The Cape Cod Buccaneers were a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team based in South Yarmouth,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

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

. They were an inaugural member of the

Atlantic Coast Hockey League The Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) was a minor league hockey organization that operated between 1981 and 1987. The league was founded by Bill Coffey. The Bob Payne Trophy was awarded to the team who won the league playoff championship. Acc ...

and were owned by future

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

CEO

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

History

McMahon owned the

Cape Cod Coliseum Cape Cod Coliseum was a multi-purpose arena located off White's Path in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. In addition to sporting events, the coliseum hosted rock concerts. The 46,000-square foot concrete arena opened in 1972 and sat between 5,000-6, ...

and wanted to secure an

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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

franchise for the arena. When he was unable to finalize plans for the 1981–82 season, McMahon was approached by Frazier Gleason of Indianapolis who wanted to run an 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 Minnesota North Stars (1972–1977), New York Islanders (1972–1973), 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 Ice hockey teams in Massachusetts Sports in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Yarmouth, Massachusetts