The Baltimore Clippers were a minor league professional ice hockey team from in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, playing in the

Baltimore Civic Center CFG Bank Arena (originally the Baltimore Civic Center and formerly Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore Arena and 1st Mariner Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Baltimore, Maryland. This venue is located about one block away from the Baltimore Convention ...

. The Clippers were members of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

from 1962 to 1976, and then played one season in the Southern Hockey League. The team was managed by

Terry Reardon Terrance George Reardon (April 6, 1919 – February 14, 1993) was a Canadian ice hockey centre and coach. He played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens between 1939 and 1947 Reardon played 197 games in ...

for its first fourteen seasons, and won three division titles, but were unable to capture a

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

title. Baltimore began as a farm team for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, and helped develop

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

players including,

Eddie Giacomin Edward "Ed" Giacomin (born June 6, 1939) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League between 1965 and 1978. Playing career Giacomin began his p ...

, Doug Harvey,

Jacques Plante Joseph Jacques Omer Plante (; January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played ...

and

Jean Ratelle Joseph Gilbert Yvon Jean Ratelle (born October 3, 1940) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played for the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. In twenty-one seasons he averaged almost a point a game and won the Lady Byng Trophy twice in ...

. The Clippers also featured eight alumni, who are now members of the

AHL Hall of Fame The AHL Hall of Fame is an online ice hockey museum dedicated to honoring members of the American Hockey League. Each year, a new class of inductees is enshrined during the AHL's All-Star Classic. On January 5, 2006, the league announced that Joh ...

. The team name "Clippers", was used by two previous professional hockey teams in Baltimore, and paid homage to local history in the

Baltimore Clipper A Baltimore Clipper is a fast sailing ship historically built on the mid-Atlantic seaboard of the United States of America, especially at the port of Baltimore, Maryland. An early form of clipper, the name is most commonly applied to two-masted ...

, and the

Port of Baltimore Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facilities fo ...

History

The

approved an expansion franchise for Baltimore on June 12, 1962. The approval came with the promise that the

which would be the largest rink in the AHL at that time, would be completed no later than November 1, 1962. The Clippers were a

affiliate, for five seasons starting in 1962. The new Clippers had no connection to the

Baltimore Clippers (1945–1949) The Baltimore Clippers were a minor league professional ice hockey team from in Baltimore, Maryland, playing in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League at Carlin's Iceland. The team began play in the 1944–45 season known as the Baltimore Blades, and ...

, or the Baltimore Clippers (1954–1956), other than the name, and the same public relations man, Robert Elmer. Since their arena was still under construction, training camp was held at the

Wheat City Arena The Wheat City Arena was an indoor arena located in Brandon, Manitoba at the corner of 10th Street and Victoria Avenue. It was built in 1913 and hosted the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair as well as numerous ice hockey teams, including the Brandon Wheat ...

, where general manager

played as a junior.

Red Sullivan George James "Red" Sullivan (December 24, 1929 – January 19, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1949 to 1961. After finishing his playing career Sullivan became a coach, servi ...

was named the player-coach, and the camp included many players with connections to Brandon, Manitoba. Baltimore won the first game of the

1962–63 AHL season The 1962–63 AHL season was the 27th season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Buffalo Bisons finished first overall in the regular season, and won their fourth Calder Cup championship. Team chang ...

on October 12, defeating the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existe ...

, 6–4. On December 29, 1962, Sullivan was promoted to be head coach the

, and was replaced by player-coach Aldo Guidolin.

Dave Creighton David Theodore Creighton (June 24, 1930 – August 18, 2017) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. Creighton started his National Hockey League career with the Boston Bruins in 1948. He would also play with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black H ...

led the team in scoring with 24 goals, and 72 points. The Clippers finished the season in third place in the east division. In the playoffs, they lost two games to one, to the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

. In the

1963–64 AHL season The 1963–64 AHL season was the 28th season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Quebec Aces finished first overall in the regular season. The Cleveland Barons won their ninth Calder Cup championshi ...

Ken Schinkel Kenneth Calvin Schinkel (November 27, 1932 – November 20, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing and coach. He played for the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League. Playing career After a junior ...

led the team in scoring, with 23 goals, and 56 points. Player-coach, Aldo Guidolin was the third most penalized player in the league, with 165 minutes. Baltimore finished fourth place in the east division, out of the playoffs. Jack Crawford was appointed head coach for the

1964–65 AHL season The 1964–65 AHL season was the 29th season of the American Hockey League. The league inaugurates the James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding media coverage of the AHL. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Rochester Amer ...

Gord Labossiere Gordon William Labossiere (; born January 2, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 215 games in the National Hockey League between 1963 and 1971 and 301 games in the World Hockey Association between 1972 and 1976. C ...

led the team in scoring, with 38 goals, and 79 points. Baltimore finished third place in the east division. In the playoffs, the Clippers lost three games to two, versus the Hershey Bears. Baltimore struggled early in the 1965–66 AHL season, and head coach Jack Crawford was fired on January 24, 1966. Terry Reardon took over coach duties, despite rumors that Red Sullivan was returning. Ken Schinkel led the team in scoring with 30 goals, and 75 points. The Clippers finished fourth place in the east division, and missed the playoffs. In the

1966–67 AHL season The 1966–67 AHL season was the 31st season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Pittsburgh Hornets finished first overall in the regular season, and won their first Calder Cup championship since be ...

, Reardon acquired Willie Marshall, who led the team in scoring with 33 goals, and 89 points. Marshall was third in the league in points, and Bob Plager led the league with 169 penalty minutes. Baltimore finished the season second place in the east division. In the playoffs, the Clippers defeated the Quebec Aces three games to two in the first round, then lost to the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

three games to one, in the second round. For the 1967–68 AHL season, Baltimore started an affiliation with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

for three seasons.

Tom McCarthy Thomas McCarthy (also Tom and Tommy) may refer to: Academia *Thomas A. McCarthy (born 1940), American professor of philosophy *Thomas J. McCarthy (born 1956), American professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts *J. Thomas Mc ...

led the team in scoring with 34 goals, and 83 points. Baltimore dropped into fourth place in the east division, and missed the playoffs. Aldo Guidolin returned as head coach for the 1968–69 AHL season, on June 22, 1968. Baltimore picked up secondary affiliations with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

for one season. Willie Marshall led the team in scoring with 26 goals, and 78 points. Sandy McGregor scored 44 goals, second most in the league, and Marshall tied for third most assists in the league with 52. Baltimore moved up to second place in the east division. In the playoffs, the Clippers lost to the

Providence Reds The Providence Reds were a ice hockey, hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Re ...

, three games to one. Rudy Migay was appointed head coach for the 1969–70 AHL season on September 11, 1969. Jim Bartlett led the team in scoring with 30 goals, and 58 points. Baltimore finished third place in the west division. In the playoffs, they lost four games to one, to the

Montreal Voyageurs Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

. After the season, Pittsburgh ended its affiliation, and reassigned Migay to coach the Amarillo Wranglers in the next season. In the

1970–71 AHL season The 1970–71 AHL season was the 35th season of the American Hockey League. Eight teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Baltimore Clippers finished first overall in the regular season. The Springfield Kings won their first Calder Cup ...

, Terry Reardon returned to the dual role of head coach and general manager, and the Clippers affiliated with the

for one season. Fred Speck led the team in points with 92, and

Wayne Rivers Wayne Rivers (born February 1, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 108 games in the National Hockey League and 357 games in the World Hockey Association. During the 1977–78 season, Rivers coached the San Franc ...

had 38 goals. Baltimore had the top three scorers in the league, including Speck with 92 points,

Marc Dufour Marc Carol Joseph Dufour (September 11, 1941 – January 23, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey player. He played 14 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings between 1963 and 1968. The rest of his career, ...

with 82 points, and Rivers with 75 points. Speck also led the league in assists with 61, Rivers was second in goals scored, and

Larry Johnston Larry Stuart Roy Johnston (born July 20, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for over 14 years in seven different hockey leagues. He spent the most time with the Springfield Indians/Kings of the American Hoc ...

racked up the second most penalty minutes in the league with 198. Speck won the

Les Cunningham Award The Les Cunningham Award is given annually to American Hockey League's "Most Valuable Player" of the regular season, as voted on by AHL media and players. The award was first presented in the 1947–48 season, is named after Les Cunningham, a five ...

as the league's most valuable player, the

John B. Sollenberger Trophy The John B. Sollenberger Trophy is given to American Hockey League's leading scorer for the season. History The award was named for John B. Sollenberger in 1955. Sollenberger was a long-time contributor to the league as manager and president of ...

as the league's top scorer, and the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL Rookie of the Year. The Clippers finished first in the west division, to capture the John D. Chick Trophy. Reardon won the

Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award The Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award is an American Hockey League (AHL) trophy awarded annually to the most outstanding coach during the season, as voted upon by members of the AHL media. The award is named for Louis Pieri, a long-time contributor ...

, as the AHL Coach of the Year. In the playoffs, Baltimore fell in six games to the Providence Reds, ending the best team season to date. Veteran defenseman

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredicta ...

was appointed co-coach with Reardon for the

1971–72 AHL season The 1971–72 AHL season was the 36th season of the American Hockey League. Major changes occurred in the off-season. The league welcomed four expansion teams, and lost both Quebec-based teams. Eleven teams played 76 games each in the schedule. T ...

, in addition to playing. Baltimore switched NHL affiliations to the

California Golden Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The ...

for the season.

Pete Laframboise Peter Alfred Laframboise (January 18, 1950 – March 19, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Laframboise played for the National Hockey League (NHL) California Golden Seals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals in the 1970 ...

led the Clippers in scoring with 37 goals, and 81 points, followed by Joe Szura with 38 goals, and 76 points. Baltimore repeated their first place finish in the west division, winning another John D. Chick Trophy. In the playoffs, Baltimore defeated the

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

four games to two in the first round, and then defeated the

Cincinnati Swords The Cincinnati Swords were an American Hockey League team that played at the Cincinnati Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1971 to 1974. They were owned by and the affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. History The Swords ...

in six games in the second round, to reach the league finals. Playing in their only

finals appearance, Baltimore lost in six games to the

Nova Scotia Voyageurs The Nova Scotia Voyageurs were a professional ice hockey team, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. They played in the American Hockey League, from 1971 to 1984. Originally chartered as the Houston Apollos of the Central Hockey League, the org ...

, and were outscored 8–21. Baltimore's recent success was short-lived without any NHL affiliation during the

1972–73 AHL season The 1972–73 AHL season was the 37th season of the American Hockey League. Twelve teams played 76 games each in the schedule. The Cincinnati Swords finished first overall in the regular season, and won the Calder Cup championship. Team changes ...

. The Clippers finished sixth place in the west division, and last overall in the league, missing the playoffs. Bobby Rivard was the team's top scorer with 75 points. Baltimore negotiated an affiliation with the

for the

1973–74 AHL season The 1973–74 AHL season was the 38th season of the American Hockey League. The league renamed its divisions, and the "East" Division became the "North" Division, and the "West" Division became the "South" Division. Twelve teams played 76 games e ...

. Marc Dufour led the team in scoring, with 104 points. Dufour and teammate

Howie Menard Howard Hubert Ménard (born April 28, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 151 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Black Hawks and the Oakland Seals ...

tied for third in the league with 42 goals, and Dufour finished second overall in points. The Clippers returned to first place, winning the south division, and the John D. Chick Trophy. In the playoffs, Baltimore defeated the

Richmond Robins The Richmond Robins were a professional ice hockey team based in Richmond, Virginia. They were a member of the American Hockey League for five seasons from 1971–72 AHL season, 1971–72 to 1975–76 AHL season, 1975–76. Their cross-state rivals ...

four games to one in the first round, but were swept in four games by the Hershey Bears in the second round.

Kent Douglas ''For the American actor sometimes known as Kent Douglass see Douglass Montgomery.'' Kent Gemmell Douglas (February 6, 1936 – April 12, 2009) was a professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. Playing career Early career Douglas started his ca ...

was appointed co-coach with Reardon for the

1974–75 AHL season The 1974–75 AHL season was the 39th season of the American Hockey League. Ten teams were scheduled to play 76 games each in the schedule. The Baltimore Clippers suspended operations after 46 games, when displaced by the Baltimore Blades of th ...

, and Baltimore affiliated with the

Kansas City Scouts The Kansas City Scouts were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, the franchise relocated to Denver, and became the Colorado Rockies. In 1982, the Rockies relocated to New Jersey where ...

for one season. By January 1975, the Clippers were in trouble financially. They had received an $80,000 subsidy from city in lieu of lease payments, giving up exclusive ice rights to the Baltimore Civic Center. The team formally folded on January 23, 1975, and cancelled the remaining 30 games on their schedule, citing poor attendance and debt. On the same day, the

Michigan Stags The Michigan Stags were a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit that played a portion of the 1974–75 season in the World Hockey Association. On January 18, 1975, the team folded, but the league immediately took over operation and moved ...

of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

relocated to Baltimore. When the Clippers folded after 46 games, they were in last place with 38 points, and Bobby Rivard led the team with 37 points. When the Baltimore Blades did not return for a second season, Reardon led the drive to resurrect the Clippers. On August 15, 1975, the AHL granted a provisional franchise to revive the Baltimore Clippers for the

1975–76 AHL season The 1975–76 AHL season was the 40th season of the American Hockey League. The league begins to give out three James H. Ellery Memorial Awards to the media, one each for outstanding newspaper, radio and television coverage of the AHL. Eight tea ...

, as long as a lease could be secured at the Baltimore Civic Center. The Clippers were readmitted to league on August 26, 1975, when team ownership posted a $50,000 performance bond with league, and 1,700 season tickets had been sold. Baltimore affiliated with the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

in the NHL, and the

New England Whalers New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in the WHA for one season. Fred Speck returned to the Clippers, and led the team with 75 points scored. Don Grierson was fourth in goals scored in the league with 37, and Speck was third with 52 assists. Despite their efforts, the Clippers placed fourth in the south division, and last overall in the league. On August 12, 1976, team owners announced that the Clippers were transferring to the Southern Hockey League, due to the higher costs of operating in the AHL, compared to being geographically closer to teams in the SHL and saving money on travel. The team had lost $250,000 in the previous season, and were also unsuccessful in negotiating an NHL affiliation to help with costs. Reardon was relieved of his general manager duties, and reassigned to other business management, then later released as a cost saving measure. Larry Wilson was named the new coach and general manager on August 31. The Clippers affiliated with the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

in the WHA for the

1976–77 Southern Hockey League season The 1976–77 Southern Hockey League season was the fourth and final season of the Southern Hockey League. The Roanoke Valley Rebels ceased operations, and two new teams were added for the season. The Baltimore Clippers transferred from the Ameri ...

. On January 18, 1977, Wilson was appointed interim head coach of Detroit Red Wings, and Baltimore named Don Grierson a player-coach-general manager. The Southern Hockey League soon ceased operations when four of its teams folded due to financial reasons, and the final game was played on January 31, 1977. At that time, Grierson led the team, and tied for the league lead in goals with 30, led the league with 45 assists, and 75 points. Baltimore had accumulated the fourth most points during the season, when the league stopped play. In January 1978, the team's remaining possessions were auctioned off to pay outstanding debt claims.

Major league affiliations

The Baltimore Clippers were affiliated with

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

teams from 1962 to 1976,

teams from 1975 to 1977, and were independent in the 1972–73 season.

Notable players

Fred Speck had possibly the best season for a Clippers' player in 1970–71, winning three league awards, including the

, and the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award Eight players from the Clippers have been inducted into the

, and four have been inducted in the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

Coaches

was the general manager of Baltimore for fourteen seasons, and coached the Clippers during nine seasons, winning the

in 1970–71, as the AHL Coach of the Year. In total, nine men were head coaches of the Baltimore Clippers 1962 to 1971, or co-coaches from 1972 to 1976.

Attendance

Baltimore initially received above average fan support, compared to teams in its league. The city failed in its attempts for a major league team in the 1967 NHL expansion, or the subsequent NHL expansion era. Attendance began to drop in the early 1970s, and then the team faced competition with both the

, and the WHA in the 1974–75 season.

Results

Season-by-season results in the regular season, and playoffs.

References

External links