to substandard playing conditions and poor attendance , the team simply could not go on in New York . However , the WFL planned to place a team in New York in 1976 once Yankee Stadium reopened . The league had found a buyer in former New England Patriots executive Upton Bell after Charlotte mayor John M . Belk helped engineer a deal that made the move feasible . Forced to find a new logo literally at the last minute , the equipment man simply stuck the Chicago Bears ' " C " logo over the old New York logo . The Stars routed the Fire , 41 - 30 . A few days later , they were renamed the Hornets . Shortly after they arrived in Charlotte , however , their uniforms were impounded due to an unpaid laundry bill from New York . The Hornets had to practice in shorts and t - shirts until Bell posted a bond for the equipment . The team ' s first home game at Charlotte was a rousing success . In the league ' s brief history , the Hornets sold out all 25 , 133 tickets , leaving some 5 , 000 out of luck . The visiting Memphis Southmen ruined their debut , winning 27 - 23 . In spite of the loss , the new Charlotte club - which played at American Legion Memorial Stadium - did far better in ticket sales than in New York . In four games at Charlotte , the Hornets sold over 80 , 000 tickets compared to just 75 , 000 in seven games at Downing Stadium . Toward the end of the season , the Hornets struggled on the field , losing their last four games . Off the field , the financial situation was not much better . Bell was still scrambling to get more financing ; a public offering hadn ' t attracted any investors . Although Charlotte finished second place with a 10 - 10 record , slow advance ticket sales left them without enough money to travel to Orlando for their first - round game against the Florida Blazers . Bell opted to suspend operations while he put together more financing . The Philadelphia Bell , who finished third with a 9 - 11 record , took the Hornets ' place in the playoffs . The team returned for the abbreviated 1975 campaign and lasted until the league ceased operations in mid - season . The Hornets finished at 6 - 5 . Had the Chicago Winds been successful in signing quarterback Joe Namath , the terms of the contract would have arranged for Namath to become the owner of a new WFL team in New York . The two sides could not come to an agreement on a new contract .