Cleveland Barons (1937–1973)

For the 1976–1978 NHL team, see Cleveland Barons (NHL). For the more recent AHL team, see Cleveland Barons (2001–2006).

Cleveland Barons
City	Cleveland, Ohio
League	American Hockey League
Operated	1937–February 1973
Home arena	Cleveland Arena
Colors	Royal Blue & White
Franchise history
1929–1934 IHL	Cleveland Indians
1934–1937 IHL/I-AHL	Cleveland Falcons
1937–1973 I-AHL/AHL	Cleveland Barons
1973–1974	Jacksonville Barons
1974–1975	Syracuse Eagles
Championships
Regular season titles	8 (1937–38, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53)
Division titles	10 (1937–38, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1961–62)
Calder Cups	9 (1938–39, 1940–41, 1944–45, 1947–48, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1963–64)

The Cleveland Barons were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Cleveland Arena. At the time they folded, they were the most successful team in AHL history, the original incarnation of the Barons played in the AHL from 1937 to 1973. In that time, they won ten division titles and nine Calder Cups, which, although the team had been defunct for over three decades, remained a record until 2009, when the Hershey Bears won their 10th Calder Cup. In 1973, they relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, where they were known as the Jacksonville Barons; they lasted only through the 1973–1974 season before folding.

History

Barons alternate logo.

The team traces its roots back to the 1929–30 season of the International Hockey League, as the "Cleveland Indians." The Indians played for five seasons, until being renamed the Cleveland Falcons for the 1934–35 season. The Falcons played for three more years, when they became the Barons in 1937–38.

From 1934 to 1949, the team was owned by Al Sutphin, who was also an owner of the Braden-Sutphin Ink Company in Cleveland. Sutphin, a true sportsman, was known to often pay better salaries than NHL teams at the time (1930s and 1940s), and some players preferred to remain in "minor league" Cleveland instead of playing in the "major" NHL. Sutphin built the Cleveland Arena, at the time one of the largest and most beautiful hockey facilities in North America. It was rumored that the dormant Montreal Maroons NHL franchise would be transferred to Cleveland but nothing came of it.

Sutphin sold the team and arena in 1949. The Barons sought acceptance into the National Hockey League during the early 1950s, but purported financing irregularities caused the NHL to turn down the bid. The Barons then challenged the NHL for the right to play for the Stanley Cup, which was also rejected. During the 1940s and 1950s, the Barons played to standing-room-only audiences.

The preeminent star of the franchise was Fred Glover, the team's career leader in goals, assists, points, penalty minutes and seasons, (and second in league history in all those categories). Also notable was Hall of Famer goaltender Johnny Bower, who before he starred in the NHL played brilliantly for the Barons for nine seasons and is the AHL's career shutout leader. From 1949 to 1961, the Barons' general manager was James C. Hendy, a Hall of Fame Builder and the first prominent statistician in the history of the sport. Other notable players included Les Cunningham, a five-time league All-Star for whom the AHL's MVP award is named, Jack Gordon, Norm Beaudin, Bill Needham (the team's career leader in games played), Cal Stearns, Fred Thurier and Les Binkley.

In 1972, Barons owner Nick Mileti became the owner of a new team in the World Hockey Association (WHA), which had been founded as a second major league in competition with the NHL. The appearance of this new team, the Cleveland Crusaders, saw the market for the minor league product vanish almost overnight. The Barons could not compete with the WHA practice of hiring ex-NHL players whose contracts had expired, and consequently lost many fans. In addition, creation of the new "major league" drew much of the established talent away from the AHL. Mileti decided the teams could not co-exist, and moved the Barons mid-season in January 1973, to Jacksonville, Florida. Scheduling conflicts caused the Barons to stay in Cleveland for a month. The Barons played their last game in Cleveland, a 5-1 loss to the Richmond Robins on February 4, 1973, on front of 435 fans. The Jacksonville Barons, as they were then known, played in the Jacksonville Coliseum, which had previously been home to the Jacksonville Rockets of the Eastern Hockey League. The Barons drew a crowd of 9,189 to their first game in the Jacksonville, but attendance declined afterward. They played one further season in Jacksonville before Mileti determined the franchise was not viable. Stating that he had lost around $1 million, he folded the team and sold it to a group in Syracuse, New York, which became the Syracuse Eagles.

The team was replaced in this market by:

• Cleveland Crusaders of the WHA (1972–1976)
• A second team called the Cleveland Barons, this time in the NHL (1976–1978)
• Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL (1992–2001)
• A third Cleveland Barons, second in AHL (2001–2006)
• Lake Erie/Cleveland Monsters (2007–present) of the AHL

Team records

Single season

Goals: Roy Kelly, 46 , 1950

Assists: Fred Glover, 69, 1960

Points: Glover, 107, 1960

Career

Career goals: Glover, 410

Career assists: Glover, 695

Career points: Glover, 1105

Career penalty minutes: Glover, 2164

Career goaltending Wins: Johnny Bower, 284

Career shutouts: Bower, 38

Career games: Bill Needham, 981

Season-by-season results

• Cleveland Indians 1929–1934 (International Hockey League)
• Cleveland Falcons 1934–1936 (International Hockey League)
• Cleveland Falcons 1936–1937 (International-American Hockey League)
• Cleveland Barons 1937–1940 (International-American Hockey League)
• Cleveland Barons 1940–1972
• Cleveland / Jacksonville Barons 1972–1973
• Jacksonville Barons 1973–1974

Regular season

Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	Points	Goals for	Goals against	Standing
1929–30	42	24	9	9	57	125	78	1st, IHL
1930–31	48	24	18	6	54	131	112	3rd, IHL
1931–32	48	15	25	8	38	110	142	7th, IHL
1932–33	42	10	27	5	25	100	147	6th, IHL
1933–34	44	16	24	4	36	104	121	6th, IHL
1934–35	44	20	23	1	40	115	132	4th, IHL
1935–36	48	25	19	4	54	149	146	2nd, West
1936–37	48	13	27	8	34	113	152	3rd, West
1937–38	48	25	12	11	61	126	114	1st, West
1938–39	54	23	22	9	55	145	138	3rd, West
1939–40	56	24	24	8	56	127	130	4th, West
1940–41	56	26	21	9	61	177	162	1st, West
1941–42	56	33	19	4	70	174	152	3rd, West
1942–43	56	21	29	6	48	190	196	4th, West
1943–44	54	33	14	7	73	224	176	1st, West
1944–45	60	34	10	16	78	256	199	1st, West
1945–46	62	28	26	8	64	269	254	3rd, West
1946–47	64	38	18	8	84	272	215	1st, West
1947–48	68	43	13	12	98	332	197	1st, West
1948–49	68	41	21	6	88	286	251	3rd, West
1949–50	70	45	15	10	100	357	230	1st, West
1950–51	71	44	22	5	93	281	221	1st, West
1951–52	68	44	19	5	93	265	166	2nd, West
1952–53	64	42	20	2	86	248	164	1st, AHL
1953–54	70	38	32	0	76	269	227	3rd, AHL
1954–55	64	32	29	3	67	254	222	2nd, AHL
1955–56	64	26	31	7	59	225	231	4th, AHL
1956–57	64	35	26	3	73	249	210	2nd, AHL
1957–58	70	39	28	3	81	232	163	2nd, AHL
1958–59	70	37	30	3	77	261	252	2nd, AHL
1959–60	72	34	30	8	76	267	229	4th, AHL
1960–61	72	36	35	1	73	231	234	3rd, AHL
1961–62	70	39	28	3	81	255	203	1st, West
1962–63	72	31	34	7	69	270	253	2nd, West
1963–64	72	37	30	5	79	239	207	3rd, West
1964–65	72	24	43	5	53	228	285	4th, West
1965–66	72	38	32	2	78	243	217	2nd, West
1966–67	72	36	27	9	81	284	230	3rd, West
1967–68	72	28	30	14	70	236	255	4th, West
1968–69	74	30	32	12	72	213	245	2nd, West
1969–70	72	23	33	16	62	222	255	4th, West
1970–71	72	39	26	7	85	272	208	2nd, West
1971–72	76	32	34	10	74	269	263	4th, West
1972–73	76	23	44	9	55	251	329	5th, West
1973–74	76	24	44	8	56	244	334	5th, South

Playoffs

Season	1st round	2nd round	Finals
1929–30	W, 2–0, London	—	W, 3–1, Buffalo
1930–31	3rd place in double round robin.
1931–32	Out of playoffs
1932–33	Out of playoffs
1933–34	Out of playoffs
1934–35	L, 0–2, London	—	—
1935–36	L, 1–3, Buffalo	—	—
1936–37	Data unavailable
1937–38	Data unavailable
1938–39	??	??	W, 3–1, Philadelphia
1939–40	Out of playoffs
1940–41	W, 3–1, Providence	bye	W, 3–2, Hershey
1941–42	W, 2–0, Washington	L, 1–2, Hershey	—
1942–43	W, 2–0, Providence	L, 0–2, Indianapolis	—
1943–44	W, 4–3, Hershey	—	L, 0–4, Buffalo
1944–45	W, 4–2, Buffalo	—	W, 4–2, Hershey
1945–46	W, 2–0, Providence	W, 2–1, Pittsburgh	L, 3–4, Buffalo
1946–47	L, 0–4, Hershey	—	—
1947–48	W, 4–1, Providence	bye	W, 4–0, Buffalo
1948–49	W, 2–1, Springfield	L, 0–2, Hershey	—
1949–50	W, 4–1, Buffalo	bye	L, 0–4, Indianapolis
1950–51	W, 4–0, Buffalo	bye	W, 4–3, Pittsburgh
1951–52	L, 2–3, Providence	—	—
1952–53	W, 3–1, Syracuse	—	W, 4–3, Pittsburgh
1953–54	W, 3–0, Buffalo	—	W, 4–2, Hershey
1954–55	L, 1–3, Buffalo	—	—
1955–56	W, 3–1, Pittsburgh	—	L, 0–4, Providence
1956–57	W, 4–3, Hershey	—	W, 4–1, Rochester
1957–58	L, 3–4, Springfield	—	—
1958–59	L, 3–4, Hershey	—	—
1959–60	L, 3–4, Rochester	—	—
1960–61	L, 0–4, Springfield	—	—
1961–62	L, 2–4, Springfield	—	—
1962–63	W, 2–0, Rochester	L, 2–3, Hershey	—
1963–64	W, 2–0, Rochester	W, 3–0, Hershey	W, 4–0, Quebec
1964–65	Out of playoffs
1965–66	W, 3–0, Pittsburgh	W, 3–0, Springfield	L, 2–4, Rochester
1966–67	L, 2–3, Rochester	—	—
1967–68	Out of playoffs
1968–69	L, 2–3, Quebec	—	—
1969–70	Out of playoffs
1970–71	W, 3–1, Hershey	L, 1–3, Springfield	—
1971–72	L, 2–4, Baltimore	—	—
1972–73	Out of playoffs
1973–74	Out of playoffs

External links

• Cleveland Barons Hockey Scrapbook — 1962–63 Season at Cleveland Public Library
• The Internet Hockey Database - Cleveland Barons (AHL)