Hockey Programs

These programs are from the final season of the Broome Dusters. They are also the thickest programs I have of that franchise. 1979-80 Regular Season--Dusters vs. Hershey Bears     Another season, another new coach and GM. This time, Pat Kelly was behind the bench to start the year, but after an 8-19-3 record, was canned in favor of Dave Forbes. Jacques Caron was the new GM. The team had two new NHL affiliates, as Boston and Los Angeles aligned with Binghamton.      This season's Dusters fell right back to the Southern Division cellar. Their woeful 24-49-7 was the worst in the AHL, 11 points behind Rochester. Naturally, this team had problems putting the puck in and keeping it out. On offense, the Dusters scored an anemic 268 goals, second worst in the league. Tom Songin led the team in points with only 63. Gary Burns was the only player to score 30, but four others scored over 20.       On defense, Binghamton allowed...

Here's another set of Broome Duster programs, this time from the 1978-79 season. All the programs I have from this year look the same, so I'll only post one picture. 1978-79 Regular Season--Dusters vs. Nova Scotia Voyageurs      Before I say anything about the 1978-79 season, take a look at that program cover. That is the gaudiest goalie mask I have seen, almost psychedelic! Wonder if anyone wore that in a game? It was definitely an eye-catcher when I bought it a couple years ago.      In 1978-79, the Dusters improved somewhat on their first AHL season. The team went 32-42-5, third place in the Southern Division. Their 69 points were 32 points behind first-place Nova Scotia, that night's opponent, and just five points ahead of fourth place Rochester. Joe Hardy replaced Larry Kish as head coach, and Andre Veillieux was the new President-GM. The team was an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.      The offense i...

The Broome Dusters, what a great name! Does the caveman look familiar? That's right, the team's logo was designed by Johnny Hart, the creater of the BC comic strip and a Binghamton resident. 1977-78 Regular Season--Dusters vs. Springfield Indians       The Broome (as in Broome County, New York) Dusters began in 1973 in the old North American Hockey League, a Double-A pro league in the northest. They played four years in the NAHL, then transferred to the AHL in 1977.      According to this program, the franchise was a late addition to the AHL for 1977-78. Binghamton's population at the time was about 64,000, which was second-lowest in the league. The 4,855-seat Broome County Veteran's Memorial Coliseum was the smallest in the league. However, despite those stats, attendance for the Dusters was strong. That night's game against Springfield was the 135th straight game (playoff or regular season) with a crowd of over 4,000. The progr...