Topeka ScareCrows

Central Hockey League (1998-2001)

Background

The effort to bring professional, minor league hockey to Topeka, Kansas, the city’s first, began in 1997. In the spring of that year, the city’s voters were asked to foot the bill for permanent ice-making equipment for the Kansas Expocentre. At the time, the arena had to bring in outside ice-making equipment to host events such as Disney on Ice and the Ice Capades. The measure was defeated, but just six months later, the Central Hockey League (CHL) announced it was committed to placing a team in Topeka, provided, of course, that the ice-making citation could be resolved.

Plan B

​A plan involving the county and private financing paved the way for the needed equipment to be installed. On February 28, 1998, the CHL awarded a franchise to Topeka. The team was owned by Matt Perry,Bill Davidson, and Jonathan Fleisig, who all had experience in owning and operating franchises, together and individually, in several minor leagues, including ones in baseball and hockey.

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On April 30, the owners announced the team would be known as the Topeka ScareCrows. The name, submitted by a local hospital worker in a name-the-team contest, was partially inspired by The Wizard of Oz, which, of course, takes place in rural Kansas. The connection was evident, as 50 students from a local elementary school attended the press conference dressed as Munchkins.

The team hired Troy Davis as marketing director, just in time to introduce the team’s, some would say horrifying, mascot, Haymaker. This character made Grizzy look like Minnie Mouse. The fans were excited, though, and a sellout crowd of over 7,500 turned up on opening night to watch the new team take on the San Antonio Iguanas. The home team lost 7-3, but the fans kept coming. The club averaged over 4,700 fans a game in its first season, on the way to a 28-38-4, good enough for fourth place in the CHL’s Western Division, and a playoff berth. They were swept in three games, though, by the Oklahoma City Blazers in the first round.

Oddly, the team failed to make the playoffs the following season after improving to a mark of 35-27-8. They finished third in attendance, though, drawing nearly 5,000 fans a game. The team made the playoffs the following year, as they finished in third place with a record of 38-23-8.

A slippery slope

However, things were not looking good for the team’s long-term survival. Financial struggles and a dip in average attendance to around 3,700 a game put the team in jeopardy of folding in the winter of 2001. In late February, CHL Commissioner N. Thomas Berry Jr. stated the ScareCrows, along with the Border City Bandits (Texarkana, TX), had “breached multiple financial obligations,” and as such would have their franchises terminated.

The ScareCrows managed to file an injunction against the expulsion and succeeded in not only finishing the season but playing in the post season. There, they lost to the San Antonio Iguanas 3-1, with the final game coming on April 10 in front of just 2,100 fans.

Links

Central Hockey League Media Guides

Central Hockey League Programs 1992-2014

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