In the summer of 1969, the Philadelphia Warriors staged a ten-week exhibition series in Florida against the Texas Outlaws, Detroit Devils, and New York Bombers. Games ran five nights a week from late June to early September at venues including Miami Beach Convention Hall, Fort Lauderdale’s War Memorial Auditorium, West Palm Beach Auditorium, and Miami’s Dinner Key Auditorium—though the latter’s lack of air conditioning hurt attendance.

The Warriors, called the Florida Warriors that summer, played 45 games, defeating the Outlaws, Devils, and Bombers with relative ease. Their roster featured Coach Buddy Atkinson Jr., Captain Judy Arnold, and skaters such as Vinnie Gandolfo, Otis Williams, Yolanda Trevino, and Ann Leary. The team’s success laid the groundwork for a permanent Florida franchise.

In October 1969, the “Miami Jets” were introduced, debuting in January 1970 as the Florida Jets with Coach John Parker and Captain Adeline Hocker. Other skaters included Paul Rupert, Larry Lewis, Ernie Lopez, Tom Whalen, Jerry Reinhart, Louise Marziani, and Sandy Young. Despite the momentum of the previous summer, the Jets drew weaker crowds and lasted only six months, finishing fourth in the Eastern Regional Playoffs.

Television exposure proved a major obstacle. In Miami they aired on UHF channel 23 Wednesday nights, a decent slot but with low UHF viewership in 1970. In Orlando they were on VHF channel 9 Saturday afternoons, a poor time slot. Without the prime-time VHF coverage enjoyed by the T-Birds or Warriors, the Florida experiment lost money and folded.

The Jets’ green, white, and gold uniforms later resurfaced. First reused by the Baltimore Cats in 1972, they were eventually repurposed by John Hall for the Thunderbirds, replacing the team’s original red, white, and blue colors after the NSD’s closure.