The Suncoast Suns was a minor league professional ice hockey team based in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, and played home games at the

Bayfront Center Bayfront Center was an indoor arena located in St. Petersburg, Florida that hosted many concerts, sporting and other events. Depending on the configuration, it could hold up to 8,600 people. The arena was opened in 1965 and demolished in 2004. It ...

. The Suns began in the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart, ...

in 1971, and was a founding member of the Southern Hockey League in 1973. The Suns ceased operations in December 1973, partway through its third season.

History

The Suns franchise was started by a group of businessmen who wanted a team in the

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

area, but chose St. Petersburg instead due to a suitable arena. The name Suncoast Suns was selected by a panel of judges in July 1971 including Jack Russell and

Al Lopez AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

because it represented the Tampa Bay area. The Suns became the first permanent professional hockey team in the

Florida Suncoast The Florida Suncoast (or Florida Sun Coast) is a local marketing name for the west-central peninsular Florida coastal area, also sometimes known as Florida's Beach communities. The region contains nearly of Gulf of Mexico beaches and the warm, ...

area. Lloyd Hinchberger was the team's coach in the first two seasons. Actor

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including '' The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's ''The Ameri ...

later owned a part interest in the team. The team debuted on October 14, 1971 against the

Greensboro Generals The Greensboro Generals were an East Coast Hockey League team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and played at the Greensboro Coliseum from 1999 to 2004. The name was originally used by the Greensboro Generals in the Eastern Hockey League. Th ...

. In the 1971–72 season, the Suns won 27 games in the regular season, finished fourth place in the southern division, and lost in the first round of the playoffs 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 six games. The ''

Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

'' named team captain

Gregg Pilling Gregg Pilling (born September 25, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He was named coach of the year by the International Hockey League in 1977–78 season, after he led the Fort Wayne Komets to the Fred A. Hu ...

as the player of the year, and Hinchberger as coach of the year. Goaltender Billy Yeo was named a first team all-star. The Suns affiliated with the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

for the 1972–73 season. The Suns won 30 games in the regular season, finished third place in the southern division, and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the

Roanoke Valley Rebels The Roanoke Valley Rebels were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Roanoke Valley in Virginia. The team first played in the Eastern Hockey League and then joined the Southern Hockey League. The team was originally known as ...

in five games. In May 1973, the Suns and other southern division teams withdrew from the Eastern Hockey League and founded the Southern Hockey League, due to travel costs of going to northern arenas, and other regulations such as dressing only 14 players for games. Team ownership changed to a local group led by Steve Kirby and Charles Mackey, who hired Paul Caron was hired as general manager, and

Larry Kish Larry Kish (born December 11, 1941 in Welland, Ontario) is a former professional hockey coach. He was the head coach of the Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League for 49 games during the 1982–83 NHL season. Kish played minor hockey for Pe ...

as the club's new coach. The Suns affiliated with 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 ...

and the

New England Whalers New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

for the 1973–74 Southern Hockey League season. The Suns were experiencing financial issues, declining attendance, and some of the team's owners preferred to lure the Jersey Knights to town instead of the SHL team. The Suns ceased operations 31 games into the 72-game schedule, and folded on December 19, 1973.

Notable players

Notable Suns 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 ...

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) ...

: *

Bill Berglund Bill Berglund (born September 24, 1945 in Everett, Massachusetts) is an American former ice hockey goaltender who played five games in the World Hockey Association for the New England Whalers. Biography Berglund played college hockey with Bost ...

* Bob Boyd *

Jerry Engele Jerome Wilfred Engele (born November 26, 1950) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman who scored 2 goals and played 100 games in the National Hockey League for the Minnesota North Stars between 1975 and 1978. He was the coach of ...

Ed Kea Adriaan Jozef Kea (January 19, 1948 – August 31, 1999) was a Dutch-born Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with the Atlanta Flames and St. Louis Blues from 1974 to 1983. Playing career Born in Weesp, North ...

Darrel Knibbs Darrel Duane Knibbs aka "The Nibbler" aka "The Scrib Nibbler" (born September 21, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the 10th round (84th overall) of the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft. ...

* Dale Lewis *

Leonard Lilyholm Leonard Paul "Len" Lilyholm (born April 1, 1941) is an American retired professional ice hockey player who played 77 regular season games in the World Hockey Association for the Minnesota Fighting Saints in 1972 and 1973. Early life Lilyholm was ...

Dan Lodboa Daniel Stephen Lodboa (September 25, 1946 – May 11, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 58 games in the World Hockey Association. Born in Thorold, Ontario, he played with the Chicago Cougars. Lodboa was a tri-captain ...

Jack McCartan John William McCartan (born August 5, 1935) is a retired goaltender for the gold medal-winning 1960 United States ice hockey team. He is also a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, inducted in 1983. McCartan was born in Saint Paul, ...

* Cliff Pennington * Terry Ryan * Blaine Rydman *

Gary Sittler Gary Sittler (March 14, 1952 – February 24, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. During the 1974–75 season, Sittler played five games in the World Hockey Association with the Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades. Family He ...

* George Standing * Peter Sullivan

Results

Season-by-season results:

References

External links

Suncoast Suns dedication website

The Eastern Hockey League
{{Southern Hockey League (1973–1977) 1971 establishments in Florida 1973 disestablishments in Florida Ice hockey clubs established in 1971 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1973 Ice hockey teams in Florida Los Angeles Kings minor league affiliates Minnesota Fighting Saints minor league affiliates New England Whalers minor league affiliates Southern Hockey League (1973–1977) teams Sports in St. Petersburg, Florida