Here's the concept: What if we had the same number of Big 4 teams today but relocations never happened?

Rules:
- Franchises that eventually folded are presumed to have folded (even if the franchise's relocation resulted in the fold, they are still gone).
- Names when the league officially started or when the franchise joined the league (NFL/AFL for football) are still used (ex: Edmonton Oilers were the Edmonton Oilers when the franchise joined the NHL but were the Alberta Oilers prior; here they are the Edmonton Oilers).
- Divisional and conference alignment is based on geography (heavy East Coast and Midwest) and today's set up (ex: NFL is 2 conferences of 4 divisions with 4 teams in each division).
- While unrealistic, this resulted in some odd alignments including 2 NHL teams in Atlanta.
- Some conferences have odd divisions with eastern teams in western conferences but franchises began heavily in the east so there wasn't much option without awkwardly dividing geography.

(Please let me know if I have any errors.)

Name is same as today unless a parenthetical name appears which is the name as today.

NFL

Eastern Conference
Central: Chicago Cardinals (Arizona Cardinals), Decatur Staleys (Chicago Bears), Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
Mideast: Baltimore Colts (Indianapolis Colts), Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Pirates (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Midwest: Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Browns^ (Baltimore Ravens), Cleveland Rams (Los Angeles Rams), Portsmouth Spartans (Detroit Lions)
Northeast: Boston Braves (Washington Commanders), Boston Patriots (New England Patriots), New York Giants, Titans of New York (New York Jets)

Western Conference
Metropolitan: Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Oilers (Tennessee Titans), New Orleans Saints
Pacific: Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders (Las Vegas Raiders), San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
Southeast: Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Southwest: Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Texans (Kansas City Chiefs), Denver Broncos, Houston Texans

^ While the Baltimore Ravens did not officially retain the Cleveland Browns history, we all know where they originated.

MLB

Eastern Conference
Atlantic: Baltimore Orioles (New York Yankees), Florida Marlins (Miami Marlins), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Tampa Bay Rays), Washington Senators (Minnesota Twins), Washington Senators (Texas Rangers)
Mideast: Allegeny (Pittsburgh Pirates), Montreal Expos (Washington Nationals), Philadelphia Athletics (Oakland Athletics), Philadelphia Quakers (Philadelphia Phillies), Toronto Blue Jays
Northeast: Boston Americans (Boston Red Sox), Boston Red Stockings (Atlanta Braves), Brooklyn Grays (Los Angeles Dodgers), New York Gothams (San Francisco Giants), New York Mets

Western Conference
Central: Colorado Rockies, Houston Colt .45s (Houston Astros), Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers (Baltimore Orioles), St. Louis Brown Stockings (St. Louis Cardinals)
Midwest: Chicago White Stockings (Chicago Cubs), Chicago White Stockings (Chicago White Sox), Cincinnati Red Stockings (Cincinnati Reds), Detroit Tigers, Grand Rapids Rippers (Cleveland Guardians)
Pacific: Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Seattle Pilots (Milwaukee Brewers)

NBA

Eastern Conference
Atlantic: Charlotte Hornets, Charlotte Hornets^ (New Orleans Pelicans), New York Knicks, New York Nets (Brooklyn Nets), Philadelphia Warriors (Golden State Warriors)
Mideast: Cleveland Cavaliers, Fort Wayne Pistons (Detroit Pistons), Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors
Northeast: Boston Celtics, Buffalo Bisons (Atlanta Hawks), Buffalo Braves (Los Angeles Clippers), Rochester Royals (Sacramento Kings), Syracuse Nationals (Philadelphia 76ers)

^ While the New Orleans Pelicans did not officially retain the Charlotte Hornets history, we all know where they originated.

Western Conference
Midwest: Chicago Bulls, Chicago Packers (Washington Wizards), Denver Nuggets, Minneapolis Lakers (Los Angeles Lakers), Minnesota Timberwolves
Pacific: Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, San Diego Rockets (Houston Rockets), Seattle SuperSonics (Oklahoma City Thunder), Vancouver Grizzlies (Memphis Grizzlies)
South: Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, New Orleans Jazz (Utah Jazz), Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs

NHL

Eastern Conference
Atlantic: Atlanta Flames (Calgary Flames), Atlanta Thrashers (Winnipeg Jets), Florida Panthers, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals
Northeast: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Hartford Whalers (Carolina Hurricanes), Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Nordiques (Colorado Avalanche), Toronto Maple Leafs

Western Conference
Central: Chicago Black Hawks (Chicago Blackhawks), Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Cougars (Detroit Red Wings), Minnesota North Stars (Dallas Stars), Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets (Arizona Coyotes)
Pacific: Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (Anaheim Ducks), Edmonton Oilers, Kansas City Scouts (New Jersey Devils), Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks, Vegas Golden Knights

Umm, what the...

(06-03-2022 11:32 AM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Here's the concept: What if we had the same number of Big 4 teams today but relocations never happened?

Rules:
- Franchises that eventually folded are presumed to have folded (even if the franchise's relocation resulted in the fold, they are still gone).
- Names when the league officially started or when the franchise joined the league (NFL/AFL for football) are still used (ex: Edmonton Oilers were the Edmonton Oilers when the franchise joined the NHL but were the Alberta Oilers prior; here they are the Edmonton Oilers).
- Divisional and conference alignment is based on geography (heavy East Coast and Midwest) and today's set up (ex: NFL is 2 conferences of 4 divisions with 4 teams in each division).
- While unrealistic, this resulted in some odd alignments including 2 NHL teams in Atlanta.
- Some conferences have odd divisions with eastern teams in western conferences but franchises began heavily in the east so there wasn't much option without awkwardly dividing geography.

(Please let me know if I have any errors.)

Name is same as today unless a parenthetical name appears which is the name as today.

NFL

Eastern Conference
Central: Chicago Cardinals (Arizona Cardinals), Decatur Staleys (Chicago Bears), Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
Mideast: Baltimore Colts (Indianapolis Colts), Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Pirates (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Midwest: Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Browns^ (Baltimore Ravens), Cleveland Rams (Los Angeles Rams), Portsmouth Spartans (Detroit Lions)
Northeast: Boston Braves (Washington Commanders), Boston Patriots (New England Patriots), New York Giants, Titans of New York (New York Jets)

Western Conference
Metropolitan: Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Oilers (Tennessee Titans), New Orleans Saints
Pacific: Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders (Las Vegas Raiders), San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
Southeast: Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Southwest: Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Texans (Kansas City Chiefs), Denver Broncos, Houston Texans

^ While the Baltimore Ravens did not officially retain the Cleveland Browns history, we all know where they originated.

The first thing that comes to mind is if the Colts never leave Baltimore, that means the Ravens wouldn't exist or would've gone to Indianapolis. But in this thought exercise they wouldn't be able to leave; therefore, there's no need for a new team in Cleveland, and the same would apply to Houston. I'm pretty sure that Indianapolis and Kansas City would've been awarded franchises before Jacksonville and Charlotte (Carolina). And if the original Dallas Texans were successful, and lets say that they were, the Dallas Cowboys likely never becomes a thing. So therefore, Nashville or Phoenix/Tempe (Arizona) would've likely been awarded a franchise team as well.

The Cowboys and Texans were created at approximately the same time and the Cowboys were in the more successful NFL, not the upstart AFL. The Texans were bound to move.

(06-05-2022 03:09 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  The Cowboys and Texans were created at approximately the same time and the Cowboys were in the more successful NFL, not the upstart AFL. The Texans were bound to move.

There was an NFL version of the Dallas Texans in the early 50's that ended up folding. Then the Cowboys and AFL Texans were formed roughly the same time.

With the Chicago Packers and Minneapolis Lakers still around, the NBA would have likely never expanded to Chicago when it added the Bulls, and the Timberwolves certainly wouldn't have happened. The duplication in Atlanta and Charlotte also wouldn't have happened.

I suspect the ABA San Diego Rockets would have been born in LA if the market were available. The NBA would have expanded to Houston instead of Minnesota. I suspect the Bulls would have been replaced by an expansion franchise in Washington. I think the Bay Area gets an expansion team at some point.

Empire - NYK, NYN, BUF, SYR, ROC
Southeast - ATL, CHA, ORL, MIA, WAS
Northeast - TOR, BOS, PHI, CLE, FWP

Central - IND, MIL, CHI, MIN, DEN
Pacific - VAN, SEA, POR, SD/LA, SF
Southwest - NOJ, DAL, HOU, SA, PHX