The Atlanta Falcons franchise began on June 30, 1965 when NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle granted ownership to 41 year-old Rankin Smith Sr .. Smith an Executive Vice President of Life Insurance Company of Georgia at the time, paid $ 8. 5 million the highest price in NFL history at the time 1965 for an NFL franchise.

The Panthers have held their summer training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina every year since the franchise began.

The rivalry with Atlanta began in the first season of the franchise when both teams were members of the NFC West.

Highlander is a film and television franchise that began with a 1986 fantasy movie starring Christopher Lambert, who plays Connor MacLeod, the Highlander.

Eventually effective political organisation for working people was achieved through the trades unions who, after the extensions of the franchise in 1867 and 1885, began to support socialist political parties that later merged to became the British Labour Party.

Relations between Irsay and the city of Baltimore deteriorated, and despite numerous public announcements that Irsay's ultimate desire was to remain in Baltimore, he nevertheless began discussions with several cities hungry for an NFL franchise, eventually narrowing the list of cities to two: Phoenix and Indianapolis.

The new colonial constitution of 1958 increased African representation, but African nationalists began to demand a democratic franchise on the principle of " one man, one vote.

Although this television series had the title of Star Trek, it later acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series ( Star Trek: TOS or TOS ) to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began.

The franchise began play in 1976 in the NFC West division but switched conferences with the Buccaneers after one season and joined the AFC West.

Before the 1974 season began, the Padres were on the verge of being sold to Joseph Danzansky, who was planning to move the franchise to Washington, D. C. by the beginning of the 1974 season.

7-Eleven began the trend of convenience stores in Singapore when it opened its first store in 1982 by Jardine Matheson Group, under a franchise agreement with Southland Corporation of the United States.

Enticed by the success of the McDonald's concept, Kroc signed a franchise agreement with the brothers and began opening McDonald's restaurants in Illinois.

Volkswagen began its involvement in Ireland when in 1949, Motor Distributors Limited, founded by Stephen O ' Flaherty secured the franchise for the country at that year ’ s Paris Motor Show.

The franchise began in 1993 as one of the original six teams of the independent Frontier League in 1993 with teams from Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

In the spring of 1965, Jack McGregor, a state senator from Kittanning, began lobbying campaign contributors and community leaders to bring an NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh.

Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999 – 2000 NHL season.

The Thrashers ' 2006 – 07 season began with the highest expectations in franchise history, even after the team's second-leading scorer, Marc Savard, departed as a free agent for Boston.

The youngest team in the NBA began adjusting to life after trading franchise star Kevin Garnett to Boston, meanwhile playing without budding talent Randy Foye for the first half of the season.

The franchise began in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz in New Orleans, Louisiana, but the team moved to Utah in 1979 after just five seasons.

The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the NBL.

The Lakers ' franchise began in 1947 when Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen of Minnesota purchased the recently disbanded Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League ( NBL ) for $ 15, 000 from Gems owner Maury Winston.

Mayor Norm Coleman began a campaign to either recruit the relocation of an existing franchise to Saint Paul, or the award of an expansion franchise to a Minnesota-based ownership group.

On March 9, 1995, Colangelo's group was awarded a franchise to begin play for the 1998 season.

Arizona had postseason victories over the St. Louis Cardinals ( 3 – 2 in the NLDS ) and the Atlanta Braves ( 4 – 1 in the NLCS ) to advance to the World Series where, in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, they beat the three-time reigning champions, the New York Yankees, 4 to 3, to become the youngest expansion franchise to win the World Series ( in just their fourth season of play ).

The most popular player in franchise history, " Gonzo " signed a one-year contract worth just under $ 7 million on December 7 to play for the rival Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2007 season.

After expressing his interest to play in the 2011 fourth edition of the Indian Premier League ( IPL ), and despite not having have played active cricket for four years, Brian Lara still managed to attract the highest reserve price of $ 400, 000 ahead of the IPL players ' auction in early January 2011 ; however, no franchise bought him.

The new Detroit franchise purchased the players of the folded Victoria Cougars WHL club to play for the team.

The Marlins also turned their first ever triple play in franchise history on July 28, 2002.

Houston won a franchise in the National League to begin play in 1962.

Five months later in January 1960, after significant pressure from the NFL, the ownership group, along with Bernie Ridder, reneged on its agreement with the AFL and then was awarded the National Football League's 14th franchise with play to begin in 1961.

Until a new stadium ( what would become the Kingdome ) was ready, the Pilots would play at Sick's Stadium, the home of the city's longtime PCL franchise, the Seattle Rainiers.

This realignment was dictated by the league as part of the 1976 expansion plan, so that both expansion teams could play each other twice and every other NFL franchise once during their first two seasons.

This realignment was dictated by the league as part of the 1976 expansion plan, so that both teams could play each other twice and every other NFL franchise once during their first two seasons.

The team became the first NBA franchise to play regular-season games in the state of Oklahoma.

Since the departure of the Nets to Brooklyn, the Devils are the only major professional sports team to explicitly brand itself as a New Jersey franchise ; although the New York Giants, New York Jets, and New York Red Bulls are headquartered, train, and play in New Jersey, these teams still brand themselves as being from New York City.

George Lewis " Tex " Rickard, president of Madison Square Garden, was awarded an NHL franchise for the 1926-27 season to compete with the now-defunct New York Americans, who had begun play at the Garden the previous season.

Rickard's franchise begin play in the 1926 – 27 season.

To this day, Hayes holds ten regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and twenty-two overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.

Atlanta was awarded an NHL franchise on June 25, 1997, as part of a four-team tiered expansion, in which each new franchise would begin play as its respective new arena was completed.

The New England Whalers were established in November 1971 when the WHA awarded a franchise to begin play in Boston, Massachusetts.

In 1991, Ottawa businessman and then Ottawa 67's owner Howard Darwin was successful in applying to the IL for an expansion franchise to begin play in 1993, at a cost of $ 5 million.

The Lynx became the second IL franchise to play in Ottawa, after the former Ottawa Giants and Ottawa Athletics of the 1950s.

In 1971 – 72 — only five years after winning the title — the 76ers finished 30 – 52 and missed postseason play for the first time in franchise history.