The Spokane Flyers were a junior ice hockey team that played one and a half seasons in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

from 1980–1982. They played in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

, United States.

History

This team is not to be confused with the

Spokane Flyers Spokane Flyers could mean: * Spokane Flyers (senior), a former senior ice hockey team in the Western International Hockey League *Spokane Flyers (junior) The Spokane Flyers were a junior ice hockey team that played one and a half seasons in the W ...

that played in Canadian Senior Amateur Hockey and won the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are th ...

championships in 1976 and 1980. The Spokane Flyers entered the WHL on May 15, 1980 when Bob Cooper, owner of the dormant Great Falls Americans franchise, resurrected his team and relocated it to Spokane for the 1980–81 WHL season. Like the Americans, the Flyers would quickly cease operations, as the franchise folded on December 2, 1981 just 26 games into its second season. It was widely believed that the failure of the Flyers was due to management. Spokane would have a second chance in the WHL when the relocated Kelowna Wings renamed themselves the Spokane Chiefs. The Flyers franchise first joined the then-named Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

as the

Flin Flon Bombers The Flin Flon Bombers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in Flin Flon, a city located on the Manitoba-Saskatchewan provincial border. The Bombers are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), which is a member of the Canadi ...

. The franchise had a great deal of stability in Flin Flon, Manitoba and lasted eleven seasons in the community before the WHL outgrew it. The Bombers relocated to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

, Alberta for one season in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...

before being sold and relocating again to

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

. The Great Falls Americans failed to last even one season, as they ceased operations in December, having played 28 of a scheduled 72 games of the 1979–80 WHL season. Cooper resurrected them again in Spokane for the start of the 1980–81 season, though they would fold again in December of the following

1981–82 WHL season The 1981–82 WHL season was the 16th season for the Western Hockey League. Twelve teams completed a 72-game season. The Portland Winter Hawks won the President's Cup. League notes *The New Westminster Bruins relocated to Kamloops, British Col ...

. The Flyers were posthumously involved in one of the most bizarre trades in hockey history. After ceasing operations, the Flyers team bus was sold to the Victoria Cougars. The Cougars owners were not willing to pay the duties and taxes required to bring the vehicle into

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, so on December 19, 1983, the Cougars traded the bus to the Seattle Breakers for holdout Tom Martin.

Season-by-season Record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

References

whl.ca
*2005–06 WHL Guide {{Defunct WHL Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Sports in Spokane, Washington Defunct Western Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in Washington (state)

History

Season-by-season Record

See also

References