World Roller Hockey League

[oddball]

I remember watching the World Roller Hockey League on ESPN that was played at the MGM Sudios in Orlando in 1993. I've been looking for years for anything on it and just found the name today. Does anyone else remember this and possibly have pictures and logos from it? The teams supposidly were the Blast, Fury, Aztecs, Titans, Typhoon, Express, Turbos, Wave and Adrien LeBlanc's Rollers (?). I remember illustrating the uniforms and logos, but I guess I threw them away.

[mfoster]

I was thinking about it just the other day while talking with Norfolk Admirals GM Mike Butters, who was "Fatsy LaShaft" on ESPN Pro Beach Hockey... We were talking about Ron Duguay and his wife there. I think he played for the Express. The games were played over about a two-week period. I think one of the teams was made up largely of the Fresno Falcons, who were still in the old semi-pro Pacific Southwest Hockey League at the time. I'm not sure I remember where the other teams came from.

[-kj]

Ahh, the WRHL. I only vaguely remember that league as a precursor to the RHI.

Pro Beach Hockey stands out more in my mind, they had the goofy ramps on either end. I know I'd skated once with a guy who played in that league, Jeff Prime.

[jtthasportfreak]

I have to find some pitures of me as P.A. Announcer of the PBH, pics coming, cuz ima procrastinatin'

[mfoster]

Ahh, the WRHL. I only vaguely remember that league as a precursor to the RHI.

Not really, since RHI's first season was the summer of 1993 as well.

Speaking of RHI. There's another logo for the Connecticut Coasters floating around somewhere. Instead of the wordmark above the stick smacking the upturned puck with a C in it, this other logo was primarily the wordmark, though perhaps not the same one, with four wheels underneath it. I saw it in a magazine back in 1993 and haven't seen it since.

[njmeadowlanders]

I remember going to a handful of NJ Rockin Roller games in the mid-90's...I still have a program with all the team logos floating around somewhere. Problem is, I don't have a scanner that works at the moment...

Edit: Duh, I should've remembered they're probably all just here: http://chriscreamer.com/league.php?id=28

[-kj]

Ahh, the WRHL. I only vaguely remember that league as a precursor to the RHI.

Not really, since RHI's first season was the summer of 1993 as well.

Speaking of RHI. There's another logo for the Connecticut Coasters floating around somewhere. Instead of the wordmark above the stick smacking the upturned puck with a C in it, this other logo was primarily the wordmark, though perhaps not the same one, with four wheels underneath it. I saw it in a magazine back in 1993 and haven't seen it since.

Yeah, I know that (I was a St. Louis Vipers season ticket holder at one point, as well as for the Minnesota Blue Ox in the final lame-duck year of the league), but in my mind it seems like WRHL was over and done with (but not fully shown on TV) before RHI really kicked off. I suppose I could be wrong, it was fifteen years ago and my memory's pretty crappy.

As for the logo, that sounds familiar, but again... shoddy memory. I'm sure I have some programs in a bin around here somewhere, I could go digging.

[mfoster]

Yeah, I know that (I was a St. Louis Vipers season ticket holder at one point, as well as for the Minnesota Blue Ox in the final lame-duck year of the league), but in my mind it seems like WRHL was over and done with (but not fully shown on TV) before RHI really kicked off. I suppose I could be wrong, it was fifteen years ago and my memory's pretty crappy.

That's easy to understand, since they had the TV deal to run those taped games all summer and RHI's exposure was limited to their original markets. Unless you were in those markets or knew someone playing in the league, you probably didn't know about it.

[JQK]

Those Rockin Roller games were fun.

It's shame a national roller league could never really take off...

[-kj]

Since we've branched a little from the original topic, and you brought up the Rockin' Rollers...

I picked up one of these years ago for $25. Still have it. It's awesome in its horribleness.

[mfoster]

Since we've branched a little from the original topic, and you brought up the Rockin' Rollers...

I picked up one of these years ago for $25. Still have it. It's awesome in its horribleness.

I saw Las Vegas Flash and San Diego Barracudas replica jerseys at several Play It Again Sports stores in metro Oklahoma City about ten years ago. The Oklahoma Coyotes never made/sold any replicas, so the only way to get their jerseys would have been to buy the game worns that were sold at auction during the final game of the 1996 season. Had I known they would have gone for $75-$125 each, I would have brought some extra cash with me to the game. The game itself was played in Tulsa, not Oklahoma City, so interest in the jerseys was rather limited. I seem to remember several people buying multiple jerseys. The jerseys weren't bad other than the logo looked like Wile. E. Coyote strung out on meth.