Warriors Start 21-0; Maroons Return to History's Dustbin

Couldn't really call Golden State's quest as chasing a ghost.

For the most part, few even knew that particular poltergeist existed.

And now that the Warriors have edged Toronto's Raptors for their 21st consecutive victory to begin the season, they stand alone as holders of the best start in all of North American professional sporting history.

This is how they said goodbye to the St Louis Maroons:

This wasn't TO's first attempt to derail Golden State. The Raptors also had a shot in Game 12 of the streak; that was a close one, too, but the defending NBA champions have grown accustomed to prevailing in those situations.

Apparently, those games were foreign to the 1884 Maroons. They were so dominant in baseball's sad-sack Union Association that even their home fans began pulling for them to lose, just to put a bit of drama into the proceedings.

Could be why the league only lasted one season.

And now, its last vestige of fame has been vaporized by the likes of Stephen Curry and his 44 points in Game 21.

So it is that the club with the wackiest name in North American pro sports -- really, is Oakland that tough for a marketing department to acknowledge? -- has wrested the title of best starter in history from one that will now return to obscurity as a trivia answer to win a narrower selection of bar bets.

And that means it's left to Bugs Bunny to keep their name alive in modern culture. Sorta.

That obviously goes for the Union Association, too.