The MLS Team That Lost Its Name to an Electronics Store

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The early days of the MLS are filled with embarrassing moments, but none may be as embarrassing as a franchise being forced to change its name because of an electronics store.
Before they were Sporting Kansas City and before they were the Kansas City Wizards, they were the Kansas City Wiz. In hindsight, that entire 1996 MLS first season was nothing but awful team names and brutal jerseys that we now look back on fondly for those very reasons.
Apparently neither the owners of the Kansas City nor the league did any research about the Wiz. If they had watched a New York Yankees game, they would have seen advertising for an electronics store brand known as The Wiz, or technically, Nobody Beats the Wiz, on the outfield wall.
Founded in 1977, the electronics chain clearly had the rights to the name. If anyone had bothered doing even the slightest amount of research, the franchise would have discovered that fact and not used the name to begin with.
The Wiz were forced to change their name to the Wizards, an improvement but not by much. Ironically, Kansas City could have probably waited out the Wiz for the name. The brand filed for bankruptcy protection in 1998, nearly going belly up before being rescued by Cablevision.
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[@kirkdooley8190]

The KC-Dallas match up back then was a urologists dream: Wiz-Burn.😂

[@jsivco3sivco785]

The Houston Astros (MLB) were originally the Houston Colt 45s (1962-64), but I think that they used the name with the permission of the manufacturer of the Colt .45 gun, possibly even paying a fee to call themselves the "Colt 45s."

[@xxdrippinbaby2089]

You can even buy a ".45s" hat at the mall in houston.

[@Hogtownboy1]

It was actually named after a malt liquor

[@guyfaux3978]

On the other hand, they outlived the electronics store, so they DID beat the Wiz.

[@user-ot4wu6ct4l]

As a kid growing up in the Kansas City area in the mid-90s, I was always under the assumption that the MLS team had always wanted to be called the Wizards but had to be the Wiz for a year to settle some legal issues. Now I'm learning that it was actually the other way around. My mind is blown almost 30 years after the fact.

[@thetouchback]

There are conflicting reports out there about this. One said there was already a soccer team called the Wizards playing in Delaware, which is why they couldn't use the name originally. Another article noted Adidas was pushing heavily for the Wiz name over the Wizards.

[@GarkKahn]

I thought it was like other teams using abbreviations like dallas mavericks being called mavs

[@mrmoose6619]

Yes, Disney did own the Anaheim Mighty Ducks at inception.

[@RugbyRyan]

And the Orlando magic

[@dramatyst5661]

Yup that's why angels and mighty ducks had Disney logos

[@williammiller3277]

Fun fact, last year Disney bought you.

[@gakster29]

I still can't believe The Wiz store was actually called Nobody Beats the Wiz in my lifetime, and I lived in NY! Nobody (ha) called it that in regular conversation when I was a kid.

[@tonyarmbrust]

Not only the KC Wiz, but you had the Dallas Burn, Tampa Bay Mutiny, and San Jose Clash, along with New England Revolution. Sounds less like a sport league, than widespread mass destruction. And after SJ got a replacement team, they honored their NASL heritage by naming the team the Earthquakes. Which is still the only team named after a natural disaster.

[@timemerson4162]

Dallas and KC played that season and sure enough someone i believe on Sportscenter proclaimed we have the Wiz and Burn.

[@tonyarmbrust]

@@timemerson4162 STD FC

[@thetouchback]

I think Keith Olbermann also referred to that game as a urologist's dream match-up.

[@Itriedtobe-wq9lj]

Hobart Hurricanes in Tasmania. Hobart has never had a hurricane.

[@FirearmofMutiny]

The Clash-Earthquakes name change happened before the original team moved. Out of all those 1.0 names, only the Revolution remain, and the Revs' 1.0 logo lasted the longest 🤣 You're also forgetting the worst team name of them all: the Miami Fusion EDIT: oh right, the Galaxy too; the Crew added SC and even wanted to drop Crew when the Haslams took over! But the fans protested to bring it back

[@metropod]

And yet, we have sports teams with identical names… Someone says “I’m a jets fan” gets responded to “must have been rough seeing Rodgers go down”… except they meant the Winnipeg Jets… We have two panthers. We have two Giants. We have two Rangers. we used to have two Oilers.

[@theaquariancontrarian3316]

Dont forget 2 cardinals

[@CyroAsseo]

Big fan of this channel, recently found it during one of my work trips and it's been great to watch videos when editing a video or writing an article.

[@MLBDaveLeiper]

“Yea Putty, we’re done! Yea that’s right.” Elaine right after dropping putty for the wiz guy

[@thetouchback]

What if we're out somewhere and you see the Maytag Repairman?

[@ceave]

Puddy, not putty. Yeah, that's right.

[@dogcowrph]

The wiz is something that you do in the men’s room after drinking a few $10 beers.

[@davidrivera9743]

Lol

[@alk61695]

I grew up in New York, I've been to several Wiz stores. Also, I guess KC never watched Seinfeld.

[@midwestguy1983]

MLS has done well in Kansas City and across the nation, but yeah we laughed at the Wiz. With those original MLS names few gave pro Soccer a chance to survive, but yeah Hunt and the other owners made that league viable and now its doing solid. Still glad they changed their names to the Wizards. Sporting KC is meh, but they have done well, but yeah I miss the Wizards name.

[@michaelstein7510]

We can all laugh at some of the original MLS names now. But I think a few of them are great and have stood the test of time. I think the LA Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, Colorado Rapids, New England Revolution, and Chicago Fire are great names. Unique, with local relevance, and not too silly like Wiz. I think Sporting KC was a great modern rebrand for Kansas City.

[@higgy04]

8:11 - Cue the Yankees strikeout whistle

[@cuseyeti_one8three]

Now that’s stuck in my head. Thanks.

[@gakster29]

Also, for a little bit, the Jets first down whistle. As a Mets/Jets fan, I hated it! 😂

[@Marylandbrony]

Should have been called “Oz” but Oz has been used as both a reference to Homosexuality and the name of a HBO show about prison.

[@davidrivera9743]

There's no place like home. There's no place like home. Toto, I think we're going to make it.

[@maxscameraguy]

Early MLS was the best. Beat jerseys, best gimmicks and best hair styles. Now, its just cookie cutter boringness.

[@maninredhelm]

They could have been Oz FC. There's an established tradition of not necessarily using your city name in your club name in this sport, and so far nobody in MLS has taken advantage of it. Well, except for Chivas briefly. If the Revolution ever get that stadium in Everett built, maybe they should consider a re-brand that doesn't even refer to a broad region like New England. Pick something that says you're from Boston without saying you're from Boston (because you're not in Boston).

[@bobheyotue9850]

Funny I never heard of them I only remember biz markie song “nobody beats the biz” 😂😂

[@theaquariancontrarian3316]

The wiz 😂😂😂 im pretty sure the fans pissed all over that name lol

[@SpacklerTurf]

Not sure if you know this, but Jim Dolan of Knicks/Rangers fame owned The Wiz at this time lol

[@mootfm1107]

Will you be making a state of origin video?

[@Z64sports]

How would they think a store would own the rights to use the name for a sports team though?

[@cuseyeti_one8three]

The Jets could use some Thibs style coaching right now.

[@Wingcake1]

To this day why didnt they use the nasl names early mls screwed so much up, the dumb calendar silly rules and using nfl stadiums which hurts us to this day im amazed the hunts and kraft still have so much pull in the league.

[@Jayden_daRocket]

Surprised there wasn’t conflict with the Washington Wizards after the first name change

[@adiuntesserande6893]

I believe they worked out an agreement. Indeed, I think they were still the Bullets at the time; KC may have beaten them to it.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

They should have kept the name BULLETS, tho. I might have been a fan of them, but as the Wizards?... No👎🏾

[@whalesequence]

Wow, Natalie Merchant brings back repressed memories

[@mosinc7388]

Nobody goes to the electronics store

[@mrjgilbert]

Ironically, if in 2010 they had kept Wizards name (think Harry Potter and other fantasy IP popularity during this time) and the rainbow colors they would have been culturally on-trend for the next 14 years. I do like the Sporting rebrand though. It may have less personality but it’s clean and classy. And fans still do “Wizards” chants as a iykyk homage to the past.

[@TreasonSky]

Long Live the KC Radio Shack.

[@thetouchback]

With your KC Radio Shack announce team of Howie Long and Teri Hatcher...

[@MarloSoBalJr]

Rebranding to Sporting KC actually worked out better for their financial assets.

[@Itriedtobe-wq9lj]

Just name them after a bird. Magpies, hawks, eagles, swans and crows does the job in the AFL. Our national rugby teams are called the Kangaroos and the Wallabies. They work.

[@willijs8]

Did the store ever have any issue with Biz Markie?

[@thetouchback]

It is an interesting question and I couldn't find anything on this. My belief is that there weren't ever issues between the two. Biz Markie was not shy about making his lawsuits public, so I'd think he would have said something publicly if the Wiz did sue him.

[@usarugbyleagueunionfan]

MLS logo is absolutely horrible.

[@xxdrippinbaby2089]

Thank god, their brand was ridiculous.

[@davidrivera9743]

Except for the fraud the Wiz store was not much different than Crazy Eddie's.

[@davidrivera9743]

Except for the fraud, no different than Crazy Eddie's.

[@davidrivera9743]

All hail the Preki's.

[@scarpfish]

A lot of the original MLS team names were god awful, but to be honest, the rebranding many of them did to make their names sound like cheap facsimiles of famous European club teams gives me migranes. 😖

[@MarloSoBalJr]

Yeah. The corny "City" or "FC" just seems cheap knockoffs. InterMiami is pretty fine, but a team like Orlando City FC or St. Louis City is weak names. Orlando Pride or STL Archs FC would have fair better

[@patoren3gou653]

I will say this wizards makes a lot more sense for Kansas City than it does for Washington They still suck though

[@kibitznec700]

mls is a third division league. In other words, minor league soccer.

[@mbappevspsg]

This wiz name was a werid team name yes this video and the MLS had the team also the MLS Still has werid teams names i tink sorry for miss

[@fevernova89]

so dumb

[@LebanonJames420]

And the Argos Suck

[@kibitznec700]

Tu eres el que suckea, and are a champion at it.