International Hockey League (1964-1980)
Tombstone
Born: December 2, 1977 – The Dayton Owls relocate to Grand Rapids, MI1ASSOCIATED PRESS. “IHL’s Dayton Owls move to Grand Rapids”. The Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN). December 3, 1977
Folded: June 6, 19802ASSOCIATED PRESS. “Out! IHL Owls to disband”. The Times-Herald (Port Huron, MI). June 7, 1980
First Game: December 10, 1977 (T 5-5 @ Port Huron Flags)
Last Game:
Turner Cup Championships: None
Arena
Stadium Arena
Opened: 1952
Closed: 2022
Marketing
Team Colors:
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners: Michael Knapp & David Baines
NHL Affiliations:
- 1978-1980: Pittsburgh Penguins
Source: HockeyDB.com
Background
Pro hockey returned to Grand Rapids, Michigan abruptly in December 1977 with the messy midseason arrival of the Dayton Owls, an International Hockey League club displaced due to low attendance just two dozen games into the 1977-78 season. The Owls – the club would retain their avian identity following the move – would provide the first pro hockey action seen in Grand Rapids since the departure of the IHL’s Rockets 22 years earlier at the end of the 1955-56 season.
With the change of scenery came a change of ownership as well. Grand Rapids locals Michael Knapp and David Baines acquired the franchise at the time of the move from outgoing Dayton owner Al Savill, former owner of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
In Competition
The Owls sandwiched two rotten seasons around one splendid one. Both the 1977-78 Dayton/Grand Rapids club and the 1979-80 squad finished with the fewest wins in the IHL and missed the playoffs.
But the 1978-79 Owls team was superb. Grand Rapids won the Huber Trophy as the IHL’s regular season champion. Their 50-21-9 record was tops among the IHL’s nine clubs that winter. During a thrilling postseason run, the Owls brought all three of their Turner Cup playoff series to a 7th and deciding elimination game.
Grand Rapids’ strength finally gave out in the 1979 Turner Cup Finals against the Kalamazoo Wings. After the home team emerged victorious in each of the series’ first six games, the Owls dropped the deciding Game 7 by a score of 5-2 in front of a sold-out Stadium Arena crowd of 3,970 on May 22nd, 1979.
NHL veteran left wing John Flesch, who played in all three Grand Rapids Owls season, was the club’s all-time leadier in both goals (65) and assists (110) in 143 games.
Demise & Aftermath
One year after the Owls’ Turner Cup finals appearance, owner Michael Knapp announced the demise of the club on June 6th, 1980. Knapp cited high rental rates at Stadium Arena as a key factor in the decision.3ASSOCIATED PRESS. “Out! IHL Owls to disband”. The Times-Herald (Port Huron, MI). June 7, 1980
The $78 million dollar Van Andel Arena opened in downtown Grand Rapids in October 1996. With the new building, the International Hockey League returned to the city for a third time. The IHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins took the ice in the autumn of 1996. The IHL disbanded in 2001, but the Griffins outlived the league and will enter their 27th season of pro hockey in the fall of 2022.
Grand Rapids Owls Shop
In Memoriam
Grand Rapids Owls co-owner Michael Knapp passed away at age 74 on November 29th, 2016. MLive obituary.
Links
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