Defunct Hockey Teams Tank Tops

The Colorado Rockies were an American professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) that played in Denver from 1976 to 1982. They were founded as the Kansas City Scouts, an expansion team that began play in the NHL in the 1974–75 season. The Scouts moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to Denver for the 1976–77 season. The franchise moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey, for the 1982–83 season and was renamed as the New Jersey Devils. Denver went without an NHL team until the Quebec Nordiques relocated to become the Colorado Avalanche following the 1994–95 season. The Rockies name itself would be applied to the Major League Baseball expansion team that began play in 1993.

The Dayton Bombers were an ECHL ice hockey team located in Dayton, Ohio. The team most recently was in the North Division of the ECHL's American Conference. The Bombers originally played at Hara Arena from 1991 to 1996. The team moved to the Ervin J. Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio, in 1996. On March 30, 2009, it was announced that the Bombers would not be playing during the 2009–10 season. Despite the arrival of the International Hockey League's Dayton Gems, the Bombers had not folded nor planned to relocate at that time, and continued to aim towards securing additional investors and season ticket holders to play in Dayton again for 2010–11

The Dayton Bombers were an ECHL ice hockey team located in Dayton, Ohio. The team most recently was in the North Division of the ECHL's American Conference. The Bombers originally played at Hara Arena from 1991 to 1996. The team moved to the Ervin J. Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio, in 1996. On March 30, 2009, it was announced that the Bombers would not be playing during the 2009–10 season. Despite the arrival of the International Hockey League's Dayton Gems, the Bombers had not folded nor planned to relocate at that time, and continued to aim towards securing additional investors and season ticket holders to play in Dayton again for 2010–11.

The Dayton Gems were a minor league ice hockey team based in Dayton, Ohio, and members of the International Hockey League from 1964 to 1977, and 1979–1980. In the fall of 1964, the lobby of their new arena, Hara Arena, had a natural gas explosion. The damage was minor and the expansion team was assembled from various cast-offs and young players looking for their first break in minor league hockey. Dayton was the host for several IHL all star games due to the large attendance in their 5,500 seat arena. The Gems played exhibition games against the US Olympic team as well as the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League.

The Denver Grizzlies hockey teams is an anomaly in our One-Year Wonders category, a special fraternity of defunct teams typically characterized by chaos, dysfunction and insolvency. But the Grizzlies, an International Hockey League club owned by veteran minor league baseball operator David Elmore along with Donna Tuttle, were a roaring success both on the ice and at the box office. Prior to the Grizzlies arrival in 1993, Denver had a miserable history with pro hockey. Seven clubs set up shop in Denver between 1950 and 1990, including a short-lived and unloved National Hockey League franchise, the Colorado Rockies, that departed for New Jersey in 1982 after six losing seasons.

The Dayton Gems were a minor league ice hockey team based in Dayton, Ohio, and members of the International Hockey League from 1964 to 1977, and 1979–1980. In the fall of 1964, the lobby of their new arena, Hara Arena, had a natural gas explosion. The damage was minor and the expansion team was assembled from various cast-offs and young players looking for their first break in minor league hockey.

The Des Moines Oak Leafs were a minor league professional ice hockey team from Des Moines, Iowa, playing at Des Moines Ice Arena. The Oak Leafs were members of the United States Hockey League from 1961 to 1963, and the International Hockey League from 1963 to 1972. After 1972, the team was renamed the Des Moines Capitols.

The Vipers were originally formed as the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in 1969. In 1994, the franchise was purchased by Palace Sports and Entertainment (owners of the Detroit Pistons and the Palace of Auburn Hills) and relocated for the 1994–95 season. A sponsorship deal with the Chrysler Corporation led to the naming of the team after their Dodge Viper, although the team's logo primarily featured a common Viperidae (a venomous snake). A similar deal was in place with another Palace Sports-owned team, the Detroit Neon of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, which switched its sponsorship to GMC in its final year and renamed the team the Detroit Safari after yet another vehicle, the Safari.

The Calgary Cowboys were an ice hockey team that played two seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1975–1977. The Cowboys played at the Stampede Corral in Calgary. The franchise was founded in 1972 as the Miami Screaming Eagles, though it never played a game in Miami. The team was based in Philadelphia and Vancouver, known in both markets as the Blazers, before relocating to Calgary. The franchise folded in 1977.

The Nova Scotia Oilers were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1984 to 1988. The Oilers played their home games at the Halifax Metro Centre, and were the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, whose logo theirs resembled. The Oilers played four seasons before moving on. Larry Kish coached the first three seasons, followed by Ron Low in the fourth season. After the 1987–88 season, the team was relocated to Sydney, Nova Scotia becoming the Cape Breton Oilers. The void the Oilers left in Halifax was filled by the Halifax Citadels.

The Dayton Bombers were an ECHL ice hockey team located in Dayton, Ohio. The team most recently was in the North Division of the ECHL's American Conference. The Bombers originally played at Hara Arena from 1991 to 1996. The team moved to the Ervin J. Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio, in 1996. On March 30, 2009, it was announced that the Bombers would not be playing during the 2009–10 season. Despite the arrival of the International Hockey League's Dayton Gems, the Bombers had not folded nor planned to relocate at that time, and continued to aim towards securing additional investors and season ticket holders to play in Dayton again for 2010–11.

The Austin Ice Bats were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Austin, Texas, from 1996 to 2008. The were originally members of the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) and later the Central Hockey League (CHL). The team was named for the Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) that nest under the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in the city.

The Wheeling Stogies was a minor league baseball team based in Wheeling, West Virginia, that played under several different names at various times between 1877 and 1934. They played mostly in the Central League and the Middle Atlantic League, as well as in several various other area-based leagues. The Stogies can be traced back to 1877 and the city's first professional team known as Wheeling Standard, which featured Jack Glasscock and Chappy Lane. Then in 1887 the city once again fielded a new team known simply in the record books as Wheeling. However, the following season, Wheeling came to be called the "Nail City" for its nail industry, creating the Wheeling Nailers, a team name which even today is used for the city's professional ice hoc

The Cape Breton Oilers were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team was the top minor league affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers' organization relocated the team from Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1988 and renamed it for Cape Breton Island. Home games were played at Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Oilers' organization relocated the team to Ontario in 1996 to become the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The Dayton Bombers were an ECHL ice hockey team located in Dayton, Ohio. The team most recently was in the North Division of the ECHL's American Conference. The Bombers originally played at Hara Arena from 1991 to 1996. The team moved to the Ervin J. Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio, in 1996. On March 30, 2009, it was announced that the Bombers would not be playing during the 2009–10 season. Despite the arrival of the International Hockey League's Dayton Gems, the Bombers had not folded nor planned to relocate at that time, and continued to aim towards securing additional investors and season ticket holders to play in Dayton again for 2010–11.

The Bloomington PrairieThunder were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Bloomington, Illinois. They were a member of the Central Hockey League in the Turner Conference. The team was originally a member of the United Hockey League (later known as the International Hockey League) prior to its merger into the CHL in 2010. They played their home games at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

The Dallas Black Hawks were a minor-league professional ice hockey team in Dallas, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was a member of the Central Hockey League and played home games at State Fair Coliseum.

The Calgary Rad'z were a professional inline hockey team that played two seasons in the Roller Hockey International in 1993 and 1994. The Rad'z were a founding member of the RHI. The Rad'z began play in the Olympic Saddledome, but moved to the much smaller Max Bell Arena midway through their first year. The team folded following the 1994 season.

The Carolina Monarchs were a short-lived ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Coliseum. In the spring of 1997, the Hartford Whalers of the NHL announced that they would play in the Greensboro Coliseum for two seasons as the newly named Carolina Hurricanes. The NHL team purchased the dethroned Monarchs, moving the franchise to New Haven, Connecticut, where the team played as the Beast of New Haven.

The Black Hawks team was originally based in St. Louis, Missouri, where it was known as the Braves from 1963 to 1967. However, the expansion of the National Hockey League into St. Louis resulted in the relocation of the team to Dallas for the 1967–68 season. The Black Hawks remained in Dallas until ceasing operations following the 1981–82 CHL season. During that time, they won four Adams Cup championships. The Black Hawks and the Fort Worth Wings/Texans had a legendary rivalry as they competed in the CHL, complete with bench clearing brawls and fights in the stands, including a legendary 10-cent beer night near-riot in Fort Worth in 1978. The Texans folded at the same time as Dallas, along with the Oklahoma City Stars.

The Cape Cod Buccaneers were a professional ice hockey team based in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. They were an inaugural member of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League and were owned by future WWE CEO Vince McMahon.

The Cape Cod Buccaneers were a professional ice hockey team based in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. They were an inaugural member of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League and were owned by future WWE CEO Vince McMahon.

The Dallas Black Hawks were a minor professional ice hockey franchise based in Dallas, Texas. They were part of the Central Hockey League (CHL) and played their home games at the State Fair Coliseum , he team was founded in 1967 and ceased operations after the 1981–82 season