Pacific Hockey League (1977-1979)
Tombstone
Born: 1977 – PHL founding franchise
Folded: January 3, 1979
First Game:
Last Game:
PHL Champions: 1978
Arena
The Cow Palace
Opened:1941
Marketing
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owners: Jerry Saperstein & Dennis Murphy
Background
The Pacific Hockey League was a short-lived attempt to form an independent, low-budget minor league loop in Arizona, California and Washington state in the late 1970’s. According to Scott Surgent’s Complete Historical and Statistical Reference to the World Hockey Association, the idea for the PHL took root at the 1977 World Hockey Association All-Star Game thanks to serial sports entrepreneur Dennis Murphy (a founder of the WHA, American Basketball Association and Roller Hockey International among other start-ups) and former WHA executive Walt Marlow.
The WHA was locked in an expensive and losing battle with the NHL for markets and free agents. It was also about to enter a contraction phase. Four clubs would drop out at the end of the 1976-77 season. The PHL concept gained momentum when the San Diego Mariners club withdrew from the WHA in the spring of 1977. The move left San Diego Sports Arena owner Peter Graham without a winter tenant.
Graham agreed to back a revived, low-budget version of the Mariners in the PHL. Dennis Murphy and former Harlem Globetrotters owner Jerry Saperstein (son of Abe) took the Bay Area franchise. Their San Francisco Shamrocks would play at the 12,000-seat Cow Palace in Daly City. Long Beach, California took a franchise (the Sharks – also reviving an old WHA name and logo). Finally, less than two weeks before opening night, another WHA casualty – the Phoenix Roadrunners – jumped from the Central Hockey League to the PHL to round out the first season line-up with four clubs.
Inaugural Season Championship Team
The Pacific Hockey League debuted on Christmas Day, 1977. The league had no shortage of available players. Besides the contraction of the WHA, two rough-and-tumble minor leagues – the North American Hockey League and the Southern Hockey League – went out of business in 1977. There was a glut of refugee skaters looking for work.
Murphy & Saperstein’s San Francisco Shamrocks featured a core of ex-WHA players. 35-year old player/head coach Wayne Rivers was a 50-goal scorer for the San Diego Mariners three years earlier. Other WHA vets included Bill Evo, Paul Hoganson, Keith Kokkola and Randy Wyrozub. The rest of the roster was rounded out primarily by castaways from the defunct North American and Southern leagues.
The Shamrocks swept the Phoenix Roadrunners in three games to capture the first (and only) PHL championship in April 1978.
Demise
The club wobbled into its sophomore season in November 1978 low on funds. Shamrocks players weren’t paid for much of the second season. Murphy soon fell behind on rent to the Cow Palace. A last ditch effort to sell the club to David Peterson, owner of the Golden Gaters franchise of World Team Tennis (another Murphy creation) fell through. The Shamrocks disbanded in mid-season in January 1979. The Pacific League followed the Shamrocks into oblivion several months later.
Chris Collins, who was a 17-year old equipment manager for the Shamrocks during the 1977-78 season, curates a profanely entertaining tribute page to the team on Facebook.
San Francisco Shamrocks Shop
Links
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3 Responses
Fond memories. I had the privilege of broadcasting the first 4 games of the SF Shamrocks way back then. I was just a cub, in my 20s. I had studied under the great Roy Storey, who was the Shamrocks official announcer. He got too sick (losing his voice) right before the season opener. He called me and asked me to round up some equipment and call the opener in San Diego (my home town). I called that game and three more. They were the only professional hockey games I broadcast. Those were fun, if way too short, days. I enjoyed the Murphy brothers (Dennis and John) and people like Len Shapiro, who were involved with the Shamrocks.
Did Lorne Rombough pass away
Paul, it’s Bill Humphrey. Lorne passed about 10 months ago. We had a
40 year anniversary in SanFrancisco. Most of the guys made it. Lorne
Was going to be there. He called me a week before and told me he had
To see his kid Deven in Colorado about an issue he was having. I must have talked to him 5 times after the reunion in late 2018. I spoke with him in winter of 2019, we were going to play golf down in Florida. I kept calling him and kept getting his answering machine for months. Finally I went on line and searched obituaries in Naples, Florida and found out he passed. He was a great guy, will miss him. Hope you are doing well. If you see Joe Fidler around tell him I said Hi