American Hockey League (1995-1997)
Tombstone
Born: April 11, 1995 – AHL expansion franchise
Moved: 1997 (Cincinnati Mighty Ducks)
First Game: October 6, 1995 (L 3-1 vs. Carolina Monarchs)
Last Game: April 23, 1997 (L 4-2 vs. Philadelphia Phantoms)
Calder Cup Championships: None
Arena
Baltimore Arena (12,142)11996-97 American Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book
Opened: 1962
Marketing
Team Colors: Purple, Silver, Black, White & Gold21996-97 American Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners:
- 1995-1996: Bob Teck & Alan Gertner
- 1996-1997: Michael Caggiano
NHL Affiliation: Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Background
Baltimore, Maryland was a long-time staple of the American Hockey League. The Baltimore Clippers (1962-1976) and Baltimore Skipjacks (1982-1993) both had long residencies at the downtown Baltimore Civic Center (later renamed Baltimore Arena). The Skipjacks left town for Portland in 1993, but the city wasn’t without pro hockey for long.
Financial Struggles
The Bandits struggled from the outset. Indoor soccer’s Baltimore Spirit had first dibs on the best dates at the Arena. The Bandits had 16 Wednesday night home dates in their debut season of 1995-96 and not a single Saturday. By December 1995, average crowds for the Bandits stood at just 3,270 per game, less than half of the 8,000 target stated by New Jersey-based founders Bob Teck and Alan Gertner the previous summer (Baltimore Sun, 8/5/1995).
Teck and Gertner bailed on the team in February 1996 midway through the Bandits’ inaugural season. New owner Michael Caggiano had previous minor league experience as part-owner of the Class A Prince William (VA) Cannons. Caggiano soon seized on the idea that many of the Bandits’ problems related to the downtown location of Baltimore Arena. The team’s fan base, such as it was, came from the suburbs. He proposed the development of a $42 million new arena that he dubbed the Baltimore County Coliseum.
Move To Cincinnati & Aftermath
Caggiano got the Bandits through the 1995-96 campaign and ran the team for one additional season. The team remained hobbled by debt from their disastrous first season and sold just 600 season tickets for 1996-97. When his new arena pitch failed to gain traction, he sold the club in the spring of 1996 to new owners who moved the team to Ohio, where it became known as the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks.
In a 2011 retrospective article in The Washington Times, Caggiano offered this epitaph for the Bandits:
“You were trying to put a minor league product with a suburban following in an urban setting. It’s like trying to take a Hummer and drive an IndyCar race.”
Trivia
The Bandits’ logo and uniforms were created by designers at Disney Sports Enterprises, owner of Baltimore’s NHL parent club, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The team’s raccoon logo was based on the character Meeko from the Disney movie Pocahontas (1995).
Iron Man: 1995-96 Bandits goaltender Mike O’Neill set the all-time AHL record for Most Games Played by a Goaltender, appearing in 74 of the Bandits 80 contests that winter.
Baltimore Bandits Shop
Contains Affiliate Links
Baltimore Bandits Logo T from Old School Shirts
Downloads
10-6-1995 Bandits vs. Carolina Monarchs Game Notes
10-6-1995 Baltimore Bandits vs. Carolina Monarchs Game Notes
1-3-1996 Bandits vs. Binghamton Rangers Game Notes
2-21-1996 Bandits vs. Hershey Bears Game Notes
3-29-1996 Bandits vs. Binghamton Rangers Game Notes
Links
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One Response
I was there for a game on Easter Sunday of 1997 vs the St. John’s Maple Leafs. I sat in the 1st row next to the St. John’s bench. More specifically, I was sitting next to former North Star goalie Don Beaupre who was the backup goalie for the Maple Leafs. Crowd that day was announced at about 1800. 80 degrees that Easter Sunday, and when I was coming back to Williamsport, PA the next day, rain and snow in Baltimore.