The Cape Cod Buccaneers were a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team based in South Yarmouth,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

. They were an inaugural member of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League and were owned by future

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...

History

McMahon owned the Cape Cod Coliseum and wanted to secure an

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

franchise for the arena. When he was unable to finalize plans for the 1981–82 season, McMahon was approached by Frazier Gleason of

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

who wanted to run a franchise in the new Atlantic Coast Hockey League. Gleason and McMahon worked together during the early stages of building the team; however, McMahon assumed full control over the franchise after it became evident that Gleason did not have sufficient funds to run the team. McMahon hired former

New Haven Nighthawks The New Haven Nighthawks were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1972 to 1992. They had affiliations with the New York Islanders (1972–1973), Minnesota North Stars (1972–1977), New York Rangers (19 ...

right wing Jim Troy to serve as the team's coach and general manager. After the first month of the season, two of the league's franchises folded. On February 1, 1982, the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds announced that they would have to fold, unless the season ended early. The league went into an emergency meeting and decided to hold the post-season immediately. McMahon disagreed with the decision, which he felt would hurt the league's credibility, and chose to fold the team. In their only season in the ACHL, the Buccaneers went 17-21-1.

References

{{reflist 1981 establishments in Massachusetts 1982 disestablishments in Massachusetts Atlantic Coast Hockey League teams Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Defunct ice hockey teams in Massachusetts Sports clubs and teams in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Yarmouth, Massachusetts