The Indianapolis Checkers were a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

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 ...

team from

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. The Checkers' home arena was the

Fairgrounds Coliseum The Indiana Farmers Coliseum (originally Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum and formerly Pepsi Coliseum and Fairgrounds Coliseum) is a 6,500-seat indoor multi-use arena, located on the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. The Indiana Farm ...

from 1981 to 1985 and

Market Square Arena Market Square Arena was an indoor arena in Indianapolis. Completed in 1974, at a cost of $23 million, it seated 16,530 for basketball and 15,993 for ice hockey. Seating capacity for concerts and other events was adjusted by the use of large cu ...

from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1985 to 1987. The team originated in the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

where they played from 1979 to 1984. The Checkers filled a void left by the departed

Indianapolis Racers The Indianapolis Racers were a major league hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1974 to 1978. They competed in four full seasons before folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena. They are o ...

of the

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) ...

. Indianapolis won the Adams Cup as the CHL champions twice, in 1982 and 1983. The team transferred to the International Hockey League, where they played from 1984 to 1987. At the completion of the 1986–87 season, the team was relocated to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and renamed the

Denver Rangers The Denver Rangers were a professional hockey team based in Denver, Colorado that played for two seasons in the late 1980s. They were a member of the International Hockey League, and an affiliate of the New York Rangers. The team was originally ...

Season-by-season results

References

Hockeydb.com ''Indianapolis Checkers Statistics''
1979–84
Hockeydb.com ''Indianapolis Checkers Statistics''
1984–87 International Hockey League (1945–2001) teams Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey clubs established in 1979 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1987 Central Professional Hockey League teams Boston Bruins minor league affiliates Ice hockey teams in Indiana Minnesota North Stars minor league affiliates New York Rangers minor league affiliates New Jersey Devils minor league affiliates New York Islanders minor league affiliates 1979 establishments in Indiana 1987 disestablishments in Indiana {{Indiana-sport-team-stub