The Memphis Hound Dogs were a proposed NFL team in the early-1990s. Former

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the ...

owner William Dunavant, Paul Tudor Jones, Fred Smith and Elvis Presley Enterprises were the members of the potential ownership group. In 1993, the NFL invited potential owners from five finalists to make a presentation, after which two teams would be selected as expansion teams. Along with representatives from the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Carolina Cougars The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...

, Baltimore Bombers and St. Louis Stallions, the potential franchise owners gave a presentation to NFL owners in hopes of attracting an NFL team. Carolina (later renamed the Panthers) and Jacksonville were chosen to become expansion teams and started in 1995. After the NFL bid failed, Smith continued his desire to form a football team and contacted the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

, then expanding into the United States, who gave him an expansion franchise that would be known as the similarly named

Memphis Mad Dogs The Memphis Mad Dogs were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 CFL season, 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Mad Dogs were part of a failed attempt to CFL USA, expand the CFL into the United States. They played at Liberty ...

(the name change is presumably due to Presley's estate not being involved in the franchise). The Mad Dogs played one year in the CFL, but after weeks of declining attendance, the Mad Dogs folded, along with the rest of the American CFL franchises (except the defending champion Baltimore Stallions, who shifted their resources to the then-mothballed

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

franchise). Smith would be credited as an integral figure in bringing the modern Memphis Showboats of the UFL to the city in 2023. All five of the proposed expansion cities would get NFL teams by 1997 through expansion (Carolina and Jacksonville) or moved franchises (

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

to St. Louis and the Cleveland Browns to

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

); however, Memphis's was only temporary, as they hosted the Tennessee Oilers for only one year while

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

worked out stadium issues. (The original plan was for Memphis to host the Oilers for two years while the Nashville stadium was built, but the city's fans rejected the team, and dismal attendance figures forced an early move to a smaller Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville.) Yet Memphis would not be without a professional sports team for long, as the Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA would relocate there in 2001 to become the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

, who have remained there since.

References

{{reflist Shelby County, Tennessee

Hound A hound is a type of hunting dog used by hunters to track or chase prey. Description Hounds can be contrasted with gun dogs that assist hunters by identifying prey and/or recovering shot quarry. The hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. ...

Tennessee Titans