The Toledo Mercurys is a discontinued International Hockey League franchise from Toledo, Ohio. The Toledo Franchise was the first IHL franchise to be granted outside of the Windsor-Detroit area, for the cost of $1000 to Virgil Gladeaux of Toledo. The Mercurys existed 15 seasons in total from 1947 to 1962 with some minor naming variations. Toledo was successful on the ice, being the first IHL team to win multiple Turner Cup championships, and the first to do so consecutively.

History

The Mercurys won the Turner during their first year of operation in the 1947–48 season. Toledo defeated the

Windsor Hettche Spitfires The Detroit Hettche were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan, and played at the Detroit Olympia. The team was originally known as the Windsor Spitfires and were one of the four founding members of the Internatio ...

four games to one in the IHL championship series. Team coach and manager Andy Mulligan had signed nine players from his native Manitoba to build the team, including team captain and right-winger

Max Labovitch Max Labovitch (January 18, 1924 – January 14, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was Jewish. Biography Labovitch played professional hockey for ten years, and missed two seasons due to military service (1942–43 and 1944� ...

, center Barney O'Connell and left wing Jake Kernahan . The Mercurys later won the United States Amateur hockey title, defeating the Elveth Rangers in two games, and the New York Rovers in three games. In the 1948–49 season, the team played in both the north and south division of the IHL, because the team owners wanted to play more games. The Mercurys of the north division won the J. P. McGuire Trophy that year by capturing the IHL North title. In a rematch of the previous season's IHL championship, Windsor defeated Toledo four games to three. For the 1949–50 season, the team was known as the Toledo Buckeyes while playing in the

Eastern Amateur 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, ...

. They were sponsored by the former Buckeye Brewing Company in Toledo. The team returned to the IHL in 1950 known again as the Mercurys. Toledo won consecutive Turner Cups in 1950–51 and 1951–52 defeating the

Grand Rapids Rockets The Grand Rapids Rockets are a defunct International Hockey League team. They were members of the IHL from the 1950–1951 season to 1955–1956 season. They were based in Grand Rapids, Michigan and played their home games in Stadium Arena. The ...

in the finals both seasons. In the 1955–56 season, the Mercurys played some home games in Marion, Ohio at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, hence being known as the Toledo-Marion Mercurys. The Mercurys split home games between arenas again for the 1959–60 season. The Toledo-St. Louis Mercurys played some home games in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

at the

St. Louis Arena St. Louis Arena (known as the Checkerdome from 1977 to 1983) was an indoor arena in St. Louis, Missouri. The country's second-largest indoor entertainment venue when it opened in 1929, it was home to the St. Louis Blues and other sports franchis ...

. The Mercurys franchise folded after the 1961–62 season. The International Hockey League returned to Toledo in 1963, with the

Toledo Blades The Toledo Blades and Hornets were the International Hockey League franchise of Toledo, Ohio from 1963 to 1974. The first four years (1959-1963) of the franchise was in Omaha, NE as the Omaha Knights. After moving to Toledo for the 1963-64 seas ...

franchise.

Season-by-season record

Franchise records

All-time leaders

Single season leaders

References

External links

IHL franchise and championship information

Manitoba connection with the Toledo, Ohio Mercurys in 1948
{{IHL (1945–2001) International Hockey League (1945–2001) teams Sports teams in Toledo, Ohio Eastern Hockey League teams Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey clubs established in 1947 Sports clubs disestablished in 1962 1947 establishments in Ohio 1962 disestablishments in Ohio