Rare Programs: IHL All-Star Games (1972-73 and 1983-84)

Thought I'd post these programs. I rarely see IHL All-Star Game programs online or at flea markets, but here are the two I have.

This one is from the 1972-73 IHL All-Star Game, held at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. That year's format was the North Division vs. the South Division, and the proceeds for the game went to the Children's Medical Center. The program is pretty small, about 11 pages, but you can't argue with the price!

A few notable players in this game include:

Bill McKenzie--Played in the NHL with the Colorado Rockies

Dennis Desrosiers--Scored 60 goals that season in Saginaw

Bob McCammon--Later coached in Philadelphia

Doug Manchak--Number retired by the Flint Generals

Bob Perani--Started Perani's Hockey World and owned both the Flint Spirits and Flint Generals. Alternate in this game.

Curt Ridley--Played briefly in the NHL, including Toronto and Vancouver

The 1983-84 All-Star Game was held at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Olympics were just around the corner, so the IHL faced Team USA in the Midseason Classic. Hopes were high for the Americans, just four years removed from the legendary "Miracle on Ice", and this game would serve as a good warm-up.

While the 1984 USA team was a huge disappointment in the Olympics, they did ice a very talented squad. The following players from the American squad would go on to the NHL:

Chris Chelios--3 Stanley Cups, 3 Norris Trophies, Hall of Famer

Al Iafrate--13 NHL seasons, 152 goals

Pat LaFontaine--15 NHL seasons, 468 goals

Ed Olczyk--16 NHL seasons, 1 Stanley Cup, US Hockey Hall of Famer

Bob Mason--8 NHL seasons, Minnesota Wild goaltender coach

Stats from HockeyDB.com

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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 playoffs in their inaugural cam

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's economy tanked

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 Turner Cup (Playoff C

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