Alternate Jerseys-- A History In Light Of A Thinning Herd

Andrew Greenstein of the fantastic jersey database website NHL Uniforms put out a great post about many teams getting rid of their alternate jerseys, namely the Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres, and Florida Panthers-- as well as the lack of possible announcement of any new alternate jerseys coming to the forefront.

More over, the fact that many of the alternate jerseys have gotten so popular or bought more often-- they have been moved from alternate to the regular home jersery. In fact, the Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, New York Islanders Philadelphia Flyers, Sabres, and Oilers have recently had their alternates move to their full-time home jerseys. Many thought the Nashville Predators were supposed to make their old alternate jerseys into the full-time look before they went with a full-gold presence. Also, the Anaheim Ducks seem to be rolling out their alternate more and more; that could get a road counterpart in the next few years.

However, the history of the third jersey is pretty interesting to say the least. The first instance of an alternate jersey was the 1955-56 season when the Boston Bruins used their white, black, and gold motif.  They used that for two years, but would stop it in the 1957-58 season, only to bring it back for the 1959-60 season and have it last until the 1964-65 season. They were the only team in that era to use three jerseys in their wardrobe.

The next recorded instance of an alternate is when the Toronto Maple Leafs introduce new home and road jerseys, but kept their old home jerseys as an alternate in the 1970-71 season. It was merely a transition from old to new, as they would go away the next season. It was another 11 seasons before there was another alternate jersey, when the 1981-82 Pittsburgh Penguins worked in a gold jersey to their repertoire, which would last for two seasons, before the gold jersey became the home jersey in the 1983-84 season, lasting just one season, however.

Discounting the entire 75th Anniversary celebration by the NHL where the Original Six had alternate/retro jerseys for the 1991-92 season; the biggest boom and the start of the wide-spread third jersey craze was in the 1995-96 season with five teams kicking off the program (Mighty Ducks, Bruins, Canucks, Penguins, and Kings) and from that point on-- there was quite the boom for teams, as they saw how much of a great money maker it was....except the Blues.

Here's the breakdown of teams with an alternate jersey since that season, not including Winter/Heritage Classic jerseys-- unless they use it past their Winter/Heritage Classic year:

1995-96: 5
1996-97: 6
1997-98: 11
1998-99: 13
1999-2000: 10
2000-01: 11
2001-02: 15
2002-03: 16
2003-04: 21
2005-06: 21
2006-07: 18
2007-08: 0-- New Reebok Edge design
2008-09: 18
2009-10: 23
2010-11: 24
2011-12: 22

Most Seasons With Alternate Jersey: 23, Boston Bruins.
Teams With Never Having An Alternate Jerseys: Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils

While Greenstein has a point that it's interesting some alternates may be getting less and less prominent and some could be taken out of full rotation while others are being put into it-- the debate on whether or not they are going away is going to be there. They still are something people will clamor to have, and while some will be put into full rotation-- it just gives the team another reason to make another jersey in order to make even more money through merchandising. Plus, as well have seen in the past-- even the bad alternate jerseys are looked back at fondly, as we've seen with the Wild Wing and Burger King jerseys.


Even if they're going away, the fact more people than not will buy the new jerseys regardless of their look is going to be something teams remember and exploit (to a point) when trying to market them to not only their own fan-base, but the jersey collectors alike.

Baltimore Hockey History: The Last Baltimore Hockey Team....For Now

Two years after the Skipjacks left for Portland, Maine; Bob Teck and Alan Gertner thought it would be time to bring some kind of hockey back to the area, because they had thought it was for the best. These two pump millions of dollars to get the Bandits off the ground. They also had the backing of the Disney Corporation, who designed the raccoon logo and jerseys that were worn on-ice (As an aside, anyone with a lead on where to get one of these jerseys-- let me know). With that kind of clout and the mentality that they would be able to provide a good atmosphere for the fans, there was a positive vibe for the team to come through the struggles and actually make Baltimore more than a hockey footnote.

The ideology was superb to start. Teck said that with over 30 area high schools having teams and kids playing in the streets, it was the right time in order to expand the landscape of popularity. The ownership team learned, also, from the mistakes of the past. An article done by current NFL Network contributer Jason LaCanfora about the new team showed what the Bandits team had learned from what the Skipjacks could not.

The Baltimore Bandits will market extensively and promote the sport. The Skipjacks did little in those areas to boost the team. Bob Leffler, whose ad agency handled the Skipjacks, now works for the Bandits. He said the new ownership is consumed with making hockey work.

"Gertec is putting together a massive marketing campaign," Leffler said. "They are dedicated to spending $1 million to advertising. The last time we had that kind of financial support was with the Blast [of the Major Indoor Soccer League] in the mid-'80s. They were drawing 11,000 fans a game then."

Bandits merchandise has been in stores since mid-July, the team already has begun advertising on Orioles radio broadcasts and it is negotiating with three local radio stations for broadcast rights. It will focus its campaign on television and billboard advertising in the coming months.

You could see that these guys were waiting for the money to start rolling in for this team. You have to spend money to make money, right?? Right??

In any case, there was a big buzz around the new team. The purple, silver, and black was ready to hit the ice and maybe erase the entire loss of the Skipjacks, even though the Jacks were beloved for the past decade. The Bandits had a backing from a major corporation and seemed to be primed to be a big success.

The first season on ice, there were ups and downs, but the fans seemed to turn out at the start. I, myself, along with Papa Stan Wazz were partial season ticket holders because it was a little bit closer than traveling to Landover to watch the Capitals play. The team had their finesse guys, but also the bruisers. The likes of Jeremy Stevenson and Peter Leboutillier had over 200 PIMs on the season, while Dwayne Norris, Mike Maneluk, Slava Butsayev, and Steven King were lighting up the score sheet. The likes of Darren Van Impe and J-F Jomphe were chartering between the AHL and NHL, as Denny Lambert became a folk hero as he moved down to Baltimore after his Anaheim dreams didn't pan out. Another folk hero was Mike O'Neill, who set an AHL record for playing 74 games in a season in the 1995-96 season.

While the Bandits finished with a 33-36-9 record and third in the Southern Division. They made the playoffs, although everyone but two teams made the playoffs. They were able to upset the Hershey Bears 3-games-to-2 in the first round and lost in seven games to the other underdog Syracuse Crunch, who finished last in their division. The on-ice product seemed to be there, but it's off-ice where things started to go horribly wrong.

Three-quarters through the season, the ownership trust of Teck and Gertner was in trouble. They had unpaid debt to a number of groups. The team owed their parent team, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, $500,000, as well; they owed the AHL $100,000 of the $1 million franchise fee. The duo of Teck and Gertner decided to hand over the team, not even out of their first year, to Mike Caggiano; a Northern Virginia businessman, who went to school in Baltimore and owned the Potomac Cannons baseball team to some success. Teck and Gertner made more bad decisions than good, but when it comes to an expansion team-- you have to make good decisions through and through; especially in an uneasy market. Caggiano gave his confidence that the team would stay in the city and would be on even ground after management and financial re-structuring.

The second season had as much turmoil on the ice as they were off the ice. On the ice, there was a coaching change as Walt Kyle was replaced with Moe Mantha as Kyle went to Anaheim. There were a lot of changes with the likes of O'Neill, Norris, Butsayev, and the other notable gone to other pastures. Craig Reichert, Mike LeClerc, and David Sacco held up the offense and they had five guys with over 20 goals on the season, including Bob Wren, Sean Pronger, and Igor Nikulin added with Reichert and LeClerc. The goaltending of Mike Bales and Tom Askey couldn't fulfill the workload that O'Neill had left, which led to struggles from the team. Even with all of that, the Bandits finished up with a 30-37-10 record, but lost in the first round as the Philadelphia Phantoms dominated the Bandits in a three-game sweep.

Things were much worse off the ice, as debt continued to pile-up. After the 1995-96 season, the Bandits were $1.6 million in debt, but it rose to $3.7 million after the 1996-97 season, including owing the AHL more than $500,000 in franchise costs, their billboard people over $30,000, the audio/visual team over $3,000, and their jersey people $5,000 for lettering the jerseys. Caggiano realized he was over his head and looked to sell the team. Some of the shareholders tried to stop any sale because they though insider debt would be recouped, but that didn't seem to be the case. The team was eventually sold to the owners of the Cincinnati Gardens and the team became the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. In the state-of-the-franchise report, Caggiano said that they did all they could in order to save the franchise.

Even more over, the Bandits were having issues with the schedule. They often were bumped by the owners of the building to give preference to the Baltimore Spirit indoor soccer team over any Bandits games that could take place. That brought the attendance and general interest down because of it. Caggiano went against the city council many times trying to lobby for a new arena for the team, as the Baltimore Arena lacked what a professional team needed. Caggiano also went as far as going to the AHL and trying to relocate the Bandits' playoff games to Hershey, Pennsylvania because of the Spirit locking up dates in the Baltimore Arena. It did not happen, but it was an interesting proposition. Of course, that left a bad taste in the mouth of the city council, thus support dwindled; which helped along the demise.

It only took two seasons for this team to go into the crapper and really was one of the first of the rotating teams the AHL had gone through. The Bandits were one of the many teams to not last long in their area and relocate-- along with the Kentucky Thoroughblades, Carolina Monarchs, PEI Senators, and Cornwall Aces to name a few. While there is still shuffling today, it's not as wide-spread it seems.

The ownership to start had a lot of promise for the team. They did all they could to make hockey a mainstay in the Baltimore landscape, but there could have been a lot of sidetracking with he Ravens coming into the NFL and the poorly processed marketing campaigns. While the sport on the grassroots level has become popular through time, the actual professional game has never and may never take off as it should or could in the Baltimore area. Especially with the popularity of the Capitals, the time could never be better for hockey in the area. Yet, with the lack of a new arena and support from outside interests-- the time-frame will close shut before anything tangible and realistically comes to be.

Baltimore Hockey History: The Longevity of the Clippers

While I mentioned in a previous post that the Winnipeg Jets moniker shouldn't be revived in the NHL again, I never said that them bringing it back in another league is a bad thing. Such is the case with our latest BHH installment of the Baltimore Clippers. The Clippers name was synonymous with the Baltimore hockey scene for 21 seasons, including two half-seasons in 1949-50 and 1974-75, and the team name was through three leagues in those 21 seasons. The name itself was something unique to Baltimore, as it was also the name give to sailing ships; most of which used Baltimore as a port.

As a team, the Clippers first came to be in the 1946-47 season in the Eastern Hockey League and did the expected and finished last (18-30-8) in the four-team league in their inaugural season. They seemed to make it at least competitive, as they had four 20-goal scorers in Bill Hannon (41 goals), Ed Vigneau (29), Wendell "Frank" MacIntosh (24), and Jack Stoddard (22). Hannon, Vigneau, and MacIntosh were also top-1o in points, as Pete Taillefer was second in the league in PIMs with 116. It was quite the turnaround for the Clippers in the 1947-48 season, with the Clippers winning the regular season title with a 31-16-1 record. That Clippers team was stacked with four 30-goal scorers in Charlie Knox (52), James Muldoon (36), Billy Purcell (36), and George Hayes (33). They also rolled big in the points with seven of the top-10 being Clippers: Knox, Dave Maguire, Muldoon, Hayes, Purcell, Nestor "Gerry" Lubeck, and Jack "Danny" Nixon. On top of all of that, Nixon and Kenneth Schwartz were the top two for the Clippers and EHL in PIMs with a combined 286 PIMs (182 and 104 respectively). However, success was fleeting, even back in those days. The EHL closed up shop for the 1948-49 season, because of lack of teams. When it returned in the 1949-50 season, the league had eight teams; including the Clippers. The Clippers wouldn't last long in the EHL, playing only 12 games (4-8-0) before folding up mid-season due to financial concerns on the team.

While the team would lay dormant, they would make a return to the league in the 1954-55 season in almost triumph fashion. While the league had only five teams, the competition was tight. The Clippers would finish third in the regular season (22-23-2), but where able to have the league's leading scorer, Herve Lalonde (22g, 50a). They made the playoffs and beat the Clinton Comets three-games to one in the first round, but got trounced by the Washington Lions in the Finals, getting swept in four games and outscored 21-8. Yet, more fleeting fame with the Clippers in the 1955-56 season. Not only did they fall from grace with mediocrity (23-40-1), but to add insult to injury, the team had to move to Charlotte, North Carolina for it's last five games because the Clippers home rink burnt to the ground. What's worse is that the next season, the Charlotte Clippers, comprised of the old Baltimore Clippers, won the EHL championship. No rink and a championship team in another city....awesome for Baltimore hockey fans for sure.

Luckily, the city found it in their heart to build a new "Civic Center" for the many events they wanted to draw for the downtown core and build up the Baltimore Civic Center. It opened in 1962, which incidentally coincided with the return of the Baltimore Clippers name to the AHL in the 1962-63 season. It was a solid reintroduction, as the Clippers were led offensively by Dave Creighton (24g, 48a) and were able to make the playoffs with a 35-30-7 record, but lost in the first round of the playoffs. It was another so-so year for the 1963-64 season, as the Clippers wound up out of the playoffs with a 32-37-3 record. The 1964-65 season was a solid one as the Clippers had the third-most goals in the league for the season with four players over 25 goals and Gord Labossiere 9th in league scoring (38g, 41a). However, it wasn't enough as they were dropped in the first round once again.

While the 1965-66 season was a lean one (27-43-2), the 1966-67 season started a string of consistency for the Clippers, as they made the playoffs five of the next six seasons. What was even more impressive with the string is that the Clippers went through five coaches in that time span-- Terry Reardon, Aldo Guidolin (who was the second Clippers AHL coach), Rudy Migay, and Jim Morrison. The Clippers would eventually settle on a co-coach system, which helped lead them to the Calder Cup finals in the 1971-72 season with Reardon and Morrison behind the bench. That Finals, the Clippers went down in six games to the dominate Nova Scotia Voyageurs, who outscored the Clippers 21-8. History in a final repeating itself. Much like history, the Clippers AHL story was almost the same of its EHL predecessor. While the Clippers kept the co-coach gimmick going with Reardon and Morrison for two more years and Kent Douglas the next two, the Clippers would miss out on the playoffs three out of the four years.

However, the 1974-75 season was something of an interesting situation. While the Clippers were only 14-22-10 in their 46 games; they folded up mid-season. The reason for it is that the owners of the WHA's Michigan Stags tapped Baltimore as their new place of business and would rename the team the Blades. The Blades only played 17 games in the Baltimore Arena before finally folding up shop for good. The Clippers would come back for one more AHL season in the 1975-76 season before closing that chapter of their history.

The 1976-77 season saw the Clippers name back, this time in the Southern Hockey League. It was a gongshow, through and through as the league folded mid-season with the Clippers going 21-24-2 in their 47 games. The Clippers name would lay dormant again until the 1979-80 season when they came back in the new Eastern Hockey League with soon-to-be legendary Baltimore coach Gene Ubriaco behind the bench for the Clippers. The first year, the Clippers had a solid team with a 41-25-4 record, finishing third in the league in the regular season. That year, they had Warren Young, who was tied for first in goals (53) and outright second in points (106). Young had 23 more points than anyone on the team. The 1980-81 season was another downfall for the Clippers as they dropped to 28-36-7 and only had a small time in the playoffs. After that season, the EHL and Clippers would fold up for the last time.

When it comes to hockey in Baltimore, this generation will most notably know the Skipjacks because it's the era they grew up with. However, for almost three decades; the Clippers name was Baltimore hockey and truly made Baltimore a viable location for teams like the Jacks, who moved into the Clippers location in the 1981-82 season. If not for the Clippers, many probably wouldn't have hockey in Baltimore to get into and memories as such. Lest we forget this team paving the way for Baltimore hockey in the modern day.

Baltimore Hockey History: A Tie That Binds A Rivalry

With the rumors that the Penguins and Capitals will be the headlining act for the 2011 Winter Classic, it sparks one of the most intense rivalries to date in the NHL. This match-up is just pure, unadulterated hate.....on ICE!! Even in their dark days when both teams stunk, the rivalry was always one people got up for. While, in terms of success; it's been one-sided, there's always something about this game (outside of the superstars on both teams) that people enjoy about it.

While this rivalry ties the two teams together, something that's unrelated to the rivalry that binds these teams is the use of the Baltimore Skipjacks as their minor league affiliate. Of course, at this point-- the rivalry of the parent clubs hadn't escalated to the level it is now, but it is something that I thought was quite a fun fact.

As I go out sequence with this whole thing, the Skipjacks came to be after the Baltimore Clippers namesake was put to rest after the 1980-81 season in the Eastern League and previous years in the American League and the Southern League. The Jacks started in the Atlantic Coast League in the 1981-82 season, the inaugural season for the league. It was quite the gongshow, as all the teams had different numbers of games played. That year, the Jacks played 48 games, second most in the league, and went 22-23-3, finishing in third.

Luckily for the namesake of the organization, the Jacks name got moved to the AHL when the Erie Blades moved down to Charm City. They had primary affiliation with the Pittsburgh Penguins and shared some with the Boston Bruins. The first year for the Jacks in the AHL, which was the 1982-83 season, was one full of fire-power with two players, Mike Gillis (113) and Mitch Lamoureux (107), over 100 points for the year and two others, Rod Schutt (87) and Greg Tebbutt (84), with more than 80 points. The downfall had to be the goaltending, as Roberto Romero's 4.05 GAA was the lowest of the team's four goalies used. The team missed the playoffs in their first season in the AHL.

While that first year was manned by Lou Angotti and the 35-36-9 record wasn't anything too shabby; the Jacks made a coaching change to Gene Ubriaco, who was very close to the Baltimore hockey scene, having played for the Baltimore Clippers in 1967-68 and 1979-80, while coaching in that 1979-80 season and the 1980-81 season for the Clippers. So, Ubriaco took over the helm of the Jacks for the 1983-84 season; who were in their first year as a Penguins only affiliate and Ubriaco was able to improve the team immediately. While the firepower wasn't there in the '83-'84 season as it was in the previous year, the consistency of the team was much better. The goaltending improved with Romero splitting games with Jim Ralph and Vincent Tremblay, which gave the Jacks a lot of variety in net and they were actually able to keep the puck out with none of them having above a 4.00 GAA. Of course, with a change in style, the defensive side made the offensive side struggle, as only one player (Paul Gardner) had over 80 points in the year. The Jacks were playoff bound with their 46-24-10 record, which lead the league with their 102 points; yet they were only able to get to the second round of the playoffs when they were upset by the Rochester Americans. Ubriaco won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for AHL Coach of the Year.

With that performance, the expectations were high for the Jacks and they didn't disappoint in the 1984-85 season. While they weren't able to match their 1o2 point campaign, they finished second on the Southern Division with a 45-27-8 record. The Jacks were without their previous top scorer, as Paul Gardner was moved to the Binghamton Whalers, where he took the scoring crown. However, the Skipjacks did counter and got their goaltending under control, as Jon Casey was sent to Baltimore by the Minnesota North Stars and took control of the Jacks goaltending over Pens property Michel Dion and Romero. Luckily for the Jacks that Casey was strong, as the offense was very inept again with Tom Roulston leading the team with 70 points. Also notable, Steve Carlson, from the famed Hanson Brothers, had 47 points for the Jacks. Back to Casey-- in his 46 games, he put up a 30-11-4 record with a 2.63 GAA and .908 save percentage. Those numbers were enough for Casey to Hap Holmes Award for Lowest GAA in the AHL and the Baz Bastien Award for Best Goalie in the league. Baltimore also had a then record 16-game winning streak (since broken). The Jacks were able to ride the hot goalie in Casey through the playoffs; getting revenge for their lose against the Americans beating them in five games, while they moved and swept the top-seed Binghamton Whalers in a sweep; before the Jacks ran into another hot goalie by the name of Patrick Roy and his Sherbrooke Canadiens-- as the Canadiens beat the Jacks in the Calder Cup finals in five games.

In the Pens era of the Skipjacks, that would be the highest they would get. The next two years with affiliation were very subpar, even with Ubriaco behind the bench. The scoring was still down, as the 1985-86 season saw Roulston lead the team with 87 points, 23 more than the next guy on the list, while Alain Lemieux lead the 1986-87 team with 97 points-- which was 44 more than the next guy on the list. Both those seasons, the teams were under .500 for their record, though they improved in the '86-'87 season (35-37-8) to the '85-'86 season (28-44-8).

In the 1987-88, the Penguins moved their affiliation from Baltimore and moved it to Muskegon in the IHL. The Skipjacks still stuck around as an independent team for that season with Ubriaco behind the bench. The independent label was definitely there, as the Jacks had a 13-58-9 record with their atrocious goaltending coming back and letting up a league high 434 goals that year, which is still an AHL record to this day. The Jacks also hold the record from that year for longest losing streak at 18 games.

The Washington Capitals saw the chance with an affiliate right up the road from them and acquired the affiliation with the Jacks and placed their players up there. The first year of the affiliation was rough in the 1988-89 season and Terry Murray behind the bench, but it was a vast improvement from their independent year, going 30-46-4, missing the playoffs again. The scoring was back, as Mike Richard lead the team and was fourth in the league with 107 points and got help from Scott McCrory (87 points) and Mike Millar (82).

The 1989-90 had a lot of makings of the Jacks teams previous, with the goaltending getting better and the goal scoring going down. Also, the coaching changed for the Jacks when Terry Murray got called up to the NHL with the Caps and was replaced by Doug MacLean. Richard lead the offense again, but with a 24 point decline (83 points), but the play of Jim Hrivnak (24-19-2; 3.06 GAA) was able to get the Jacks in the playoffs again, but after defeating Adirondack in the first round, the Jacks fell to the dreaded Americans in the second round. MacLean departed for the 1990-91 season, putting Rob Laird in charge of the team and the team did get a little better, though the scoring was spread around with Alfie Turcotte, Steve Maltais, and Tim Taylor being the top-three with 85 points, 79 points, and 67 points, respectively. Hrivnak (20-16-6) was solid again with youngster Olaf Kolzig starting to ply his craft in Baltimore. But it wasn't enough, as the Jacks lost out in the Division Semi-finals to the Binghamton Rangers in six games.

Then started the dark times for the Skipjacks, as their declining attendance started to hurt the wallet of owner Tom Ebright. With the teams struggles on the ice, as well, it didn't help matters. Though the 1991-92 edition had some stellar players like Simon Wheeldon and John Purves leading the offense, the goaltending was the weak point. Hrivnak went up to the big club, which left youngsters Olaf Kolzig and Byron Dafoe get the nods for the Jacks. The Jacks ended up 28-42-10, which made them missed the playoffs.

The attendance and playing woes hit the Jacks again for the 1992-93 season. Ebright said that he was looking to move the team to Portland, Maine if he couldn't get the support from the City Council to help the team out. However, Ebright mentioned bringing an ECHL team to Baltimore to replace the team if he could get the fan support from the Jacks fateful. Even with the pledge from Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, it wasn't enough to save the Skipjacks; even though Ebright seemed to disregard a council bill that could have helped the team. Ebright was going to move the team from Baltimore to Portland, Maine. Whether or not it affected the team on the ice or not, their 28-40-12 record under new coach Barry Trotz wasn't a light of hope; especially with Dafoe not being the clutch starter as they had hoped (16-20-7). They made the playoffs and pushed the regular season champions Binghamton Rangers to Game Seven before getting ousted.

In a sad kick in the ass, the 1993-94 season saw the Baltimore Skipjacks move to become the Portland Pirates....and the Pirates won the Calder Cup as AHL champions.

Sure, this was a little less about the Penguins/Capitals rivalry like I started-- it's just one of the things that binds those two teams together. Plus, it allows me to bring up a team that most modern Baltimore hockey fans can relate to. I know my grandmother was a big Skipjacks supporter and went to games. I never went to the Jacks games myself, but plenty of my friend (like FOHS's own Jonny P) had their first hockey experience with the Skipjacks at the Baltimore Arena.

Baltimore Hockey History: The First Team

While the city of Baltimore is rich in hockey history when it came to the end of the 19th century, there was a long gap between the next team that would bust onto the scene after the Johns Hopkins University team came around, a team that disbanded after the 1897-98 season due to transportation issues, arguments with rink management, and lack of support from the student body.

And while there was a lot of amateur and club action, there wasn't much going on for the longest time. However, the first known team in the Baltimore area was the team in the Tri-State Hockey League under the name of the Baltimore Orioles. Of course, the name of the team has been connected to the city forever, with the actual oriole bird having the "Baltimore" mantra because its wings resembled Lord Baltimore's coat-of-arms.

That history lesson aside, the Orioles started as an amateur team in the four-team TSHL for the 1932-33 season and broke out big. In the 18 league games, the Orioles finished second to the power-house Atlantic City Sea Gulls (who had 100 goals for in 18 games) with a 12-5-1 record in the four-team league. They were led by the top-scorer of Eddie Mahoney with his nine goals and 12 points in those 18 games. The amateur game was good for that one season, but they decided to move the name onto something bigger and better.

When the 1933-34 season came along, the Orioles name got transferred to the newly established Eastern Hockey League. The Orioles were one of the chartered members and they got off to another fantastic start in league play, finishing second again to the dreaded Sea Gulls. The Orioles were led by league leading goal and point scorer Vince Papike (35 goals, 45 points) and had assist king Vern Buckles (21 assist) after their 24 games in league play. It started to go downhill after that in the 1934-35 season with a 4-13-4 record, as the other teams were able to stop Papike-- only getting 13 points in 20 games.

It was another rebuilding year with coach Billy Boyd being replaced by Gord Fraser for the 1935-36 season, however Papike left to go to Atlantic City, but it allowed Bobby Lee to step up and put up 19 goals and 39 points for the last place Orioles who went 9-29-2; even though they let up 174 goals in those games. Lee's tenure was short-lived, as he went over to England to play, which allowed Buckles to step up for the O's in the 1936-37 season. However, the Orioles were still in last place, but better with a 16-24-8 record with Buckles having 44 points in 43 games.

The tide turned for the team in the 1937-38 season with the pick-up of Clarence Steele and Ab DeMarco, who were both top-10 in goals, assists, and points in the EHL for that year. Even though they finished 21-29-8, they weren't in last and showed signs of getting to the brink. It finally happened with a breakthrough, this time under coach Bill Hines in the 1938-39 season, with help of the offensive prowess of Norm Calladine, who was second in goals and points, but first in assists in the EHL (33g, 41a, 74 points) and helped the Orioles get to second in the EHL going 26-22-5.

The 1939-40 season was the big year for the Orioles as they ran roughshod over the EHL, ending up in first with the one-two punch of Calladine (53g, 41a, 94pts) and Fred Hunt (31g, 37a, 68pts) rounding up with a 38-21-2 record, taking home the EHL title for the year. While the 1940-41 season brought another good season, the Washington Rovers were too good for the Orioles, outdueling the O's and putting them in second place with a 36-23-6 record, which was the last year for Coach Hines behind the bench. It was also the first year that there were no Orioles in the top-10 in points as John Webster only had 61 points in 65 games.

Elmer Piper took over the 1941-42 edition of the Orioles to mixed results, as the team fell from second to fifth, as an influx of new teams came in and had the luck of better players heading to them. Even though the Orioles has three in the top-10 in points (Andy Chakowski, 89; Ab McDougall, 77; Ducky Skinner, 76) and four in the top-10 of assists (Chakowski, 45; Bud Foley 45; Skinner, 43; McDougall, 43) it still wasn't enough to power the O's through the EHL.

Sadly, it was the last year for Orioles as they disbanded after the 1941-42 season. They finished with a combined record of 194-195-41 in their 430 games. While someone like Calladine went onto play in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, his start was rooted in Baltimore with the Orioles. And while the Orioles went onto become a baseball team, many forget of the past history and how the name was used in other facets of sports.

Baltimore Hockey History: We've Got You Covered

In the last installment, I did mention the fact of the lack of coverage for the first game; giving it a paragraph at most in terms of describing the game. Even when it came to coverage the first game at the North Avenue Rink, there was little description of the the game between Johns Hopkins University and Baltimore Athletic Club. Luckily, there was at least one of the early games documented in Baltimore's hockey infancy that actually gave a solid description of the early game.

This took place on January 31st, 1896; one day before the first college hockey game between JHU and Yale University. Yale decided to take on a warm-up game when they got into Baltimore against the Baltimore Athletic Club. This column was in the February 1st edition of The Baltimore Sun on page 7 in the "World of Sport" category of the paper. Whoever did this must have been the inspiration for Dickie Dunn in "Slap Shot" because they captured the spirit of the thing in this column.

Under the headline, the quick-pull of the score and feeling of the game between Yale and BAC was more description about the game than the past features they did on it.

The Final Score 3 to 2-- The Home Boys a Little Upset by the Dash and Aggressiveness of the Blue-Stockinged Visitors, Who Start the Puck Off With a Rush Each Time.

From that point on, it's setting the tone of the game and really showing they were actually going to paint the picture for the people who weren't there. The tone set is something that will draw the reader into the whole thing.

Yale's blue-stockinged hockey players lowered their head in defeat before the Baltimore Athletic Club team. The games was played at the North Avenue Arena before a large and enthusiastic crowd, whose sympathies were beyond doubt with the home team. A small coterie of the friends of Smith, the Yale goalkeeper, who is a Baltimore boy, applauded his team, but their "rooting" availed not as the final score was 3 to 2 in favor of the BAC team.

To me, this was a great start to a column. It set the scene of the game, showed a small caveat of Yale supporter, if only because they had local boy in the line-up, plus it draws a reader into what's going to happen next. It gets you within the game from a spectators standpoint. As we move onto the game, the writer takes you inside to the travels of the Yale team and their captain as well.

The contest was swift and sharp throughout and was so rapid that time was called twice in the second half to let the Yale players regain their wind. The rest were especially for the benefit of Chace, who was not in good health, although all of the Yale players, who were tired with a day's journey on the railroad, benefited from the recesses. Malcolm Chace is the tennis player who is noted as the intercollegiate champion.

You get a brief look into the Yale's captain background, as well as how the Yalies felt after traveling down from Connecticut. The first half description was pretty solid textbook about how the game went, as well as the feel from the crowd. More game-within-the-game feel to it.

Yale played an aggressive game, taking the puck into the BAC territory from the shoot-off. Chace scored the first goal in two minutes from the time play began, going through the line of interference with a good exhibition of dodging.

The puck see-sawed between the two goals with neither side gaining much advantage until Yale's players rushed the puck close to the BAC goal. In a nervous effort to defend the goal, Jenkins, of Baltimore, accidentally pushed the puck through the post, the fluke counting the second goal for Yale.

BAC rooters were afraid this nervousness on the part of the home team would lose them the game. Corning made some unfortunate fumbles and Bisnau ran over the puck in his anxiety to gain its possession for his team. The players rallied, however, carried it into Yale territory and C. Harrison scored the first goal for BAC after a good run. The first half ended with Chace in possession of the puck and headed for the BAC goal.

With that, you get all the highlights of the first half, with a solid showing of each goals. They focus on Chace, the guy they spoke upon in the start, for Yale and give a great recollection and feel about the fans in the arena when it came to watching the game. Even the first paragraph was more than what was put into print about the game rather than the prior entries I've shot up here. Plus, it shows how much the BAC team was a little slippery in their play against a higher caliber team, like Yale seemed to be.

We move to the second half now, with the scene set for drama, as we have BAC being nervous and Yale looking like they're in complete control of the game thus far.

Yale started the second half with another rush into BAC territory, but lost the puck after a few minutes of sharp playing. T. Harrison made a run two-thirds the length of the rink, skillfully dodging and evading the interference directed at him and scored the second goal for BAC and tying the score.

Again Yale rushed the puck into BAC territory, but Jenkins stopped it, as it would have passed between his feet for a goal, and saved his team. Parmly took the puck from the scrimmage about the goal post, ran the length of the rink and passed it skillfully to Bisnau, who shot the winning goal. The game ended with T. Harrison making another long run for the Yale goal just as the whistle sounded.

While it wasn't as much as the first half, it gave away the description of the BAC comeback. Though it's the final part which showed how much complaining was starting from the early on. Maybe it's because they are Ivy Leaguers and not used to the old-school Baltimore ways, but it seemed amusing to me. Yet, they were able to give it as good as they got it.

Yale protested several times against the stick checking of the BAC team, but Referee Shearer was unable to rule against this playing, as it was so quickly done as to seem accidental. A number of Yale players measured their length on the ice or were twisted around by having a hockey stick accidentally thrust between their feet. They were not above retaliating by letting a stick slip from their hands in front of a flying BAC player.

Now, that's how you do it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. The Yalies were ready to defend themselves if they couldn't get it from the refs. Kind of like how it's done today-- almost like policing themselves in as much of a way they could.

There was actually a solid amount of coverage to the hockey games, but it didn't seem to happen often. We saw that the games mostly took a back-seat to the other skating news in the area and the opening of the first indoor rink in the US, but there are times where the game took center stage and got the appropriate coverage it deserved.

Baltimore Hockey History: The First Game in the USA

This past February 1st marked the 114th anniversary of the first collegiate game in the history of the sport of ice hockey. Many consider it the first organized hockey game in the United States, which I don't know how due to the past games we've been talking about in the past posts where there have been different athletic clubs playing against each other. Though, they call this game the first competitive, I am only to assume the others were competitive. Yet, I digress.

The game took place at the new North Avenue Arena in Baltimore on February 1st, 1896; where the Yale University Bulldogs took on the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays. Yale had been playing up around Connecticut, much like how JHU had been playing against the random Athletic Clubs in the Baltimore area and all around Maryland. A couple of days prior to this, the Yale team took on the Batlimore Athletic Club in a warm-up game and beat the BAC 3-2.

The stage was set for the first college game, which now the ECAC takes claim to since Yale is a part of the the modern day ECAC. The line-ups for the game were unveiled a day before the game and after the review of Yale-BAC match-up. The Yale University teams would have Ryder, Hall, and Morris up-front at forwards, Jones and Chace (captain) on defense, Barnes as the cover point, and Larned in goal. For Johns Hopkins, Bagg, Hill, and Reese were up-front, Mitchell (captain) and Williams on defense, Leary as cover point, while Scholl was tending net for the Jays.

There was not much made out of the first game. It was put as a blurb on "The Skaters' Hour" section of the Baltimore Sun on page 7 on February 3rd of 1896. The game summary of the Yale-BAC game was given more and there was plenty description to that game than this game. In fact, I'm able to put the entire blurb they put about the game.

Two to two was the score of the hockey match played at the North Avenue Rink Saturday night between the Johns Hopkins University team and the men from Yale. The attendance was the largest of the season. The game was most exciting from start to finish.

And that was it. That was all that was made of the first organized game of the US from the local paper that covered it. That is compared to the whole column they gave the Yale-BAC game, which I'll probably have to unveil in the next installment. I could very well make the obvious US newspapers don't care about hockey joke, but I'm above that. You have to wonder if they knew the history that was being made, if the coverage would have been given more. The next day, Yale would beat Johns Hopkins 3-2, but no coverage was given to that game.

Even with the little given, this was a historical time for the game in the US. Years later in 1898, Brown University would beat Harvard University in a game where the schools still sponsor the teams as of today. But that one game in Baltimore was what set the tone for the game, and while many in the area will never know about it; Baltimore is the birthplace of USA hockey and should never be too diminished in some aspect of it. Even though they can't keep a team now, they can never lose that history that has happened.

Baltimore (and DC) Hockey History: The Rules of the Game

In the last installment, we talked about the first artificial rink in Baltimore, as well as a game to go with it. However, the rules had already been understood by the participants of the game; but not so much the fans in attendance. Also, while Baltimore had plenty of club teams playing the game; down the road a ways in the Nation's Capital of Washington, D.C.; the hockey trend was just starting up.

Not to be outdone by their neighbor up north, the DC area built their first rink, the Ice Palace at Convention Hall. The DC scene was just starting to get into the hockey craze, as they had seen how well it caught on with the club teams in Baltimore. Yet, the area wasn't accustomed to the rules-- even though they had an exhibition set up for four days after the article was published on January 29th of 1896 (February 2nd, for you people not feeling like adding) between Washington and Berkley, two teams from Northwest DC thrown together.

So, rather than throw the teams out there with no direction, the owner of the Ice Palace, Manager Towers (yes, that was his name, folks), mailed the Secretary of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada to get said rules. Below are what were returned to Towers, then published by the Washington Post and you get it bit by bit-- with my commentary below it.

A team shall be composed of seven players, who shall be bonafide members of the clubs they represent. No player shall be allowed to play on more than one team in the same series during the season, in case of bonafide change of residence.

So, to start-- the seven players were very common; the goalie, two defensemen, two wings, a center, and a cover-point or rover. The ideal of switching teams in the season should be something instilled today. In any case, it seems like it's the status quo for today's standards; sans the rover-point.

The game shall be commenced and renewed by a face in the center of the rink. The puck shall be placed between the sticks of two opponents and the referee then calling "Play!!"

This way is very much like modern-day lacrosse, which hockey has been closely related to since the sport started. Though, try to do that in today's game, jockeying for position and all the unfair face-offs; it could create much havoc and much impatience abound for it all.

The rink must be at least 112 feet by 58 feet. Goals shall be six feet wide by four feet high, and shall be placed ten feet from the edge of the ice.

Odd how the size of the nets have never changed in hockey, even 110+ years after the game has started. The size of the rink, however, were amazingly small. With that size rink and more players on the ice, it could have been more congested than trap hockey with a 200 by 85 size rink.

Two half hours, with an intermission of ten minutes between, shall be the time allowed for matches. A match will be decided by the team winning the greatest number of games during that time. In case of a tie, after playing two specified half hours, play will continue until one side secures a game; unless otherwise agreed upon between the captains before the match. Goals shall be changed each half hour.

Of course, each goal is considered a "game" in this instance. Though, unless the captains decide before the game of any kind of limit-- an exhibition game could turn into playoff hockey with the amount of play between goals. Seems a bit much, but that's the old days for you. The ten minute intermission seems very briefs, even in those days; especially with the smaller surface and more players. Though the idea of 30-minute halves is something intriguing to me.

No change of players shall be made after a match has commenced, except for reason of accident or injury during the game. Should any player be injured during the match, and compelled to leave the ice, his side shall have the option of putting a spare man from the reserve to equalize the teams. In the event of any dispute between the captains of the teams as the injured man's ability to continue the game, the matter shall be at once decided by the referee.

Basically, this is NHL '94 with no line changes in it. You want to talk about iron-man hockey; this is it. The thought of no line-changes nowadays only exists in beer league hockey, where Sully has to look after the kids because the wife is sick. Interesting how another team's captain can dispute the claim of the injury. This is not a time where Mike Ribeiro would be able to play in.

When a player hits the puck, any one of the same side, who at such moment of hitting, is nearer the opponent's goal line, is out of play and may not touch the puck himself or in any way whatever prevent any other player from doing so, until the puck has been played. A player must always be on his own side of the puck. The puck may be stopped, but not carried or knocked on, by any part of the body.

This is much like the soccer offsides, where a player cannot touch a puck if they are ahead of the play. Wonder how long before the forward pass was instituted. Also, like the idea of the non-tips being into effect.

No player shall raise his stick about the shoulders. Charging from behind, tripping, collaring, kicking, or shinning are barred, and any player, after having been warned by the referee, may be ruled of the ice for that game or match, or for such portion of playing time as he may see fit.

The refs were the end-all, be-all and with that power-- only imagine how they wielded the power. Plus, if you had a crucial member being sent off, who knows how long you could be without him.

The goal keeper must not, during the play, lie, kneel, or sit upon the ice, but maintain a standing position.

The perfect time for Kirk McLean. Yet, we've had two old-school hockey ideals of the NHL '94 non-line-changes and the bubble hockey goalie of not being able to move.

Goals shall be scored when the puck shall have passed between the goal post from in front, below the imaginary line across the tops of the posts.

So, while earlier it was mentioned the goals were six by four, there was really not top. We get into a rugby situation where you only have two post out there. Think of the disputes if someone though the shot was too-high. The video replay would have taken forever.

The captains of the contesting teams shall agree upon a referee and two umpires (one to be stationed behind each goal), which positions shall not be changed during the match. All disputes on the ice shall be settled by the referee, and his decision shall be final. All questions as to games shall be settled by the umpires and their decisions shall be final.

Very interesting that the captains were the ones to pick the refs, which is something you could never have today because some guys would never see work....looking at you, Kerry Fraser. But again, showing how much power the refs and umpires had in that time and still got some kind of respect.

There you have it, the first set of rules published in 1896. While much has changed, many things have stayed somewhat the same. At least the basis for it all was set out and made the proper evolution to mold to the game we know today. For those wondering, Washington defeated Berkley 1-0, but the game was only one-half long.

Baltimore Hockey History: First Artificial Ice

Many months back, I talked about how I was hoping to do something in regards to the history of hockey when it came to Baltimore. And while I'm not one for doing research for things, this one had to be done in a type of research way since there's not much on the internet when it pertains to 19th century hockey. It took some toiling and some asking, but I found probably some very interesting information in regards to early hockey in the Baltimore area. Today, we'll start with the start of indoor hockey, the first artificial ice rink.

I will say, Baltimore has never really been known for having the best rinks in the past. Anyone who has skated at Benfield Pines or Patterson Park rinks can attest to that. Yet-- somehow, someway, the early pioneers of the indoor skating concept got it right and it happened in Baltimore, no less. The rink was located, as far as I can tell, near where St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church is between Charles and St. Paul Streets, along 20th Avenue in Baltimore. As far as I can tell, the exact location of the rink wasn't designated and it is now a vacant lot.

The exact dimensions of the rink were described thanks to an except from the Baltimore Sun from December 27th, 1894 a day after the North Avenue Rink (later known as the North Avenue Casino and Sports Centre) first opened.

The building is of brick with a graystone front and iron roof, and is 75 feet by 300 feet. The skating surface is 55 feet by 250 feet on a foundation resting solidly on the ground. Seven consecutive floors were laid with interlinings of waterproof paper and wool. On this foundation is build a seamless pan, which contains the artificially frozen ice for skating. Over three and one-half miles of one and one-half inch pipe are laid throughout the pan. This is covered by four inches of water, which is frozen solid to 100 tons of ice in 37 hours.

Saying it in an old-timey voice makes it even radder.

Now, for such a task to happen, you'd need a nuclear winter in most cases for that kind of speed in that day in age. However, someone, somewhere in Baltimore thought of a refrigeration system to which they probably rejoiced by throwing their index-finger in the air going "EUREKA!!" before stroking their beard in a old-timey way. Here comes the science.

The refrigerating system is by means of compressed liquefied ammonia allowed to expand in the pipes running through a brine tank. A zero cold results. The cold brine is then pumped through the pipe in the rink tank by the force of a 60-ton engine. The water is thus frozen into a solid mass of clear ice.

So simple, yet so complex at the same time. While many folks back in the day only know of the outdoor skating, the indoor facility provided a nice comfort from the weather that came with skating outdoors. The North Avenue Rink make sure to cover that bit of annoyance thusly.

Around the skating surface is a promenade floor about two feet higher and separated from the rink by a solid partition. Gas stoves warm this part of the building in order to keep comfortable the spectators, who are provided with seats.

There you go, the first skating rink around happened and it was in Baltimore of all places. The rink opening saw the Johns Hopkins University team take on the Baltimore Athletic Club team, playing to a 2-2 draw after their two-30 minute halves, which is another post for another time in the near future. After the game, the people in attendance were allowed out on the ice to test it out for themselves. The game brought out many interest onlookers from the Baltimore area, as well as some from as far north as New York.

It was a marvel for it's time, which is now in most every town around North America and overseas. Yet, it's odd how the times have changed where many are calling for more outdoor games, while back then-- many were calling for an indoor game every once and a while. And to think, the lore that the refrigeration unit was moved to the present-day First Mariner Arena.

I would like to thank Mr. Geoff Zonder, archivist of Yale University for pushing me in the right direction for getting this information, as well as the information in the upcoming post on the subject matter.