The International Hockey League (IHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada from 1945 to 2001. The IHL served as the National Hockey League's alternate farm system to the American Hockey League (AHL). After 56 years of operation, financial instability led to the league's demise. Six surviving teams merged into the AHL in 2001.

History

Early years

The IHL was formed in December 1945 and initially consisted of four cross-border teams in Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. In 1947, a team from Toledo, Ohio joined the league, and the following year the IHL expanded significantly, with teams in four additional U.S. cities. The expansion did not take hold, and for 1949–50, the league was back down to teams in Detroit and Windsor as well as two nearby Canadian cities, Sarnia, Ontario and Chatham, Ontario. Windsor dropped out in 1950, and expansion into the U.S. began again, with Toledo rejoining the league and new teams in Grand Rapids, Michigan (1950), Troy, Ohio, (1951), Cincinnati (1952), Fort Wayne, Indiana (1952), and Milwaukee (1952). At the same time, the last Canadian team left the league in 1952, when the Chatham Maroons pulled out. Three new U.S. cities were added in 1953. The league would expand and shrink between five and nine teams through the 1950s, with another major expansion in 1959. In the 1962–63 season, the IHL played an interlocking schedule with the NHL-owned Eastern Professional Hockey League, which itself folded in 1963. After 11 seasons as a strictly U.S.-based league, the IHL admitted two Canadian teams in 1963, with the Windsor Bulldogs and the return of the Chatham Maroons. Both teams dropped out after one season, however, and the league would not have a Canadian team again until 1996.

Major market expansion

Starting in the late 1960s, the IHL's quality of play significantly upgraded until by the mid-1970s, it was on par with the American Hockey League (AHL), the longtime top feeder league for the National Hockey League. Many IHL teams became the top farm teams of NHL teams. In 1984, the league swallowed up many surviving members of the Central Hockey League, which had ceased operations.

From the late 1980s on, the IHL began to expand into major markets, such as Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Orlando, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, and San Francisco. It even placed teams in markets that already had NHL teams, such as Chicago, Detroit, and Long Beach (near Los Angeles). In the mid-1990s, the IHL moved its Atlanta and Minneapolis – Saint Paul franchises to Quebec City and Winnipeg respectively, restoring the league's Canadian presence and trying to fill the void left in those two cities by the departure of the NHL's Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets. Even the Minneapolis – Saint Paul team was an effort to place a professional hockey franchise in a market that an NHL team (in this case the Minnesota North Stars) had deserted.

The league's expansion into larger markets was rapid, spearheaded by media mogul Ted Turner , and many of the smaller-market teams (such as Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo) fell away, joining lower-level leagues such as the United Hockey League or the East Coast Hockey League.

Decline and collapse

The IHL's expansion into NHL markets put a strain on relationships between the leagues. There was some speculation that the IHL would end up competing directly with the NHL, especially when a lock-out in 1994 threatened to wipe out the NHL season. However, in the 1995-96 season, the IHL's "soft" salary cap was just $1.5 million, while the lowest NHL team payroll that season was $11.4 million.

In response, many NHL clubs shifted their affiliations to the AHL. In 1997–98, only four of 18 IHL teams had NHL affiliations. With the loss of subsidized salaries, high expansion fees (by the end the league was charging as much as $8 million US for new teams), exploding travel costs and the NHL itself moving into some of its markets, the league's rapid expansion proved a critical strain, and it folded after the 2001 season.

Six IHL franchises (the Chicago Wolves, Grand Rapids Griffins, Houston Aeros, Utah Grizzlies, Milwaukee Admirals and Manitoba Moose) were admitted into the AHL as expansion teams for the 2001-02 season, and then among them won the next three AHL Calder Cup championships (2002, 2003, 2004) and appeared in the Cup Finals in the next two years (2005, 2006). The IHL's last champions, the Orlando Solar Bears, were not taken in because their owner, Rich DeVos, also owned the Griffins.

Trophies and awards

Award name	Seasons	Description
Turner Cup	1945–2001	League playoff champions.
Fred A. Huber Trophy	1945–2001	Regular season champions.
Commissioner's Trophy	1984–2001	Coach of the Year.
Leo P. Lamoureux Memorial Trophy	1946–2001	Top point scorer. Known as "George H. Wilkinson Trophy" (1946-1960).
James Gatschene Memorial Trophy	1946–2001	MVP / Sportmanship.
Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy	1988–2001	Playoffs MVP.
Gary F. Longman Memorial Trophy	1961–2001	Rookie of the Year. Known as "Leading Rookie Award" (1961-1967).
Ken McKenzie Trophy	1977–2001	American-born Rookie of the Year.
Governor's Trophy	1964–2001	Best defenseman. Known as "Larry D. Gordon Trophy" (1998-2001).
James Norris Memorial Trophy	1955–2001	Goaltenders with lowest GAA.
John Cullen Award	1996–2001	Comeback Player of the Year. Known as "Comeback Player of the Year Award" (1996-1998).
Ironman Award	1988–2001	Durability / Longevity.
IHL Man of the Year	1992–2001	Outstanding community service. Also known as "I. John Snider, II Trophy."

• Source.

Franchise timelines

Founding year	Team name(s)	Years of operation	Number of seasons	Notes
1945	Detroit Auto Club	1945–1951	6
1945	Detroit Bright's Goodyears	1945–1949	4
1945	Windsor Gotfredsons Windsor Staffords Windsor Ryan Cretes	1945–1946 1946–1948 1948–1950	5
1945	Windsor Spitfires Windsor Hettche Spitfires Detroit Hettche	1945–1947 1947–1949 1949–1952	7
1946	Detroit Metal Mouldings Detroit Jerry Lynch	1946–1948 1948–1949	3
1947	Toledo Mercurys	1947–1949 1950–1962	14	Played in North and South divisions (1948–1949). Played as Toledo Buckeyes (EAHL) (1949–50). Played as Toledo-Marion Mercurys (1955–1956). Played as Toledo-St. Louis Mercurys (1959–1960).
1948	Akron Americans	1948–1949	1
1948	Louisville Blades	1948–1949	1	Transferred to USHL in 1949.
1948	Milwaukee Clarks	1948–1949	1	Transferred to EAHL in 1949.
1948	Muncie Flyers	1948–1949	1
1949	Sarnia Sailors	1949–1951	2	Transferred to OHA Sr. A in 1951.
1949	Chatham Maroons	1949–1952 1963–1964	4	Played in OHA Sr. A (1952–1963).
1950	Grand Rapids Rockets Huntington Hornets Louisville Rebels	1950–1956 1956–1957 1957–1960	10
1951	Troy Bruins	1951–1959	8
1952	Cincinnati Mohawks	1952–1958	6	Transferred from AHL in 1952.
1952	Fort Wayne Komets Albany Choppers	1952–1990 1990–1991	39	Original Fort Wayne Komets replaced in 1990 by relocated Flint Spirits franchise.
1952	Milwaukee Chiefs	1952–1954	2
1953	Johnstown Jets	1953–1955	2	Transferred from EAHL in 1953 Transferred to EHL in 1955.
1953	Louisville Shooting Stars	1953–1954	1
1953	Marion Barons	1953–1954	1
1955	Indianapolis Chiefs	1955–1962	7
1959	Milwaukee Falcons	1959–1960	2	Ceased operations November 26, 1960 during second season.
1959	Denver Mavericks Minneapolis Millers	1959 1959–1963	4	Denver relocated mid-season to Minneapolis on December 3, 1959.
1959	Omaha Knights	1959–1963	4	Transferred to Central Professional Hockey League in 1963.
1959	St. Paul Saints	1959–1963	4
1960	Muskegon Zephyrs Muskegon Mohawks Muskegon Lumberjacks Cleveland Lumberjacks	1960–1965 1965–1984 1984–1992 1992–2001	41
1962	Port Huron Flags Port Huron Wings Port Huron Flags	1962–1971 1971–1974 1974-1981	19
1963	Des Moines Oak Leafs Des Moines Capitols	1963–1972 1972–1975	12
1963	Toledo Blades Toledo Hornets Toledo Goaldiggers	1963–1970 1970–1974 1974–1986	23
1963	Windsor Bulldogs	1963–1964	1	Transferred from OHA Sr. A in 1963.
1964	Dayton Gems	1964–1977 1979–1980	14	Team on hiatus from 1977–1979.
1966	Columbus Checkers Columbus Golden Seals Columbus Owls Dayton Owls Grand Rapids Owls	1966–1970 1971–1973 1973–1977 1977 1977–1980	23	Franchise on hiatus from 1970–71. Dayton relocated mid-season to Grand Rapids on December 15, 1977.
1969	Flint Generals Saginaw Generals Saginaw Hawks	1969–1985 1985–1987 1987–1989	20
1972	Saginaw Gears	1972–1983	11
1974	Kalamazoo Wings Michigan K-Wings	1974–1995 1995–2000	26
1974	Lansing Lancers	1974–1975	1
1977	Milwaukee Admirals	1977–2001	24	Transferred from USHL in 1977. Transferred to AHL in 2001.
1982	Peoria Prancers Peoria Rivermen San Antonio Dragons	1982–1984 1984-1996 1996–1998	16
1984	Salt Lake Golden Eagles Detroit Vipers	1984–1994 1994–2001	17	Transferred from CHL in 1984.
1984	Indianapolis Checkers Colorado Rangers Denver Rangers Phoenix Roadrunners	1984–1987 1987–1988 1988–1989 1989–1997	13	Transferred from CHL in 1984.
1985	Flint Spirits Fort Wayne Komets	1985–1990 1990–1999	14	Transferred to UHL in 1999.
1988	Indianapolis Ice	1988–1999	11	Transferred to CHL in 1999.
1990	Kansas City Blades	1990–2001	11
1990	San Diego Gulls Los Angeles Ice Dogs Long Beach Ice Dogs	1990–1995 1995–1996 1996–2000	10	Transferred to WCHL in 2000.
1992	Atlanta Knights Quebec Rafales	1992–1996 1996–1998	6
1992	Cincinnati Cyclones	1992–2001	9
1993	Las Vegas Thunder	1993–1999	6
1993	Russian Penguins	1993–1994	1	Touring Russian team.
1994	Chicago Wolves	1994–2001	7	Transferred to AHL in 2001.
1994	Houston Aeros	1994–2001	7	Transferred to AHL in 2001.
1994	Minnesota Moose Manitoba Moose	1994–1996 1996–2001	7	Transferred to AHL in 2001.
1994	Denver Grizzlies Utah Grizzlies	1994–1995 1995-2001	7	Transferred to AHL in 2001.
1995	Orlando Solar Bears	1995–2001	6
1995	San Francisco Spiders	1995–1996	1
1996	Grand Rapids Griffins	1996–2001	5	Transferred to AHL in 2001.

References

1. "League's founding father watches over 50th year," David Eminian, The Hockey News, January 27, 1995.
2. "Ufer trying to sell league on structured salary cap," David Eminian, The Hockey News, November 10, 1995.
3. "The Modern Minors," Eric Zweig, p. 381, in Total Hockey, ed. Dan Diamond, Total Sports, 1998.

External links

• International Hockey League 1945-2001 Internet Hockey Database - Standings and Statistics
• International Hockey League 1945-2001 Internet Hockey Database - IHL Awards