As America’s major sports leagues became moneymaking monopolies, a trio of trailblazing organizations—rife with scandal and star power—tried to cut in on the actionBy Bill KeenanCreditors had already seized their equipment. Uniforms were next. The 1974 Charlotte Hornets, members of the nascent World Football League, needed money desperately to keep the team afloat (and ensure its players weren’t competing naked).So when the Hornets received a call from Tennessee-based investor Paul Sasso, they grabbed the opportunity. Sasso flew by private jet from Memphis to Charlotte, where he proposed a $100,000 cash injection for the franchise and pitched plans for a new stadium. Like most turns of fate in the W.F.L., it was too good to be true.Within weeks, Sasso would be arrested byREAD ON
