Central Hockey League (1981-1982)
Tombstone
Born: June 23, 19811Leafs Add Cincinnati Affiliate, S-P Services via The Phoenix, Jun. 24, 19811
Folded: May 27, 19822CHL Loses Tigers; only 4 teams left, The Desert News, May 28, 1982
First Game: October 7, 1981 (W 6-5 @ Indianapolis Checkers)
Last Game: April 13, 1982 (L 5-2 @ Dallas Black Hawks)
Adams Cup Championships: None
Arena
Riverfront Coliseum
Opened: September 9, 1975317,000 See Concert in Cincinnati, AP via The Portsmouth Times, Sep. 10, 1975
Marketing
Team Colors:
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: Maple Leaf Gardens, Ltd. (Harold Ballard)
NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs
Central Hockey League (CHL) * 1963-1984 * Shop
Retro Hockey APPAREL
When it comes to high-quality replica jerseys, turn to Royal Retros, who put extraordinary detail into their fully customizable hockey jerseys, from the big leagues to the rebel leagues and even the minor leagues, including the original Central Hockey League (CHL). T-Shirts and caps too!
Free Customization Included
Each jersey individually handmade
Any name and number
Sewn tackle twill crest, numbers & letters
100% polyester
Heavyweight fabric made to game standards
Fight strap included
Look cool as ice in great CHL throwback hockey apparel from Royal Retros!
Background
The Cincinnati Tigers were a very strong farm club of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs in the winter of 1981-82. Under Head Coach Doug Carpenter the Tigers were 46-30-4, good for the second best record in the Central Hockey League that season. The Tigers lost to the Dallas Black Hawks in the first round of the CHL playoffs in a mild upset.
Despite the Tigers’ winning ways, Cincinnati was a graveyard for pro hockey teams and attendance was meager. The Tigers reportedly lost around a million dollars for Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard. The Leafs shut down the Tigers in May of 1982 shortly after the club’s first and only season ended. The Tigers became the third pro hockey team to fail at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum in just the past three years, following two different incarnations of the Cincinnati Stingers, which both bit the dust in 1979.
The Leafs established the Ontario-based St. Catharines Saints in the American Hockey League to replace Cincinnati as their top farm club for the 1982-83 season.
Tigers coach Doug Carpenter later became an NHL head coach with the New Jersey Devils (1984-1988) and the Maple Leafs (1989-1991).
Another future NHL coach on the Tigers was center Bruce Boudreau, who finished 2nd on the club in scoring with 103 points and was named to the All-CHL team. Boudreau is currently the Head Coach of the Anaheim Ducks and also served the same role for the Washington Capitals from 2007 to 2011.
Links
###