The Hampton Gulls were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

, from 1974 to 1978 at the

Hampton Coliseum Hampton Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in Hampton, Virginia. Construction began on May 24, 1968. The venue held its first event on December 1, 1969, with the nearby College of William & Mary playing North Carolina State University in a colle ...

. The Gulls played three seasons in the Southern Hockey League, beginning in 1974. When that league folded in 1977, the Hampton played one season in 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 ...

. The Gulls were a

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) ...

farm team to the

Cincinnati Stingers The Cincinnati Stingers were an ice hockey team based in Cincinnati that played in the World Hockey Association from 1975 to 1979 and in the Central Hockey League during the 1979–80 season. Their home arena was Riverfront Coliseum. They are ...

each season. John Brophy was team's only head coach during its existence. Hampton ceased operations on February 10, 1978, part way through its fourth season.

History

The franchise originated as an expansion team for the 1974–75 Southern Hockey League season in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

. The new team was named after the

Fayetteville Arsenal The Fayetteville Arsenal in Fayetteville, North Carolina was built in 1838 because during the War of 1812 the United States government realized that the existing distribution of weapons and ammunition factories was not adequate for the defense o ...

, and was scheduled to play at the Cumberland County Memorial Arena. In October 1974, owner Bill Raue moved the team before playing any games, when availability of home ice dates became a problem, and the Hampton Coliseum was available. Claude Chartre led the team in scoring with 112 points, and Lorne Rombough led with 56 goals. Hampton finished the season in second place, and finished runners-up to the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affi ...

in the playoff finals. Before the

1975–76 Southern Hockey League season The 1975–76 Southern Hockey League season was the third season of the Southern Hockey League. The five existing teams returned from the previous season, joined by a sixth expansion team from Norfolk, Virginia. The Tidewater Sharks joined the le ...

, the team was purchased by Charles Wornom, a city councillor and future mayor of Hampton, Virginia, for $40,000. The season saw the Gulls sharing the greater

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

area with the

Tidewater Sharks The Tidewater Sharks were a minor league professional ice hockey team, based in Norfolk, Virginia, and members of the Southern Hockey League from 1975 to 1977. The Sharks played home games at the Norfolk Scope, and shared the Hampton Roads area wi ...

, another SHL team in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

Art Stratton Arthur Stratton (born October 8, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 95 games in the NHL for 5 separate teams. These included the New York Rangers (18 games), Detroit Red Wings (5 games), Chicago Black Hawks (2 ga ...

led the team in scoring with 78 points, and Larry Billows led with 29 goals. Hampton repeated the second place finish in the regular season, and being runners-up to the Charlotte Checkers in the playoff finals. In 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 ...

, Hampton was affiliated with both the Cincinnati Stingers, and the

Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 19 ...

. The Gulls were in first place when the Southern Hockey League collapsed in January 1977. Claude Chartre led the team in scoring with 58 points, and Pat Donnelly led with 23 goals. The Gulls joined the American Hockey League for the

1977–78 AHL season The 1977–78 AHL season was the 42nd season of the American Hockey League. The season was in jeopardy when the last of the original eight franchises of the "International-American Hockey League", the Rhode Island Reds (previously Providence Red ...

, and 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 addition to Cincinnati.

Paul O'Neil Paul Joseph O'Neil (born August 24, 1953) is an American former professional ice hockey center. He was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the fifth round, 67th overall, of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft. He was also drafted by the Houston Aeros in ...

led the team in scoring with 44 points, and

Danny Arndt Daniel Henry Arndt (born March 26, 1955 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) is a former professional ice hockey left winger. Career Arndt was selected in the second round of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft, 35th overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks, as well as ...

led with 20 goals. Hampton played 46 games into the schedule, and were last in place when the franchise folded due to financial issues.

Results

Season-by-season results:

Notable players

Rod Langway Rodney Cory Langway (born May 3, 1957) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played for the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL) and Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Associatio ...

played with the Hampton Gulls in the 1977–78 AHL season, and was later inducted into 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 ...

. Notable Gulls players that also played in the

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 ...

: * Bruce Abbey *

Jeff Allan Jeff Allan sometimes spelled Jeff Allen (born May 17, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played four games in the National Hockey League for the Cleveland Barons. He would also play two games in the World Hockey As ...

* Steve Alley *

Steve Andrascik Steven George Andrascik (born November 6, 1948) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right winger. He played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers during the 1972 Stanley Cup playoffs, ...

Frank Beaton Alexander Francis "Seldom" Beaton (born April 28, 1953) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played 153 games in the World Hockey Association with the Cincinnati Stingers, Edmonton Oilers, and Birmingham Bulls from 1975 to 197 ...

* Larry Bolonchuk *

Michel Boudreau Michel Boudreau (born September 26, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the World Hockey Association (WHA). Boudreau was selected by the Boston Bruins in the third round (48th overall) of the 1972 NHL Amateur ...

Curt Brackenbury John Curtis Brackenbury (born January 31, 1952, in Kapuskasing, Ontario) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey forward who played 141 games in the National Hockey League and 257 games in the World Hockey Association. Prior to the merger of ...

* Jeff Carlson * Claude Chartre *

Brian Coates Brian Coates (Born - September 22, 1952 in Carman, Manitoba, Carman, Manitoba) is a Canadians, Canadian retired professional ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward who played 202 games in the World Hockey Association for the Chicago Cougars, Ind ...

* Alain Cote * Richard Coutu * Pat Donnelly *

Denis Dupere Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), baron in the Kingdom of Hungary * Denis the Carthusian (1402–14 ...

* Mike Dwyer * Andre Gill *

Bill Gilligan Bill Gilligan (born August 5, 1954) is an American professional ice hockey coach. He is also a former professional ice hockey winger who played in 128 World Hockey Association regular season games with the Cincinnati Stingers between 1977 and 197 ...

Dave Gorman David James Gorman (born 2 March 1971) is an English comedian, presenter, and writer. Gorman began his career writing for comedy series such as ''The Mrs Merton Show'' (1993–1998) and ''The Fast Show'' (1994–1997), and later garnered ac ...

* David Hanson *

Derek Harker Derek William Harker (January 7, 1951 – December 20, 2001) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. After three years in junior hockey with the Edmonton Oil Kings, he was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the fourth round (52nd ...

Jamie Hislop James Donald Hislop (born January 20, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Cincinnati Stingers in the World Hockey Association from 1976 to 1979 and then the Quebec Nordiques and Calgary Flames of the Nati ...

Paul Hoganson Paul Edward Hoganson (born November 12, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played two games in the National Hockey League and 143 games in the World Hockey Association. Hoganson played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, ...

* Bob Johnson * Kevin Kemp * John Kiely *

Mike Korney Michael Wayne Korney (born September 15, 1953) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. He played in 77 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers between 1973 and 1978.. Mike played 2 years ...

Pierre Lagace Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French language, French form of the name Peter (given name), Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via ...

Floyd Lahache Floyd Lahache (born September 17, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the World Hockey Association (WHA). Drafted in the seventh round of the 1977 NHL amateur draft by the Chicago Black Hawks, Lahache opted to ...

Gord Lane Gordon Thomas Lawrence Lane (born March 31, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lane played in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. Lane was a member of the Islanders team that wo ...

* Norm LaPointe *

Roger Lemelin Roger Lemelin, (April 7, 1919 – March 16, 1992) was a Quebec novelist, television writer and essayist. Biography Lemelin was born in Quebec City. From 1944 to 1952, he was a Canadian correspondent for the American magazines ''Time'' and ...

* Jacques Locas * Ted Long * Jim McElmury * Bill McKenzie *

Eddie Mio Edward Dario Mio (born January 31, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Indianapolis Racers and Edmonton Oilers between 1977 and 1979, and in the National Hockey Le ...

Ron Morgan Ron Morgan (born May 25, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. During the 1973–74 season, Morgan played four games in the World Hockey Association with the Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professi ...

Wayne Mosdell Wayne Mosdell (born December 4, 1944) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the World Hockey Association (WHA). Mosdell played part of the 1972–73 WHA season with the Philadelphia Blazers. References External links ...

* Murray Myers *

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NFL ...

* Don O'Donoghue * Bill Oleschuk *

Wally Olds Walter Raymond Olds (August 17, 1949 – January 11, 2009) was an ice hockey player who played three seasons in the World Hockey Association for the New York Golden Blades, New York Raiders and Calgary Cowboys between 1973 and 1976. He was also p ...

* Francois Ouimet *

Glenn Patrick Glenn Curtiss Patrick (born April 26, 1950) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 38 games in the National Hockey League and 23 games in the World Hockey Association between 1973 and 1977. He played with the St. Louis Bl ...

* Randy Pierce *

Michel Plasse Michel Pierre Plasse (June 1, 1948 – December 30, 2006) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. Playing career Born in Montreal, Quebec, Plasse played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1970 to 1982 after being the first over ...

* Kelly Pratt *

Bill Prentice William John Prentice (born June 10, 1950) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 158 games in the World Hockey Association with the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, Houston Aeros, and Indianapolis Racers The I ...

* Lorne Rombough * Ted Scharf *

Buzz Schneider William Conrad "Buzz" Schneider (born September 14, 1954) is an American former ice hockey player best remembered for his role on the US Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. He was also a member ...

Ron Serafini Ronald William Serafini (October 31, 1953 – October 30, 2021) was an American professional ice hockey defenseman who played only two games in the National Hockey League for the California Golden Seals and 16 games for the Cincinnati Stingers o ...

Larry Skinner Larry Foster Skinner (born April 21, 1956 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a retired National Hockey League player. He played 47 games for the Colorado Rockies and spent most of his professional career in the American Hockey League with stints i ...

* Dale Smedsmo * Gene Sobchuk * Bill Steele * Bob Stephenson *

Paul Terbenche Paul Frederick Terbenche (September 16, 1945 — January 8, 2012) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks and Buffalo Sabres from 1967 to 1974, as well as in the Wo ...

* Hal Willis

References

{{Defunct AHL 1974 establishments in Virginia 1978 disestablishments in Virginia Cincinnati Stingers minor league affiliates Defunct American Hockey League teams Edmonton Oilers minor league affiliates Ice hockey teams in Virginia Minnesota Fighting Saints minor league affiliates Southern Hockey League (1973–1977) teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1974 Sports clubs disestablished in 1978