Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) Explained

Text Color:white
Bg Color:blue
Team:Cleveland Barons
Logosize:200px
City:Cleveland, Ohio
League:American Hockey League
Operated:1937–February 1973
Arena:Cleveland Arena
Colors:Royal Blue & White
Name1:Cleveland Indians
Dates1:1929–1934 IHL
Name2:Cleveland Falcons
Dates2:1934–1937 IHL/I-AHL
Name3:Cleveland Barons
Dates3:1937–1973
I-AHL/AHL
Name4:Jacksonville Barons
Dates4:1973–1974
Name5:Syracuse Eagles
Dates5:1974–1975
Reg Season Titles:8 (1937–38, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53)
Division Titles:10 (1937–38, 1940–41,
1943–44, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1961–62)
Calder Cups:9 (1938–39, 1940–41,
1944–45, 1947–48, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1963–64)

The Cleveland Barons were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Cleveland Arena. At the time they folded, they were the most successful team in AHL history, the original incarnation of the Barons played in the AHL from 1937 to 1973. In that time, they won ten division titles and nine Calder Cups, which, although the team had been defunct for over three decades, remained a record until 2009, when the Hershey Bears won their 10th Calder Cup. In 1973, they relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, where they were known as the Jacksonville Barons; they lasted only through the 1973–1974 season before folding.

History

The team traces its roots back to the 1929–30 season of the International Hockey League, as the "Cleveland Indians." The Indians played for five seasons, until being renamed the Cleveland Falcons for the 1934–35 season. The Falcons played for three more years, when they became the Barons in 1937–38.

From 1934 to 1949, the team was owned by Al Sutphin, who was also an owner of the Braden-Sutphin Ink Company in Cleveland.[1] Sutphin, a true sportsman, was known to often pay better salaries than NHL teams at the time (1930s and 1940s), and some players preferred to remain in "minor league" Cleveland instead of playing in the "major" NHL. Sutphin built the Cleveland Arena, at the time one of the largest and most beautiful hockey facilities in North America. It was rumored that the dormant Montreal Maroons NHL franchise would be transferred to Cleveland but nothing came of it.[2]

Sutphin sold the team and arena in 1949. The Barons sought acceptance into the National Hockey League during the early 1950s, but purported financing irregularities caused the NHL to turn down the bid. The Barons then challenged the NHL for the right to play for the Stanley Cup, which was also rejected. During the 1940s and 1950s, the Barons played to standing-room-only audiences.

The preeminent star of the franchise was Fred Glover, the team's career leader in goals, assists, points, penalty minutes and seasons, (and second in league history in all those categories). Also notable was Hall of Famer goaltender Johnny Bower, who before he starred in the NHL played brilliantly for the Barons for nine seasons and is the AHL's career shutout leader. From 1949 to 1961, the Barons' general manager was James C. Hendy, a Hall of Fame Builder and the first prominent statistician in the history of the sport. Other notable players included Les Cunningham, a five-time league All-Star for whom the AHL's MVP award is named, Jack Gordon, Norm Beaudin, Bill Needham (the team's career leader in games played), Cal Stearns, Fred Thurier and Les Binkley.

In 1972, Barons owner Nick Mileti became the owner of a new team in the World Hockey Association (WHA), which had been founded as a second major league in competition with the NHL. The appearance of this new team, the Cleveland Crusaders, saw the market for the minor league product vanish almost overnight. The Barons could not compete with the WHA practice of hiring ex-NHL players whose contracts had expired, and consequently lost many fans. In addition, creation of the new "major league" drew much of the established talent away from the AHL. Mileti decided the teams could not co-exist, and moved the Barons mid-season in January 1973, to Jacksonville, Florida.[3] Scheduling conflicts caused the Barons to stay in Cleveland for a month. The Barons played their last game in Cleveland, a 5-1 loss to the Richmond Robins on February 4, 1973, on front of 435 fans. The Jacksonville Barons, as they were then known, played in the Jacksonville Coliseum, which had previously been home to the Jacksonville Rockets of the Eastern Hockey League. The Barons drew a crowd of 9,189 to their first game in the Jacksonville, but attendance declined afterward. They played one further season in Jacksonville before Mileti determined the franchise was not viable. Stating that he had lost around $1 million, he folded the team and sold it to a group in Syracuse, New York, which became the Syracuse Eagles.[3]

The team was replaced in this market by:

Team records

Single season
  • Goals: Roy Kelly, 46, 1950
  • Assists: Fred Glover, 69, 1960
  • Points: Glover, 107, 1960
    Career
  • Career goals: Glover, 410
  • Career assists: Glover, 695
  • Career points: Glover, 1105
  • Career penalty minutes: Glover, 2164
  • Career goaltending Wins: Johnny Bower, 284
  • Career shutouts: Bower, 38
  • Career games: Bill Needham, 981

    Season-by-season results

    Regular season

    SeasonGames WonLostTiedPointsGoals
    for     		Goals
    against     		Standing
    1929–30 42249957125781st, IHL
    1930–31 4824186541311123rd, IHL
    1931–32 4815258381101427th, IHL
    1932–33 4210275251001476th, IHL
    1933–34 4416244361041216th, IHL
    1934–35 4420231401151324th, IHL
    1935–36 4825194541491462nd, West
    4813278341131523rd, West
    48251211611261141st, West
    5423229551451383rd, West
    5624248561271304th, West
    5626219611771621st, West
    5633194701741523rd, West
    5621296481901964th, West
    5433147732241761st, West
    60341016782561991st, West
    6228268642692543rd, West
    6438188842722151st, West
    68431312983321971st, West
    6841216882862513rd, West
    704515101003572301st, West
    7144225932812211st, West
    6844195932651662nd, West
    6442202862481641st, AHL
    7038320762692273rd, AHL
    6432293672542222nd, AHL
    6426317592252314th, AHL
    6435263732492102nd, AHL
    7039283812321632nd, AHL
    7037303772612522nd, AHL
    7234308762672294th, AHL
    7236351732312343rd, AHL
    7039283812552031st, West
    7231347692702532nd, West
    7237305792392073rd, West
    7224435532282854th, West
    7238322782432172nd, West
    7236279812842303rd, West
    72283014702362554th, West
    74303212722132452nd, West
    72233316622222554th, West
    7239267852722082nd, West
    76323410742692634th, West
    7623449552513295th, West
    7624448562443345th, South

    Playoffs

    Season1st round2nd roundFinals
    1929–30 —W, 3–1, Buffalo
    1930–31 3rd place in double round robin.
    1931–32 Out of playoffs
    1932–33 Out of playoffs
    1933–34 Out of playoffs
    1934–35 ——
    1935–36 ——
    Data unavailable
    Data unavailable
    ????W, 3–1, Philadelphia
    Out of playoffs
    byeW, 3–2, Hershey
    —
    —
    —
    —W, 4–2, Hershey
    L, 3–4, Buffalo
    ——
    byeW, 4–0, Buffalo
    —
    byeL, 0–4, Indianapolis
    byeW, 4–3, Pittsburgh
    ——
    —W, 4–3, Pittsburgh
    —W, 4–2, Hershey
    ——
    —L, 0–4, Providence
    —W, 4–1, Rochester
    ——
    ——
    ——
    ——
    ——
    —
    W, 4–0, Quebec
    Out of playoffs
    L, 2–4, Rochester
    ——
    Out of playoffs
    ——
    Out of playoffs
    —
    ——
    Out of playoffs
    Out of playoffs

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Book: Condon. The Man in the Arena: The Life and Times of A.C. Sutphin. The A.C. Sutphin Foundation. 1995. 0-9649900-1-6. 51–67. Chapter 7, Sutphin's Surprise.
    2. Condon, op.cit. p.75-77
    3. News: Basch. Mark. November 8, 2004. Hockey's future a lot brighter in Jacksonville. The Florida Times-Union. dead . December 16, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20121001063444/http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/110804/bus_17107357.shtml. October 1, 2012.

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