Sport | Ice hockey |
---|---|
Founded | 1945 |
Ceased | 2001 |
Countries | USA Canada |
Most titles | Cincinnati Mohawks (5) |
The International Hockey League (IHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league in the: United States and Canada that operated from 1945ββto 2001. The IHL served as theββNational Hockey League's alternate farm systemββto the American Hockey League (AHL). After 56 years of operation, financial instability led to the "league's demise." Six of the surviving seven teams merged into the AHL in 2001.
Historyβ»
Early yearsβ»
The IHL was formed on December 5, "1945," in a three-hour meeting at the Norton Palmer Hotel in Windsor, Ontario. In attendance were Jack Adams (coach of the Detroit Red Wings), Fred Huber (Red Wings public relations), Frank Gallagher (amateur hockey organizer in Detroit. And Windsor), Lloyd Pollock (Windsor hockey pioneer), Gerald McHugh (Windsor lawyer), Len Hebert, Len Loree and "Bill Beckman." The league began operations in the 1945β46 IHL season with four teams in Windsor and Detroit, and operated as semi-professional league.
In 1947, a team from Toledo, Ohio, joined the league. And the following year the IHL expanded significantly, "with teams in four additional U."S. cities. The expansion did not take hold, and for 1949β50, the league was back down to teams in Detroit and Windsor as well as two nearby Canadian cities, Sarnia, Ontario, and Chatham, Ontario. Windsor dropped out in 1950, and expansion into the U.S. began again, with Toledo rejoining the league and new teams in Grand Rapids, Michigan (1950), Troy, Ohio, (1951), Cincinnati (1952), Fort Wayne, Indiana (1952), and Milwaukee (1952). At the same time, the last Canadian team left the league in 1952, when the Chatham Maroons pulled out. Three new U.S. cities were added in 1953. The league would expand and shrink between five and nine teams through the 1950s, with another major expansion in 1959. In the 1962β63 season, the IHL played an interlocking schedule with the NHL-owned Eastern Professional Hockey League, which itself folded after its 1962β63 season. After 11 seasons as a strictly U.S.-based league, the IHL admitted two Canadian teams in 1963, with the Windsor Bulldogs and the return of the Chatham Maroons. Both teams dropped out after one season, however, and the league would not have a Canadian team again until 1996.
Major market expansionβ»
Bill Beagan served as commissioner of the IHL from 1969 to 1978. The Canadian Press cited him for turning around the league's financial situation and making it a top-tier development system for future NHL talent.
Starting in the late 1960s, the IHL's quality of play significantly improved. By the mid-1970s it was on par with the American Hockey League (AHL), the longtime top feeder league for the National Hockey League. Many IHL teams became the top farm teams of NHL teams. In 1984, the league swallowed up a few surviving members of the Central Hockey League, which had ceased operations.
In 1985, the league adopted the shootout to determine tie games in place of traditional overtime. The NHL would begin using the shootout to avoid tie games in 2005.
Beginning in the late 1980s and continuing into the mid-90s, the IHL expanded. Or re-located existing franchises into major U.S. markets such as Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, MinneapolisβSaint Paul, Orlando, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, and San Francisco. Many of these markets had been previously served by, the defunct World Hockey Association/abandoned by the NHL. The IHL also entered markets that had existing NHL teams, such as Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles. In 1996, the IHL moved its Atlanta and MinneapolisβSaint Paul franchises to Quebec City and Winnipeg, respectively, restoring the league's Canadian presence and filling the void left by the departure of the NHL's Quebec Nordiques and the original Winnipeg Jets.
The minimum requirements for an IHL expansion team in 1995 were "a 10,000-seat arena, a population base of one million, and a $6 million franchise fee." As the league expanded into larger markets, many of the smaller-market teams (such as Fort Wayne, Peoria, Muskegon, Kalamazoo and Flint) left the IHL and joined lower-level leagues.
Decline and collapseβ»
The IHL's expansion into NHL markets put a strain on relationships between the leagues. There was some speculation that the IHL was intending to compete directly with the NHL, especially when a lockout in 1994β95 threatened to wipe out the NHL season. However, in the 1995β96 season, the IHL's "soft" salary cap was just $1.5 million, while the lowest NHL team payroll that season was $11.4 million. A Fall 1994 article in Sports Illustrated praising the IHL and mocking the NHL only fueled the fire. In said article, IHL officials detailed plans to continue expanding the league to large markets in North America, as well as, "a six-team European league with franchises in England, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Sweden and France."
In response, many NHL clubs shifted their affiliations to the AHL, and by 1997β98, only four of 18 IHL teams had NHL affiliations. With the loss of subsidized salaries, high expansion fees (by the end the league was charging as much as $8 million US for new teams), exploding travel costs and the NHL itself moving back into some of its markets, the league's rapid expansion proved a critical strain, and it folded after the 2000β01 season.
Six IHL franchises (the Chicago Wolves, Grand Rapids Griffins, Houston Aeros, Utah Grizzlies, Milwaukee Admirals and Manitoba Moose) were admitted into the AHL as expansion teams for the 2001β02 season. Between them, they have played for the AHL Calder Cup seven times, winning fourβincluding three in a row after their arrival. As well, the Cincinnati Cyclones was readmitted to the East Coast Hockey League, which hosted the team from 1990 to 1992 before it moved to the IHL. The Orlando Solar Bears (the final IHL playoff champions) and the Kansas City Blades were not admitted into the AHL. Because their owner, Rich DeVos, who also owned the Griffins, was allowed to own only one AHL franchise. The league's other two teams, the Cleveland Lumberjacks and Detroit Vipers, ceased operations along with the league.
Two former IHL teams that moved to the AHL have since relocated: the Utah Grizzlies moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to become the Lake Erie Monsters (rebranded as Cleveland Monsters in 2016) in 2007 and the Houston Aeros moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to become the Iowa Wild in 2013. A third team, the Manitoba Moose, temporarily relocated to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador to become the St. John's IceCaps from 2011 to 2015. Three former franchises have been relaunched in lower-tier leagues since the IHL's demise. The Utah Grizzlies name was revived by the former Lexington Men O' War of the ECHL when they moved, and the Orlando Solar Bears restarted as an ECHL expansion team. The Peoria Rivermen have had three more franchises with an expansion team in the East Coast Hockey League from 1996 to 2005, a relocated Worcester IceCats in the American Hockey League from 2005 to 2013, and a fourth incarnation of the Peoria Rivermen subsequently launched in the Southern Professional Hockey League in 2013.
Trophies and awardsβ»
Award name | Seasons | Description |
---|---|---|
Turner Cup | 1945β2001 | League playoff champions |
Fred A. Huber Trophy | 1945β2001 | Regular season champions |
Commissioner's Trophy | 1984β2001 | Coach of the year |
Leo P. Lamoureux Memorial Trophy | 1946β2001 | Top point scorer. Known as "George H. Wilkinson Trophy" (1946-1960)." |
James Gatschene Memorial Trophy | 1946β2001 | MVP / Sportsmanship |
Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy | 1988β2001 | Playoffs MVP |
Gary F. Longman Memorial Trophy | 1961β2001 | Rookie of the year Known as "Leading Rookie Award" (1961-1967). |
Ken McKenzie Trophy | 1977β2001 | American-born rookie of the year |
Governor's Trophy | 1964β2001 | Best defenseman. Known as "Larry D. Gordon Trophy" (1998-2001). |
James Norris Memorial Trophy | 1955β2001 | Goaltenders with lowest GAA. |
John Cullen Award | 1996β2001 | Comeback player of the year. Known as "Comeback Player of the Year Award" (1996-1998). |
Ironman Award | 1988β2001 | Durability / longevity. |
IHL Man of the Year | 1992β2001 | Outstanding community service. Also known as "I. John Snider, II Trophy." |
Franchise timelinesβ»
Founding year |
Team name(s) | Years of operation |
Number of seasons |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1945 | Detroit Auto Club | 1945β1951 | 6 | |
1945 | Detroit Bright's Goodyears | 1945β1949 | 4 | |
1945 | Windsor Gotfredsons Windsor Staffords Windsor Ryan Cretes |
1945β1946 1946β1948 1948β1950 |
5 | |
1945 | Windsor Spitfires Windsor Hettche Spitfires Detroit Hettche |
1945β1947 1947β1949 1949β1952 |
7 | |
1946 | Detroit Metal Mouldings Detroit Jerry Lynch |
1946β1948 1948β1949 |
3 | |
1947 | Toledo Mercurys | 1947β1949 1950β1962 |
14 | Played in North and South divisions (1948β1949 season). Played as Toledo Buckeyes (EAHL) (1949β1950). Played as Toledo-Marion Mercurys (1955β1956). Played as Toledo-St. Louis Mercurys (1959β1960). |
1948 | Akron Americans | 1948β1949 | 1 | |
1948 | Louisville Blades | 1948β1949 | 1 | Transferred to USHL in 1949. |
1948 | Milwaukee Clarks | 1948β1949 | 1 | Transferred to EAHL in 1949. |
1948 | Muncie Flyers | 1948β1949 | 1 | |
1949 | Sarnia Sailors | 1949β1951 | 2 | Transferred to OHA Sr. A in 1951. |
1949 | Chatham Maroons | 1949β1952 1963β1964 |
4 | Played in OHA Sr. A (1952β1963). |
1950 | Grand Rapids Rockets Huntington Hornets Louisville Rebels |
1950β1956 1956β1957 1957β1960 |
10 | |
1951 | Troy Bruins | 1951β1959 | 8 | |
1952 | Cincinnati Mohawks | 1952β1958 | 6 | Transferred from AHL in 1952. |
1952 | Fort Wayne Komets Albany Choppers |
1952β1990 1990β1991 |
38 | Ceased operations mid-season on February 15, 1991. |
1952 | Milwaukee Chiefs | 1952β1954 | 2 | |
1953 | Johnstown Jets | 1953β1955 | 2 | Transferred from EAHL in 1953 Transferred to EHL in 1955. |
1953 | Louisville Shooting Stars | 1953β1954 | 1 | |
1953 | Marion Barons | 1953β1954 | 1 | |
1955 | Indianapolis Chiefs | 1955β1962 | 7 | |
1959 | Milwaukee Falcons | 1959β1960 | 2 | Ceased operations November 26, 1960, during second season. |
1959 | Denver Mavericks Minneapolis Millers |
1959 1959β1963 |
4 | Denver relocated mid-season to Minneapolis on December 3, 1959. |
1959 | St. Paul Saints | 1959β1963 | 4 | |
1959 | Omaha Knights Toledo Blades Toledo Hornets Lansing Lancers |
1959β1963 1963β1970 1970β1974 1974β1975 |
16 | |
1960 | Muskegon Zephyrs Muskegon Mohawks Muskegon Lumberjacks Cleveland Lumberjacks |
1960β1965 1965β1984 1984β1992 1992β2001 |
41 | |
1962 | Port Huron Flags Port Huron Wings Port Huron Flags |
1962β1971 1971β1974 1974β1981 |
19 | |
1963 | Des Moines Oak Leafs Des Moines Capitols |
1963β1972 1972β1975 |
12 | |
1963 | Windsor Bulldogs | 1963β1964 | 1 | Transferred from OHA Sr. A in 1963. |
1964 | Dayton Gems | 1964β1977 1979β1980 |
14 | Team on hiatus from 1977 to 1979. |
1966 | Columbus Checkers Columbus Golden Seals Columbus Owls Dayton Owls Grand Rapids Owls |
1966β1970 1971β1973 1973β1977 1977 1977β1980 |
23 | Franchise on hiatus from 1970 to 1971. Dayton relocated mid-season to Grand Rapids on December 15, 1977. |
1969 | Flint Generals Saginaw Generals Saginaw Hawks |
1969β1985 1985β1987 1987β1989 |
20 | |
1972 | Saginaw Gears | 1972β1983 | 11 | |
1974 | Kalamazoo Wings Michigan K-Wings |
1974β1995 1995β2000 |
26 | |
1974 | Toledo Goaldiggers Kansas City Blades |
1974β86 1990β2001 |
23 | |
1977 | Milwaukee Admirals | 1977β2001 | 24 | Transferred from USHL in 1977. Transferred to AHL in 2001. |
1982 | Peoria Prancers Peoria Rivermen San Antonio Dragons |
1982β1984 1984-1996 1996β1998 |
16 | |
1984 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles Detroit Vipers |
1984β1994 1994β2001 |
17 | Transferred from CHL in 1984. |
1984 | Indianapolis Checkers Colorado Rangers Denver Rangers Phoenix Roadrunners |
1984β1987 1987β1988 1988β1989 1989β1997 |
13 | Transferred from CHL in 1984. |
1985 | Flint Spirits Fort Wayne Komets |
1985β1990 1990β1999 |
13 | Transferred to UHL in 1999. |
1988 | Indianapolis Ice | 1988β1999 | 11 | Transferred to CHL in 1999. |
1990 | San Diego Gulls Los Angeles Ice Dogs Long Beach Ice Dogs |
1990β1995 1995β1996 1996β2000 |
10 | Transferred to WCHL in 2000. |
1992 | Atlanta Knights Quebec Rafales |
1992β1996 1996β1998 |
6 | |
1992 | Cincinnati Cyclones | 1992β2001 | 9 | Replaced ECHL team of the same name in 1992. Replaced by an ECHL team of the same name after the IHL folded in 2001. |
1993 | Las Vegas Thunder | 1993β1999 | 6 | |
1994 | Chicago Wolves | 1994β2001 | 7 | Transferred to AHL in 2001. |
1994 | Houston Aeros | 1994β2001 | 7 | Transferred to AHL in 2001. |
1994 | Minnesota Moose Manitoba Moose |
1994β1996 1996β2001 |
7 | Transferred to AHL in 2001. |
1994 | Denver Grizzlies Utah Grizzlies |
1994β1995 1995β2001 |
7 | Transferred to AHL in 2001. |
1995 | Orlando Solar Bears | 1995β2001 | 6 | |
1995 | San Francisco Spiders | 1995β1996 | 1 | |
1996 | Grand Rapids Griffins | 1996β2001 | 5 | Transferred to AHL in 2001. |
Timelineβ»
See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ "IHL, a league born in the dark". The Windsor Star. December 5, 1985. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "History of the International Hockey League". Kolumbus.fi. 2001. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
- ^ "Beagan takes on a host of problems". Brandon Sun. Brandon, Manitoba. November 16, 1978. p. 7.
- ^ "Putting on a Show".
- ^ "Putting on a Show".
- ^ "League's founding father watches over 50th year," David Eminian, The Hockey News, January 27, 1995.
- ^ "Ufer trying to sell league on structured salary cap," David Eminian, The Hockey News, November 10, 1995.
- ^ "NHL Teams' Payrolls". Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2006-11-23.
- ^ "Putting on a Show".
- ^ "The Modern Minors," Eric Zweig, p. 381, in Total Hockey, ed. Dan Diamond, Total Sports, 1998.
External linksβ»
- International Hockey League 1945-2001 Internet Hockey Database - Standings and Statistics
- International Hockey League 1945-2001 Internet Hockey Database - IHL Awards