Soviet Tour of the Eastern Hockey League December 1963.

In December 2020, I posted to our EHL Facebook group day-by-day newspaper articles from the home cities of a 6-city Soviet Tour of the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) which occurred 57 years earlier in December 1963. The dates listed are the newspaper dates, so the games were the prior day. There is a lot of prelim, so if you want to read just about the games, then start at "Day 21".

Nashville Dixie Flyers Norm Ryder Checks Russian Veniamin Alexandrov, Dec 25, 1963
from The Tennessean Dec 26, 1963

The results of the series were:
Dec 17, 1963 Soviets 12 at Greensboro Generals 3
Dec 18, 1963 Soviets 6 at Charlotte Checkers 3
Dec 20, 1963 Soviets 12 at Philadelphia Ramblers 2
Dec 21, 1963 Soviets 9 at Johnstown Jets 6
Dec 22, 1963 Soviets 4 at Knoxville Knights 4
Dec 25, 1963 Soviets 4 at Nashville Dixie Flyers 1

The following month, January 1964 a team of EHL All-Stars made a tour of Russia. The next blog will cover those articles.

Day 1: Jan-Oct 1963 Articles

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158524553381590/

Day 2: Nov 1963 Articles

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158526217861590/

Day 3: Nov 30, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158528977301590/

Day 4: Dec 1, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158530879856590/

Day 5: Dec 2, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158533177591590/

Day 6: Dec 3, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158535228551590/

Day 7: Dec 4, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158537423096590/

Day 8: Dec 5, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158539289671590/

Day 9: Dec 6, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158541334596590/

Day 10: Dec 7, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158544634771590/

Day 11: Dec 8, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158546540086590/

Day 12: Dec 9, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158548825161590/

Day 13: Dec 10, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158551280051590/

Day 14: Dec 11, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158553663111590/

Day 15: Dec 12, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158554959536590/

Day 16: Dec 13, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158556980381590/

Day 17: Dec 14, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158560286961590/

Day 18: Dec 15, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158562409151590/

Day 19: Dec 16, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158564438231590/

Day 20: Dec 17, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158566805091590/

Day 21: Dec 18, 1963 Soviets 12 at Greensboro Generals 3

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158568959571590/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158569034546590/

Day 22: Dec 19, 1963 Soviets 6 at Charlotte Checkers 3

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158569910361590/

Day 23: Dec 20, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158572334226590/

Day 24: Dec 21, 1963 Soviets 12 at Philadelphia Ramblers 2

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158575875081590/

Day 25: Dec 22, 1963 Soviets 9 at Johnstown Jets 6

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158577647436590/

Day 26: Dec 23, 1963 Soviets 4 at Knoxville Knights 4

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158579720671590/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158587704496590/

Day 27: Dec 24, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158581601911590/

Day 28: Dec 25, 1963

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158584401831590/

Day 29: Dec 26, 1963 Soviets 4 at Nashville Dixie Flyers 1

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158586640681590/

Day 30: Dec 27-31, 1963 Soviets 5 U of Denver 0, Soviets 6 U of Denver 3

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129103506589/posts/10158587701176590/


As I've stated elsewhere, once the EHL Facebook group got going (Currently 3300+ members and growing), there's not a whole lot of need to "blog", since I usually do continuous posting there. But sometimes like this the blog format is a lot cleaner than trying to search Facebook.

Enjoy!
Tom Telaar
TheEHL.com

Syracuse Blazers - Charlotte Checkers 1971-72 Game 1 Brawl Video

Here's a YouTube video, courtesy of Kurt Golembrosky, son of Checkers' Frank Golembrosky. It's from Game 1 of the 1971-72 Finals,. The Syracuse Blazers at Charlotte Checkers. There's also a little hockey in there. Thanks, Kurt!

I just realized I have a program from this game. It notes that Charlotte hadn't played in two weeks since beating Greensboro in 5 games in the semi-finals. The Checkers had beaten the Suncoast Suns in 6 games in the opening round. Syracuse hadn't played in a week since beating Johnstown in the semis. Both arenas had scheduling issues. The Checkers had to travel to Salem, VA and Concord, NC to practice. Ironically, it was the Billy Graham Crusade that delayed the brawl below in the Charlotte Coliseum.

Charlotte won the previous year's title, beating the New Haven Blades 4 games to 1. The program says that the three keys to the previous years' team and this years' team were Allie Sutherland, Frank Golembrosky & Mike Rouleau. Syracuse was led by Ray Adduono and Paul Larose.

Gaye Cooley and Fred Creighton - Charlotte Hockey Hall Of Fame 2010 Class

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3977026

Charlotte Hockey Hall Of Fame 2010 Class Announced

CHARLOTTE, NC-The 2010 class of inductees for the Charlotte Hockey Hall of Fame, presented by American Airlines, was announced today and will include former goaltender Gaye Cooley, former player and coach Fred Creighton and Cliff Mehrtens, the ECHL Checkers' beat writer since the team's inception in 1993.

The three will be honored during the second intermission of Friday's game when the Checkers host the Trenton Devils at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Cooley played five seasons in Charlotte and backstopped the Checkers to three championships - one in the EHL in 1971-72 and back-to-back SHL titles in 1974-75 and 1975-76. The Kirkland Lake, Ontario native was a three-time EHL All-Star and led the league in goals against average in 1971-72 and 1974-75. Cooley recorded 16 shutouts and posted a 2.87 career GAA in 181 games as a Checker.

Prior to joining the pro ranks, Cooley played at Michigan State and led the Spartans to the 1965-66 NCAA National Championship. He ranks sixth in all-time save percentage at Michigan State and held the school record for career save percentage throughout the 60's and 70's.

Cooley joins Nick Vitucci as the only two goaltenders in the Charlotte Hockey Hall of Fame.

Creighton played four seasons in a Checkers uniform before stepping behind the bench for seven as the team's head coach. He compiled 90 points and 389 penalty minutes in 204 games as a player and a 294-178-35 (.614) record as a coach.

As Checkers head coach, the native of Port Arthur, Ontario had six consecutive seasons above.500 and helped the team to back-to-back league championships in 1970-71 and 1971-72.

Creighton went on to become head coach of the NHL's Atlanta Flames for five seasons and the Boston Bruins for a single season in 1979-80. He was twice named Minor League Hockey Coach of the Year and won four championships in 22 seasons as a head coach. Creighton was also recently inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.

Charlotte Hockey Hall of Fame

Fred Creighton at Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame

36 Years Ago Today - The EHL Dissolves into the NAHL and SHL

On April 12, 1973 the Syracuse Blazers won the EHL championship. As Ray Adduono skated around the rink with the Walker Trophy, it broke into three pieces. This was symbolic of what was about to happen to the EHL, splitting into three pieces (the NAHL, the SHL and the others) on May 1, 1973 at the last ever league meeting. Here's the AP Wire version of the story...

NEW YORK (AP) - The Eastern Hockey League, at its annual meeting in New York Tuesday, announced the formal dissolution of the EHL and the creation of two seperate leagues, one based in the north and the other operating out of the south, to fill the void.
The northern league, titled the North American Hockey League, plans to begin play this fall with a minimum of six teams. Charter members include the Cape Cod Cubs, Mohawk Valley Comets, Johnstown, Pa. Jets and the Binghamton, N.Y. Dusters. At least two additional NAHL entries are expected to be named shortly, with franchises from Rhode Island and Lewiston, Me. having the inside track. A Long Island entry is also a possibility. Cape Cod, Mohawk Valley and Johnstown were members of the now disbanded EHL. The NAHL, which is scheduled to begin a 74-game regular season Oct. 12, chose Jack Newkirk of Cape Cod as temporary chairman and Ed Stanley of Mohawk Valley as treasurer.
Earlier Tuesday, the Southern Hockey League was formed, with franchises granted to Charlotte, N.C., Greensboro, N.C., Winston-Salem, N.C., Roanoke Valley, Va. and St. Petersburg, Fla.

Binghamton and Lewiston had previously applied for EHL membership, and both were expected to be in the league for 1973-74.

It's interesting that Ed Stanley, who was the Clinton Arena manager who got Clinton into the league in 1954 became treasurer of the new NAHL. In 1973, Clinton had just been sold to a group of locals in a "Save the Comets" kind of deal. The new ownership, splitting the team between Clinton and Utica, renamed the team the Mohawk Valley Comets. Stanley was not one of the owners.

Of the teams not mentioned...
Syracuse Blazers owner Bill Charles had been angling all season to get into the AHL. They ended up back in the NAHL.
The Jersey Devils are a blog in themselves of things going wrong for them at that time. They were hoping for a northern division in the SHL or a southern division in the NAHL, neither of which happened. They were given two weeks to make a decision which league to join. In spite of the Philadelphia Blazers moving to Vancouver within that timeframe, the Devils never made it to the next season.
The Long Island Ducks, also affected by a local WHA franchise, had tried to fold at the end of the 1973 regular season - and even told the Devils to take their spot in the playoffs, before the league intervened and made the Ducks play. On May 24, 1973, the Long Island Cougars, under different ownership and as a farm team of the WHA Chicago Cougars, were accepted into the NAHL.
Rhode Island never made it to the gate.

In the south, Baltimore, Alabama were listed as possibilities for other first year franchises, but neither developed. The Macon Whoopees were added as the sixth SHL franchise that summer.

Maurice "Moe" Savard Inducted into Charlotte Checkers Hall of Fame

From GoCheckers.com : CHECKERS SET TO INDUCT NEW CLASS OF CHARLOTTE HOCKEY GREATS TO HALL OF FAME

3-25-09 CHARLOTTE, N.C. –There is a rich tradition of hockey in Charlotte and the Checkers are set to make the past present by inducting some of the legends of Charlotte hockey into the Charlotte Hockey Hall of Fame presented by American Airlines on Friday night at Time Warner Cable Arena when the team battles the Mississippi Sea Wolves.

Maurice “Moe” Savard: If you’re looking for a player that was a staple of Checkers hockey in the early days of the Eastern Hockey League, then you will come across the name of Maurice Savard. The man they simply called “Moe” spent all but one game of his professional career in a Charlotte sweater. Amassing an amazing 755 points over nine seasons (303 goals, 452 assists), Moe was a real fan favorite in the early days of Checkers hockey. In his 55 games during the 1964-65 season, he did not record a single penalty minute. Ex-Checkers coach Fred Creighton once said “If I had 15 hockey players like Moe…I’d be taking money under false pretenses – I wouldn’t have to coach.” Coach Creighton’s words are a testament to the greatness of Moe on and off the ice.