Hockey Programs

1977-78 Regular Season: Owls vs. Toledo Goaldiggers      After six seasons playing in an aging arena in front of dwindling crowds, the Columbus Owls gave up on Columbus, Ohio. Initially planning on relocating to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the 1977-78 season, the Owls instead shifted to Dayton, Ohio, recently vacated by the Dayton Gems. The Owls hoped for an increase in attendance in Hara Arena, despite the steady decline the Gems saw in their last few seasons.     The move turned out to be a disaster. A declining economy and harsh winter helped keep attendance dangerously low. Owner Al Savill announced that the team was on track to lose over $350,000 and may be forced to fold the franchise. An emergency meeting of the IHL Board of Governors was convened and the Owls were allowed to relocate to Grand Rapids, Michigan, on December 3, 1977.      The Owls' second home that season was Stadium Arena, a 5,000-seat arena in the Grand Rapids suburb o...

All of the programs I have displayed so far are from Michigan cities. For this post, I'll be looking at the Columbus/Dayton/Grand Rapids Owls. Most of the Owls programs I've found are from their four-year stay in Columbus, Ohio, but I do have one from Grand Rapids.      Columbus's time in the IHL began with the arrival of the Columbus Checkers in 1966. The Checkers lasted for four mediocre seasons, their best being in 1967-68, when they went 32-30-10 and lost in the first round. That franchise folded after the 1969-70 season and was replaced in 1971 by the expansion Columbus Golden Seals. The Seals were owned by Charles O. Finley, who owned both the Oakland A's baseball team as well as the NHL's California Golden Seals (hence the name).       The NHL Seals were a complete disaster on and off the ice, and Columbus was no different. In two seasons, the IHL Seals won a whopping 25 games, including a horrific 10-62-2 record in 1972-73. The...