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Dayton Gems (IHL, 1979-80)

1979-80 Regular Season:
Gems vs. Milwaukee Admirals
     The Dayton Gems returned to the IHL after a two-year hiatus. The franchise suspended operations due to financial problems after the 1976-77 season, but continued paying league dues during that time. Hara Arena was briefly the home of the Dayton Owls in 1977-78 (formerly of Columbus), but poor attendance and a struggling economy forced that team to move to Grand Rapids in December.
     Harold and Ralph Wampler, majority owners of Hara Arena, led a group of stockholders that ran "The Second Coming" of the Gems franchise. The Gems were affiliated with the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets, who were both in the first season in the NHL. Keith Sprunk, formerly the assistant GM with the Grand Rapids Owls, was named GM and Vice-President. Bill Selman, former coach of St. Louis University's hockey program, was hired as "bench boss" in Dayton.
     Hopes were high that the fanbase would come back in droves and the team would pick up where they left off in the 1970s. Sadly, neither would happen. The United States was in the middle of a major recession at this point. The "rust belt" Midwestern US was hit especially hard. Unemployment had reached 7% in Ohio by 1980, leaving IHL teams searching for paying customers. Attendance at Gems games continued to be low, and the team ended up losing about $200,000. According to the April 11th edition of the Dayton Daily News, the Gems ran out of pucks during the season, forcing them to rely on promotional pucks to make it through the year.
     One of the big reasons attendance was low was because the team was a bottom-feeder. Picked to finish near the top of the standings by most of the Dayton area press, the Gems instead finished in last place in the IHL. Their miserable 28-45-7 record and 63 points were three back of Grand Rapids in the IHL's Southern Division. Both the Owls and Gems were the two teams eliminated from postseason play.
     Dayton scored the third-fewest goals in the league, chipping in a mere 307 on the year. Doug Crawford, an early-season acquisition from Saginaw, led the Gems with 26 goals and 81 points. Mike Hartman led the team in goals, with 39, to go along with 72 points. Other members of the 20+ goal club include Grant Eakin (28), Glenn Tomalty (29) and Ben Gosselin (37).
     The Gems were a mess on defense, surrendering 355 goals, second-worst in the league behind Milwaukee. The team went through five different goaltenders. Ted Tucker started the season, but was dealt to Saginaw after 23 starts. Tim Thomlinson played the most games in net (37), but was dealt himself to Fort Wayne. Scott Olson and Jim Bedard (who would later become goalie coach in Detroit) each played over 10 games. Even former Gems standout Pat Rupp made it into 1 game at 37 years old.
     As stated earlier, the Gems missed the playoffs in their "second coming" year. Due to the poor on-ice performance and the franchise taking a bath financially, the team suspended operations after the season, never to return. This season ended a 14 1/2-year run for Dayton in the IHL, which saw the Gems make five trips to the Turner Cup Finals, winning in 1969, 1970 and 1977, often playing in front of packed crowds.
     Now for the program. This is actually a nice-looking program. It's 54 pages, loaded with black-and-white ads, often 4 to a page. President David Fisher welcomed fans to "The Second Coming" of Gems hockey on page 5, noting the steps taken to revitalize the franchise after a two-year layoff. GM Keith Sprunk and Coach Bill Selmon each have their own bio articles. So does forward Rich Popiel, who got to show off the Gems' awful rainbow jerseys. Each NHL affiliate is introduced as well. Then there's the usual
stuff, such as the team's schedule, souvenir prices and league mileage chart, which I posted here. As you can see, the IHL was still in the middle of it's "Bus League" era. The mileage map would look much different by the decade's end.
     Tonight's opponent was the Milwaukee Admirals, who were coached by former Port Huron Wing Phil Wittliff. Wittliff would go on to a long career with the Admirals, first as a player, then as as coach and General Manager until he retired in 2006. Both the Admirals and Gems struggled this season, finishing near the bottom of the standings. The Admirals barely made the postseason that year, finishing just two points ahead of Grand Rapids and five ahead of the Gems.
     Local advertisements include Hudepohl Beer, Noble Roman's Pizza, Arena Dodge (across the street from Hara Arena), The Salem Mall (now closed), and 1410 AM WING. WJAI 92.9 FM was the radio home of the Gems that season, and "Wild Man" Steve Kirk handled play-by-play duties. In his bio on page 31, Kirk described how he would call the games that season:
     The average hockey fan doesn't watch a game sitting on his hands, so you know I won't be either. I love this game and always have, just like my listeners. So remember this. I am a fan first and a play-by-play man second."

 Aftermath: Dayton would be home to the Dayton Jets of the Continental/All-American Hockey League from 1985-87, but minor-pro hockey wouldn't get back on track in the area until 1991, with the arrival of the ECHL Dayton Bombers. The Bombers played for 18 years and drew over 3500 for most of their existence until folding in 2009. The Bombers switched arenas in 1996, playing at the Nutter Center in downtown Dayton for the rest of their existence. Hockey would return to Hara Arena in 1996 with the UHL's Dayton Ice Bandits, who folded after one season. After the Bombers folded, a third incarnation of the Gems would join the IHL (formerly the UHL) in 2009, joined the Central League in 2010, and folded in 2012. The Single-A Federal Hockey League would move into Hara after the Gems folded, but neither the Demonz or Demolition lasted too long. Hara Arena, in serious disrepair due to financial problems, closed in 2016. The Dayton area has gone without hockey since.
References:
International Hockey League Statistics: 1979-80,  from hockeydb.com
"1964-80 Dayton Gems" Fun While It Lasted
Dayton Gems 1979-80 Souvenir Program

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