The Oakland Skates were a professional roller hockey team and were a member team 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 ...

(RHI) from 1993 through 1996. In 1993 the Skates were a finalist for the RHI league championship, named the Murphy Cup, for one of the league founders,

Dennis Murphy Dennis Murphy may refer to: *Dennis Murphy (Canadian politician) (1842–1917), Canadian businessman and political figure from Ontario *Dennis Murphy (equestrian) (born 1944), American Olympic equestrian *Dennis Murphy (journalist) (born 1946 or 19 ...

, losing to the

Anaheim Bullfrogs The Anaheim Bullfrogs were a professional inline hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Bullfrogs played in Roller Hockey International (1993–1997) and Major League Roller Hockey (1998) before returning to Roller Hockey international (199 ...

. After two mediocre seasons in 1994 and 1995 the Skates returned to the playoffs in 1996 losing to the

Vancouver Voodoo The Vancouver VooDoo were an inline hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which played in Roller Hockey International (RHI). The VooDoo were one of the original 12 teams to join the league in 1993. Founded and owned by Tiger Wil ...

. The Skates played their home games in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

at the

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena Oakland Arena is an indoor arena located in Oakland, California, United States. From its opening in 1966 until 1996, it was known as the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. After a major renovation completed in 1997, the arena was renamed T ...

from 1993 until 1995, until having to move to the Henry J. Kaiser Arena in 1996 due to the remodeling of the

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently naming rights, branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880 (California), In ...

arena (now called

Oracle Arena An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

) for the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. Skates majority owner Murray Simkin was unwilling to keep the Skates in their temporary home (which opened in 1914) for another season, waiting for the arena remodeling to finish and went on league "hiatus" status after the 1996 season. The team never returned to play. The Skates qualified for the playoffs for the Murphy Cup in 1993 making it to the finals by beating St. Louis and Calgary before being swept by Anaheim in a two-game series, losing the final by a 9-4 score. In 1994 they didn't make the playoffs in the expanded league of 24 teams. The 1995 season saw a contraction of the league to 18 teams with the Skates finishing 2nd in their division (with a record of 10-10-4 after a 1-6 start) and qualifying for the playoff again but losing in the first round to the Vancouver VooDoo by a score of 10-4. Their cross bay rivals the San Jose Rhino's ended up winning the title against Montreal. In 1996, the team made it to the playoffs, but were knocked off by Vancouver for a second consecutive season, losing by a score of 12-3.Staff
"VooDoo Advances to Face Bullfrogs"
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', August 22, 1996. Accessed January 26, 2017. "The Vancouver VooDoo defeated the Oakland Skates, 12-3, on Wednesday night in Vancouver to win a Roller Hockey International playoff series and advance to the Western Conference finals against the Bullfrogs."

References

{{Reflist, 30em Roller Hockey International teams Sports teams in Oakland, California Sports clubs established in 1993 Sports clubs disestablished in 1996 1993 establishments in California 1996 disestablishments in California