The Florida Hammerheads were a professional

inline hockey Roller inline hockey, or inline hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport ...

team based in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The Hammerheads played in

Roller Hockey International Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey. History League president Dennis Murphy had been involved in the ...

from 1993 to 1994 and played their home games at

Miami Arena Miami Arena was an indoor arena located in Miami, Florida. The venue served as the home of the NBA's Miami Heat, and the NHL's Florida Panthers. From 1988 until 1999, it also was the indoor arena for the Miami Hurricanes. History Completed in 1 ...

and West Palm Beach Auditorium.

Team history

The Hammerheads were first owned by Julia Neal, who was the only female owner in Roller Hockey International. The General Manager Karen Keilt was the first female general manager of a men’s professional hockey team. The coach was

Brad Buetow Bradly Buetow (born October 28, 1950) is a retired ice hockey player and coach. In college, he played for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He played 25 regular season games in the World Hockey Association for the Cleveland Crusaders and 37 games ...

. The team played in RHI's Northeast division. The team's first game was July 10, 1993, on the road to the

Connecticut Coasters The Connecticut Coasters were a Roller Hockey International franchise based in New Haven, Connecticut, that played only in the 1993 season before moving to California and becoming the Sacramento River Rats. Their team colors were teal, purple, and ...

, with their first home game on July 25. The Hammerheads drew an average of 1,000 fans per game in their first season which was played at the Miami Arena. Julia Neal sold the team to Arthur Barr and Sol Zuckerman and the team moved mid-season to West Palm Beach Auditorium in an effort to grow their fan base.'

References

{{Reflist, 30em Roller Hockey International teams Sports clubs established in 1993 Sports clubs disestablished in 1994 Sports teams in Florida Sports in Miami 1993 establishments in Florida 1994 disestablishments in Florida Sports in West Palm Beach, Florida