The Anaheim Bullfrogs were a professional

inline hockey Roller inline hockey, or inline hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The spo ...

team based in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

. The Bullfrogs played 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 th ...

(1993–1997) and

Major League Roller Hockey Major League Roller Hockey (MLRH) is a limited liability company which operates multiple inline hockey Sports league, leagues and tournaments. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria, Virginia, MLRH is one of the only full-contact inline ...

(1998) before returning to Roller Hockey international (1999). The Bullfrogs played their home games in the

Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim The Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, i ...

. The team won two championships in 1993 and 1997, the only team to win more than one. The team also won the Major League Roller Hockey championship in 1998. The team also went to the Murphy Cup finals two other times but lost to the

Orlando Jackals The Orlando Jackals were a professional roller hockey team based in Orlando, Florida, United States that played in Roller Hockey International. History The Edmonton Sled Dogs were established in Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capit ...

in 1996 and the

St. Louis Vipers The St. Louis Vipers are a professional roller hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. History The original team was a part of the now-defunct Roller Hockey International League. They played their home games in the former St. Louis Arena, ...

in 1999. The team lasted the full length of the RHI and had the highest attendance figures at the

Arrowhead Pond The Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, i ...

. The Anaheim Bullfrogs made a brief comeback when they joined IHA, a pro roller hockey league held during the NHL Lockout at the Anaheim's Convention Center. They were one of the six teams participating in the league. However, due to poor management, the league folded halfway through the season, and the Bullfrogs were once again gone. They were undefeated until the collapse of the league. Some players of note include: Rob Laurie (goaltender), Victor Gervais, Joe Cook, Hugo Belanger, Mark Wolf, B.J. MacPherson, Todd Wetzel, Darren Perkins, Rick Judson, Ed Anderson, Tom Menicci, Jim Ficenec, Kevin Kerr, Daniel Shank, Derek Booth, Rick Judson, Darren Banks, Nathan Petralia, Savo Mitrovic and

Darren Langdon Darren Michael Langdon (born January 8, 1971) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional player. Undrafted, he signed his first professional contract in 1993 with the New York Rangers. After retiring from the NHL, Langdon coached a fo ...

Franchise history

In Roller Hockey International's inaugural 1993 season, the Bullfrogs finished with a record of 13-0-1, the best in the league. Building on the growing popularity of inline skating, the team's averaged attendance of nearly 8,800 fans per game, with three of team's seven home games drawing audiences of 10,000 or more at the Anaheim Arena. The team won all four of its playoff games, including a two-game sweep of the

Oakland Skates The Oakland Skates were a professional roller hockey team and were a member team in Roller Hockey International (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 ...

to win the first ever Murphy Cup, marking the champion of Roller Hockey International. The team beat the

New Jersey Rockin' Rollers The New Jersey Rockin' Rollers were a professional roller hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States that played in Roller Hockey International. Club formation Roller hockey in the Garden State almost never happened, as the ...

by a score of 9-5 in the second game of the RHI 1997 Murphy Cup finals held at the

Continental Airlines Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on ...

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

, to win the series in a two-game sweep. The Bullfrogs left RHI and played the 1998 season in

(MLRH), finishing with a record of 20-0-1. With MLRH dropping from 14 teams to two in 1999, the Bullfrogs and the

Buffalo Wings A Buffalo wing in American cuisine is an unbreaded chicken wing section ( flat or drumette) that is generally deep-fried and then coated or dipped in a sauce consisting of a vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and melted butter prior to ser ...

returned to play in a revitalized RHI, which planned to resume league play after the year off with 10 teams that season. The Bullfrogs finished the 1999 RHI season with a record of 22-4-2, but lost the league championship to the

by a score of 8-6. The Bullfrogs had won the Roller Hockey International Murphy Cup championships in 1993 and 1997, and won the

Jason Cup title in 1998 against the

Orlando Surge Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

. After a debt-ridden Roller Hockey International announced that it would not hold a 2000 season, management of the Bullfrogs announced that the team would be in hiatus that season, declining to join other professional roller hockey leagues based on their low level of competitive play.

Season-by-season record

Anaheim Bullfrogs
– RHI Stats

Radio coverage

From 1994 to '96, Bullfrogs games were regularly available on radio. The 1994 season broadcasts were on

KMAX-FM KMAX-FM (94.3 MHz, 94.3 The X) is a radio station broadcasting an alternative rock format. Licensed to Wellington, Colorado, United States, the station serves the Fort Collins- Greeley area. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media. ...

and the next two seasons' games were on KPLS. Lew Stowers, a business associate of longtime

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

manager

Tommy Lasorda Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the Natio ...

, was the play-by-play announcer.

References

{{Orange County Sports Major League Roller Hockey Sports clubs established in 1993 Sports clubs disestablished in 1999 1993 establishments in California 1999 disestablishments in California