Roller Hockey International (1993-1996)
Tombstone
Born: 1993 – RHI founding franchise
Folded: October 1996
First Game: July 1, 1993 (L 11-9 vs. Los Angeles Blades)
Last Game: August 21, 1996 (L 12-3 @ Vancouver Voodoo)
Murphy Cup Championships: None
Arenas
1993-1995: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena (13,500)
Opened: 1966
1996: Henry J. Kaiser Arena (4,900)
Branding
Team Colors:
- 1995: Purple, Jade, Black & White
Ownership
Owners: Murray Simkin, Bill Schoen, Bill Bettinelli & Gail Bettinelli
Editor's Pick
Wheelers, Dealers, Pucks & Bucks
A Rocking History of Roller Hockey International
Who won the first professional sports championship for the city of Anaheim? Which Roller Hockey International team owner posed for Playboy? Which RHI team’s logo did Sports Illustrated describe as looking like “a malevolent vacuum-cleaner attachment?” Which coach won two championships for two different teams in RHI’s first two seasons? Why were fans nearly ejected from the Oakland Skates’ arena for celebrating a hat trick?
Author Richard Graham takes you behind the scenes to show how Dennis Murphy created Roller Hockey International, and why Murphy might be the most unlikely, least known and most influential visionary in North American professional sports history.
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Background
The Oakland Skates were one of 12 founding franchises in Roller Hockey International, a 1993 start-up league that tried to capitalize on the recreational inline skating boom of the early 1990’s.
During the inaugural season of RHI in 1993 the Skates nabbed the 8th and final playoff spot despite a less-than-mediocre 5-9 record. They upset the St. Louis Vipers and the Calgary Rad’z in the quarters and semis to earn an improbable trip to the Murphy Cup finals against the Anaheim Bullfrogs. The undefeated Bulldogs (15-0-1) made quick work of the Skates, sweeping the series 2 games to 0 in September 1993.
The Skates played their first three seasons in the enormous Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, home to the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. The building was far too big for the team’s small cult following. The Skates averaged just 2,710 fans per game for 12 home dates in 1995. The Skates had to play the 1996 season in the 80-year old Henry J. Kaiser Arena in downtown Oakland due to renovations at the Coliseum.
Demise
The majority owner of the Skates was restaurateur Murray Simkin. At league meetings shortly after the 1996 season, he withdrew the Skates from RHI to go on a hiatus for the 1997 season. The team never returned to activity. RHI itself took a hiatus in 1998, briefly returned for a low-profile 1999 season, and the vanished for good at the turn of the century.
Roller Hockey International Shop
Links
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One Response
You can tell the RHI existed in the 90s; nearly every logo in the league was incredibly noisy and ugly.