Henry Brabham IV (April 29, 1929 – March 30, 2020) was a founder of the
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The E ...
, formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League. In 2008, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the
ECHL Hall of Fame. The
Brabham Cup
The Henry Brabham Cup is the trophy awarded annually by the ECHL to the team that finishes with the most points in the league during the regular season. The Brabham Cup has been awarded 33 times to 16 different franchises since its debut in 1989. ...
, first awarded in 1989, is an ECHL award for the team that finishes with the best regular season record.
He bought the
Salem Raiders
The Salem Raiders were a professional hockey team that played in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) and Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL). They were originally the Utica Mohawks from 1978 to 1980 then became the Salem Raiders for the 1980–81 seas ...
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.
Acco ...
in 1982 and renamed them the
Virginia Raiders
The Salem Raiders were a professional hockey team that played in the Eastern Hockey League (1978–1981), Eastern Hockey League (EHL) and Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL). They were originally the Utica Mohawks from 1978 to 1980 then became the ...
. He failed to get a long-term lease with the
Salem Civic Center The Salem Civic Center is a 6,820-seat multi-purpose arena in Salem, Virginia. It was built in 1967 and is part of the James E. Taliaferro Sports and Entertainment Complex (named after a former mayor of Salem), which also includes the Salem Football ...
, so he disbanded the Raiders after the 1982–83 season.
The ACHL then convinced Brabham to take over the
Nashville South Stars
The Nashville South Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League (CHL) for the 1981–82 season. They then played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) for the 1982–83 season and part of the 1983–84 s ...
during the following season, which he relocated back to Salem in December 1983 as the
Virginia Lancers
The Virginia Lancers were a minor league hockey team that played in several leagues from 1983 until 1990. Their home ice was the Vinton Sports Complex, which held 3400 people.
Atlantic Coast Hockey League (1983–1987)
The Virginia Lancers w ...
, named after his chain of
convenience stores
A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...
.
In 1984, he built the LancerLot Sports Complex in his hometown of
Vinton, Virginia
Vinton is a town in Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,059 at the 2020 census. Vinton is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Roanoke Region of Virginia.
History
By the late 18th century, settlers ...
, to serve as home to the Lancers due to the cost of playing in the Salem Civic Center.
In 1988, Brabham and
Bill Coffey
Bill Coffey is a businessman and minor league sports entrepreneur. He is one of the founders of the ECHL (formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League). Founded in 1988, the ECHL is a minor professional ice hockey league that serves as a devel ...
founded the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) as a
minor
Minor may refer to:
* Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities.
** A person who has not reached the age of majority
* Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education
Music theory
*Minor chord
** Barb ...
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 hock ...
league with five teams, three of which were owned by Brabham — the
Erie Panthers
The Erie Panthers were a professional ice hockey team, and one of the founding members in the ECHL, East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 1988 to 1996, they were one of the most prolific teams in the ECHL. The Panther ...
,
Johnstown Chiefs
The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now "ECHL") when that ...
, and the Virginia Lancers — as well as being a co-founder of a fourth team, the
Knoxville Cherokees
The Knoxville Cherokees were an East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) team based in Knoxville, Tennessee.
History
The franchise was formed in 1988 along with the ECHL. The team moved to Florence, South Carolina in 1997 and was renamed the Pee Dee Prid ...
. He sold the Lancers in 1989,
[ the Panthers in 1991, and the Chiefs in 1993. The ECHL has since become a development league for 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 ...
.
The LancerLot's roof caved in during the 1993 Storm of the Century
The 1993 Storm of the Century (also known as the 93 Superstorm, The No Name Storm, or the Great Blizzard of '93/1993) was a cyclonic storm that formed over the Gulf of Mexico on March 12, 1993. The cold weather, heavy snowfall, high winds and st ...
and the ice rink was destroyed.
References
1929 births
2020 deaths
People from Vinton, Virginia
Ice hockey people from Virginia
ECHL
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