The Atlanta Bravesbaseball team has been Atlanta's Major League Baseball franchise since 1966. The team was founded in 1871 in Boston, Massachusetts as a National Association club, making it the oldest continuously operating sports franchise in North American sports.[1] The club played 82 seasons in Boston (1871–1952) and used several nicknames, including Braves. The Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953, and played as the Milwaukee Braves from 1953 to 1965. In Atlanta, the Braves won the 1995 World Series, and had an unprecedented run of 14 straight divisional championships from 1991 to 2005.[2] They achieved their 4th overall title (2nd in Atlanta) after winning the 2021 World Series.
The Falcons have been Atlanta's National Football League franchise since 1966. The Falcons recently completed construction of a new retractable roof stadium, Mercedes Benz Stadium, playing their first pre-season game there on August 26, 2017.[3] They have won the division title six times in two different divisions (NFC West and current NFC South), and two conference championships, going on to lose to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII (following the 1998 season) and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI (following the 2016 season). Super Bowl XXVIII, XXXIV, and LIII were hosted in Atlanta with the first two taking place in the now-demolished Georgia Dome.
The Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association have played in Atlanta since the 1968–69 NBA season. The franchise began in 1946 as the Buffalo Bisons, briefly playing in Buffalo, New York, before moving to Moline, Illinois and becoming the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. The team moved to Milwaukee in 1951, then to St. Louis in 1955, where it won its sole NBA Championship (as the St. Louis Hawks). A decade after winning the NBA title, in 1968, the Hawks came to Atlanta.[4] The Hawks have won six division titles and 18 playoff series since moving to Atlanta.
The Atlanta Dream are a 2008 expansion team in the Women's National Basketball Association. From their inception until the 2016 season, the Dream shared Philips Arena with their NBA counterpart; however, the Dream moved to McCamish Pavilion on the campus of Georgia Tech due to renovations of Philips Arena conflicting with the WNBA schedule during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. After one more season in State Farm Arena (after the Philips was renamed during the renovations), they moved their home games to the new Gateway Center Arena for the 2020 season.[citation needed]
The Atlanta Chiefs competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968 to 1973 and again from 1979 to 1981. Founded in 1967 as a charter member of the NPSL, the club was the brainchild of Dick Cecil, then Vice President of the Atlanta Braves baseball franchise who was the Chiefs' owners. The Chiefs capped off the 1968 season by defeating the San Diego Toros in the NASL Final 1968 at Atlanta Stadium in front of approximately 15,000 spectators. In doing so, they became both the first champions of the NASL as well as the first major professional sports franchise in Atlanta to win a championship.[7] For the 1973 season, the team played as the Atlanta Apollos.
Atlanta was previously home to the Atlanta Silverbacks of the North American Soccer League and the Atlanta Silverbacks Women in the W-League. In 2007, the men's Silverbacks had their best season, advancing to the USL Finals against the Seattle Sounders. The women's Silverbacks won the league title in 2011. Both teams briefly ceased operations after the 2015 season, the men's team due to lack of ownership in the NASL and the women's team because the W-League ceased operations. New ownership came to the rescue prior to the 2016 seasons, as both have resurfaced in the NPSL and WPSL, respectively.
In 1999, the NHL returned to Atlanta in the form of the Expansion Atlanta Thrashers, which played in Philips Arena. The Thrashers won the Southeast Division in 2006–07, but were swept in their only playoff appearance. After eleven seasons in Atlanta, in 2011, the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and became the current Winnipeg Jets.
From 1992 to 1996, Atlanta was home to the short-lived Atlanta Knights, an International Hockey League team. Their inaugural season was excellent for a new team, and was only bested by their sophomore season in which they won the championship Turner Cup. In 1996, they moved to Quebec City, Quebec, and became the Quebec Rafales.
Since the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, their former ECHL affiliate in Duluth, Georgia, the Atlanta Gladiators, became the area's only professional hockey team. The Gladiators moved to Gwinnett County in 2003 after seven seasons as the Mobile Mysticks, and has won three division championships, and a conference championship since 2006.
Atlanta is home to many rugby union clubs. On September 21, 2018, Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union league in North America, announced that Atlanta was one of the expansion teams joining the league for the 2020 season.[10] The team name Rugby ATL was revealed on February 26, 2019.[11] In 2023, the team relocated to Los Angeles.
Other rugby union teams include the Atlanta Harlequins, who ranked number two in the United States in Division 1 for women's clubs under USA Rugby,[when?] the governing body for rugby in the United States.[12] From 2014 to 2016, the suburb of Kennesaw hosted the USA Women's Sevens, an event in the annual World Rugby Women's Sevens Series in the sevens version of the sport, but that event has since moved to Las Vegas.
Volleyball
Atlanta is home to the Atlanta Vibe, a member of the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF). Atlanta was named as the third PVF franchise on February 16, 2023,[13] and later signed the first athlete to the league in Kentucky Wildcats' standout Leah Edmond.[14] The team's official name and branding was announced on August 4, 2023, at the AVP Tour, Atlanta.[15] The team, owned by Rally Volleyball's Colleen Craig - the league's only current female majority owner - will play its inaugural season in 2024 at Gas South Arena in Duluth, Ga.[16]
Atlanta is home to two of the nation's Gaelic football clubs, the Na Fianna and Clan na nGael Ladies' and Men's Gaelic Football Clubs. Both are members of the North American County Board, a branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association, the worldwide governing body of Gaelic games.[19]
College sports
Atlanta has a rich tradition in collegiate athletics, with two NCAA Division I programs in the city and a third in the metropolitan area, as well as one NCAA Division 3 program.
The Kennesaw State Owls, based in the northern suburb of Kennesaw, represent Kennesaw State University in 17 varsity sports in the ASUN Conference (ASUN). KSU did not start a football program until 2015. Since the ASUN did not sponsor football at the time, the KSU football team joined the Big South Conference.[21] For the 2022–23 academic year, the ASUN became an FCS football-sponsoring conference, and Kennesaw State moved its football membership to the ASUN.[22] In October 2022, Kennesaw State accepted an invitation to join the Conference USA, which includes transitioning the football team to the Football Bowl Subdivision, effective in July 2024.[23]
Emory University
Atlanta is also home to the Emory University Eagles, an NCAA Division 3 athletic powerhouse nestled in the Druid Hills neighborhood. Competing in the University Athletic Association conference and boasting 31 NCAA Division 3 National Championships, the leaders of this program include Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving with 14 national championships, Men's and Women's Tennis with 14 national championships, Women's Volleyball with 2 national championships, and Women's Golf with 1 national championship. Notable alumni include Andrew Wilson, a 2021 Olympian for Team USA, and gold medalist in the 4x100-meter medley relay.
^From 2007 to 2013, this was not the final event of the season, although it was the last event of the FedEx Cup points race, making it the last event featuring elite players. With the PGA Tour's change to an October-to-September season for 2013–14, The Tour Championship is once again the final event of the season.
