The Sault Thunderbirds were a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in the Eastern Professional Hockey League from 1959 to 1962. The Thunderbirds were based in

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie ( ) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is at the St. Mary's River on the Canada–US border. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay. The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants ...

, and played at the Sault Memorial Gardens.

Players

Hockey Hall of Fame Members

There are two members of the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

that played for the Sault Thunderbirds.

Gerry Cheevers Gerald Michael "Cheesie" Cheevers (born 7 December 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1961 and 1980. Cheevers is best known for ...

and

Phil Esposito Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in t ...

played for the Thunderbirds in the Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL) between 1959 and 1962.

NHL Alumni

Sport in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 1959 establishments in Ontario 1962 disestablishments in Ontario Ice hockey clubs established in 1959 Sports clubs disestablished in 1962 {{Ontario-icehockey-team-stub