This past week, the San Francisco Bulls of the ECHL folded
up shop 40 games into the 2013-14 season. The ECHL began operations with five
teams back in 1988-89 and crew to 31 by 2003-04 before settling back to the
current 23. San Francisco was granted a franchise for the 2011-12 season and
have now become the first team in ECHL history not to complete a full season.
Since this was an unprecedented event in ECHL history, we
thought we’d take a step up the ladder and look at the American Hockey League. The
history of the AHL dates back to 1936. In all that time, just four teams have
ceased operations before completing a season. Two of those teams were the same
franchise.
New Haven Eagles 1942-43
The New Haven franchise started out in the CAHL for 1926-27
and were an AHL original for the 1936-37 season. In 1942-43, the Eagles played
32 games before folding on January 17, 1943. They were set to play a 56 game
regular season schedule that year. The Eagles finished with nine wins and five
ties for 23 points.
It was a bitter end to a great coaching career for Eddie
Powers. Powers coached the Boston Tigers to a Calder Cup championship in
1928-29. He followed that up with the 1936-37 Syracuse
Stars also capturing the Calder. In a weird twist of fate, Powers died January
17, 1943, the same day that the Eagles played their final game. The Eddie
Powers Memorial Trophy is handed out each season to the player in the Ontario Hockey League with the most
points.
New Haven Eagles 1950-51
The Eagles franchise was revived for the 1945-46 season and
spent four years between 1946-47 and 1949-50 as the Ramblers. The name was changed
back to the Eagles for the 1950-51 and seemed to curse the team. On December
11, 1950, the Eagles folded again, this time for good. New Haven played 28 of
70 games, winning just five for ten points.
The head coach in New Haven at the time was Frank Beisler.
Frank was a veteran of two NHL games, one in 1936-37 and one in 1939-40, both
with the New York Americans. He played for the original Eagles from 1934-35 to
1937-38. Beisler won a Calder Cup as a player with the 1942-43 Buffalo
Bisons, coached by Eddie Shore. Ironically, that was the year the original
Eagles folded. In 1945-46, Frank won the Calder Cup as a head coach, also with
Buffalo.
Baltimore Clippers 1974-75
The Clippers had been in the American Hockey League since
1962-63 when they called it quits on January 23, 1975. The team had played 46
of 76 games with 14 wins and 38 points. The reason for folding was unique. The
Michigan Stags of the World Hockey Association relocated to Baltimore midseason
and were then known as the Baltimore Blades. The Clippers basically gave up
their arena and even their jerseys for the WHA franchise.
The Clippers returned to the AHL for the 1975-76 season.
However, the following year, they made the ill-fated decision to join the
Southern Hockey League. Baltimore had 47 games in the books in 1976-77 when the
whole league folded.
Hampton Gulls 1977-78
The Gulls were in the AHL for just the 1977-78 season. The
franchise was born in 1974-75 and played three years in the SHL before than
league ceased operations. Hampton was 46 games into the 80 game season when
they closed up shop on February 10, 1978. The Gulls had won 15 games and
totalled 33 points.
Hampton was coached by the legendary John
Brophy. Two of the six goalies that would make an appearance for the Gulls
were Michel Plasse and Eddie Mio.
Rod Langway played 30 games with the club in his first year of pro hockey.
Langway spent the rest of the year in the WHA with the Birmingham Bulls. He
went on to play 994 regular season games in the National Hockey League with the
Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals. Rod won the Norris Trophy twice
with the Capitals.
