American Hockey League (1962-1976)
Southern Hockey League (1976-1977)
Tombstone
Born: June 12, 1962 – AHL expansion franchise
Folded: January 23, 19751Stags move in and Clippers move out, AP via The Leader-Post, Jan. 24, 1975
Re-Born: August 15, 1975 – AHL expansion franchise2Hockey, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Aug. 16, 1975
Transferred: August 12, 1976 (to Southern Hockey League)3Clippers moving to SHL, AP via The Spokesman-Review, Aug. 12, 1976
Folded Again: January 1977
First Game: October 12, 1962 (W 6-4 @ Springfield Indians)
Last Game: January 30, 1977 (L 9-2 @ Charlotte Checkers)
Calder Cup Championships: None
Arena
Baltimore Civic Center (11,307)
Opened: 1962
Marketing
Team Colors:
- 1974-75: Orange, Black & White
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners: Zanvyl Krieger, et al.
NHL Affiliations:
- 1962-1967: New York Rangers
- 1967-1970: Pittsburgh Penguins
- 1968-1969: Detroit Red Wings
- 1968-1969: Philadelphia Flyers
- 1970-1971: Detroit Red Wings
- 1971-1972: California Golden Seals
- 1973-1974: Detroit Red Wings
- 1974-1975: Kansas City Scouts
- 1976-1977: Edmonton Oilers (WHA)
Our Favorite Stuff
Baltimore Clippers
AHL Logo T-Shirt
There are a number of Baltimore Clippers throwback t-shirts out there featuring the long-time American Hockey League club’s old Sea Captain logo. This one from Royal retros is far and away our favorite, thanks to the light fading on the orange and the distressed touches on the logo.
This Clippers design is available in sizes Small through 5X at Royal Retros
Background
There have been numerous incarnations of the Baltimore Clippers hockey team dating back to the 1940’s. This FWiL entry covers the most prominent edition of the Clippers namesake – the American Hockey League franchise that took up residence at the brand-new Baltimore Civic Center upon the downtown arena’s opening in 1962.
The construction of 11,000-seat Civic Center was key to the return of pro hockey to Baltimore in 1962 after a six-year absence. The city’s previous rink, Carlin’s Iceland, burned to the ground in January 1956, forcing a prior version of the Clippers to decamp permanently to Charlotte, North Carolina midway through the 1955-56 Eastern Hockey League season.
The Clippers skated on until January 23, 1975, when they were suddenly terminated by the AHL. That same day, the Michigan Stags of the World Hockey Association (WHA) moved into the Civic Center and became The Baltimore Blades.
They finished out the season in Maryland and then quietly folded over the summer.4WHA Blades finally fold, UPI via The Star-News, Jun. 19, 1975 Two months later, the Clippers were revived as an AHL expansion team5Hockey, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Aug. 16, 1975. The played one season in the AHL before transferring to the Southern Hockey League for the 1976-77 season, but the team folded, along with the rest of that circuit, in January 1977.6Southern Hockey League Folding, AP via The Lewiston Daily Sun, Jan. 8, 1977
Links
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