For their first 39 seasons, this franchise played in Louisville, Kentucky as the Kentucky Kings. In most of their early years, they were good but never good enough as they finished in 2nd place in 7 of their first 14 seasons, finishing within 6 games of first place in 5 of those seasons. They just could never break through and come in first place. They do, however, have one big accomplishment: in the pre-divisional era (1901-1920), they never once finished in 7th or 8th place. Nobody can claim that, not even the Knights. They also finished with a .500 record or better in 15 of those first 20 seasons.
The closest the Kings came to the playoffs was in 1923, when they finished tied for first in the NBC West with the Chicago Cardinals, but lost a one-game playoff to decide the division. That was the last time they posted a winning record in Kentucky, as they quickly descended into laughingstock status. Fan support dwindled, and the team ran out of money. During the Great Depression, they were seriously considering folding and ceasing operations, but a second team had to go as well and they were having trouble finding another team to get rid of (the Boston Patriots and Dover Green Sox were the two top contenders, but both played in the ABC and would force a team to have to switch conferences). In 1940, they moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and rebranded as the Charlotte Roadrunners. Their fortunes reversed almost immediately, as they posted a winning record in their second season in Charlotte. They made their first playoff appearance in 1943, going to the World Series but losing to the Boston Patriots. They had a rematch with Boston in 1944, this time winning their first championship. They have not returned to the playoffs since, but they've been way more successful in Charlotte than they ever were in Louisville. They do have four Hall of Famers, all with Kings caps on, so at least their previous identity will be preserved in some way (that is not laughable).
Best Season: 1944 (90-50)
Worst Season: 1938 (58-82)
Some notable players currently on roster
