Skip to main content

Introduction

Thought I'd try something new on my blog. I've been thinking lately of either deleting my Facebook account or cutting back on the amount of time I'm on it (update: forget deleting Facebook, lol). I already have two blogs here, and I hardly use them. One was about wrestling, which I rarely follow anymore, and the other one is a personal one which I rarely use.

One of my hobbies is collecting sports programs. Most of them are hockey, but I have some from football, baseball and basketball. The majority of the collection is from the 1970s to the present, but I also have some that date back to as old as 1923. I've bought many on eBay and at flea markets or card shows. A lot of them were bought when I attended games.  My collection has grown to two full file cabinets (2-door style) with a little spillover.

I'll start with Saginaw hockey, then work my way through the rest of Michigan. After that, I'll probably post random programs from any team or league. Probably make another blog for other sports too. We'll see what happens.

A lot of the stats are from hockeydb.com, a great resource for hockey logos and stats. Some of the stuff I knew already, but most I had to look up. All the programs, of course, are from my own personal collection.

The format I plan on following is displaying a scan of the program's cover, then giving a review of that season. I'll include the team's record, offensive and defensive leaders, and playoff results (if the team made the playoffs). I'll also give a few thoughts on the program, like what it looks like, how many pages, and what  game it was from.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Port Huron Hockey: Flags/Wings (1962-81)

Now, on to Port Huron.      Port Huron has had a long, yet checkered, history of pro hockey. The most successful franchise, by far, was the Port Huron Flags (also called Wings for a few years) of the IHL. The Flags were, for the most part, a competitve team on the ice, making the Turner Cup Finals seven times and winning the Cup on three occasions. For three years, (1971-74), the franchise was a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and sent numerous players on to the NHL in it's existence. However, the team had problems drawing big enough crowds. While the Flags lasted for nearly 20 years, former GM Morris Snider later admitted that the franchise could have folded three years before it actually did, due to declining attendance. I've found some Flags/Wings programs online over the years, and here's what I have. 1963-64 Regular Season--Flags vs. Windsor       1963-64 was the second year of existence for the Flags. After missing the...

Flint Generals yearbook (IHL, 1973-74)

     I recently bought two yearbooks from the Flint Generals of the IHL. This one is from the 1973-74 season. It's a 40-page book, all in black-and-white, and on glossy paper. Each player for that season has a full page photo and a short bio. The statistics and a team photo for each Generals season are included. Stats for every player that wore the "blue and gold" are listed in the back of the yearbook. Flint Journal sportswriter Len Hoyes added an article previewing the remainder of the 1973-74 campaign.       One thing that Hoyes noted in his article was about attendance: "With all of their problems, the Generals were still attracting fans at a rate of 3,950 per game. Attendance was down slightly, but Flint's percentage rate of almost 100 percent remained the envy of minor league hockey." (Hoyes, 1974)      The original Generals were a popular team for most of their existence, and attendance only bottomed out when the region...

Muskegon Mohawks (IHL, 1965-84)

I know, I said earlier I was going to look at Detroit's minor league teams. That would mean the Vipers would be next, but I decided to cover them later when I had time (I have a TON of programs from that team). Instead, I'm going to look briefly at Muskegon.  Muskegon has had a long, colorful past in professional hockey. It all started in 1960 with the expansion Muskegon Zephyrs of the IHL. Five seasons later, 1965-66, the Zephyrs became the Mohawks, and remain so until 1984-85, when they became the Lumberjacks. The Lumberjacks would remain in town through the 1992-93 season. After that season, the franchise would relocate to Cleveland, Ohio. Here are the Mohawks programs I have, along with a couple bonus scans.        The Mohawks existed from 1965-84, about 20 seasons, and had two vastly different eras of success. From 1965-76, the Mohawks finished above .500 10 times, winning the Huber Trophy (Regular Season Championship) six times and the ...