Baltimore Clippers

Baltimore Clippers
Company type	Professional minor league ice hockey franchise
Industry	Ice hockey
Founded	1962
Defunct	1977
Fate	Franchise folded after Southern Hockey League ceased operations
Headquarters	Baltimore, United States
Area served	Baltimore, Maryland
Key people	Terry Reardon (General Manager and Head Coach)
Products	Ice hockey team
Parent	Affiliations with NHL and WHA teams including New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, California Golden Seals, Kansas City Scouts, Washington Capitals, New England Whalers, Edmonton Oilers

The Baltimore Clippers were a professional minor league ice hockey franchise located in Baltimore, Maryland, hosting their games at the Baltimore Civic Center. Their tenure spanned from 1962 to 1976 in the American Hockey League, with an additional season played in the Southern Hockey League. Under the leadership of Terry Reardon for fourteen seasons, the Clippers secured three division championships but never captured the Calder Cup title. Originally serving as a developmental team for the New York Rangers, they nurtured several future Hall of Fame inductees, including Eddie Giacomin, Doug Harvey, Jacques Plante, and Jean Ratelle. The franchise counts eight members who were later enshrined in the AHL Hall of Fame. The "Clippers" name was chosen to reflect Baltimore's rich nautical history, drawing inspiration from the famed Baltimore Clipper sailing vessels and the city's prominent Port of Baltimore.

History

On June 12, 1962, the American Hockey League awarded Baltimore an expansion team, contingent upon completion of the new rink at the Baltimore Civic Center by November 1 of that year. The team's anthem, titled "Win, you Baltimore Clippers," was composed to celebrate their establishment. Initially, the Clippers operated as a farm club for the New York Rangers over five seasons. Although sharing a name and public relations personnel with earlier Baltimore hockey teams, this was a distinct organization. Due to ongoing construction delays, training camp was held at Wheat City Arena. Red Sullivan was appointed player-coach but was promoted mid-season to head coach of the Rangers; Aldo Guidolin succeeded him behind the bench.

The Clippers commenced their first AHL campaign with a victory against the Springfield Indians and concluded third in the East Division before being eliminated in the opening playoff round. In following years, standout players such as Ken Schinkel and Gord Labossiere led offensive production amid several coaching transitions. During the 1965–66 season, Terry Reardon replaced Jack Crawford as head coach and remained a pivotal figure throughout much of Baltimore’s history.

By the late 1960s, Baltimore had entered into an affiliation with the Pittsburgh Penguins and subsequently established secondary partnerships with both the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers. The team experienced mixed results, highlighted by a strong 1970–71 season under Reardon’s dual role as coach and general manager, where they clinched their sole regular-season title and featured league MVP Fred Speck. Their only appearance in a Calder Cup final came in 1972, ending in defeat to the Nova Scotia Voyageurs.

After cycling through affiliations with franchises such as the California Golden Seals, Kansas City Scouts, and Detroit Red Wings, financial strains intensified. By January 1975, despite an $80,000 subsidy from the city and declining attendance figures, operations ceased midseason. On that very day, the WHA’s Michigan Stags relocated to Baltimore, rebranding as the Blades.

Reardon led efforts to resurrect the Clippers for the 1975–76 season, gaining provisional approval from the AHL after securing an arena lease and achieving season ticket sales. The revived team aligned with both the NHL’s Washington Capitals and WHA’s New England Whalers but ended up last in their division.

In August 1976, due to escalating operational expenses within the AHL and unsuccessful negotiations for NHL affiliations, ownership transitioned the franchise into the Southern Hockey League to lower costs. Reardon stepped down from his general manager position; Larry Wilson assumed coaching and managerial responsibilities. For this final campaign, Baltimore partnered with the WHA’s Edmonton Oilers.

Midway through that season, when Wilson accepted an interim coaching role with the Detroit Red Wings, Don Grierson took over as player-coach-general manager of Baltimore. The SHL folded on January 31, 1977, as financial difficulties plagued several member clubs. At that point in time, Baltimore held fourth place in points standings; Grierson led multiple league scoring categories. In January 1978, remaining assets of the team were auctioned off to address outstanding debts.

Major league affiliations

From 1962 through 1976, the Baltimore Clippers were connected to various National Hockey League franchises, while also affiliating with World Hockey Association teams between 1975 and 1977. The team operated without a major league partnership during the 1972–73 campaign.

Parent	League	Years	Seasons
New York Rangers	NHL	1962–67	5
Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	1967–70	3
Detroit Red Wings	NHL	1968–69 1970–71 1973–74	3
Philadelphia Flyers	NHL	1968–69	1
California Golden Seals	NHL	1971–72	1
Kansas City Scouts	NHL	1974–75	1
Washington Capitals	NHL	1975–76	1
New England Whalers	WHA	1975–76	1
Edmonton Oilers	WHA	1976–77	1

Notable players

During the 1970–71 season, Fred Speck achieved one of the franchise’s most outstanding performances by winning three prestigious league honors: the Les Cunningham Award, the John B. Sollenberger Trophy, and the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award. A total of eight Clippers athletes have been inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame, while four members have earned places in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Player	Position	Honors	Inducted
Eddie Giacomin	Goaltender	Hockey Hall of Fame	1987
Doug Harvey	Defense	Hockey Hall of Fame	1973
Jacques Plante	Goaltender	Hockey Hall of Fame	1978
Jean Ratelle	Center	Hockey Hall of Fame	1985
Jim Bartlett	Left wing	AHL Hall of Fame	2018
Billy Dea	Center	AHL Hall of Fame	2017
Ralph Keller	Defense	AHL Hall of Fame	2016
Willie Marshall	Center	AHL Hall of Fame	2006
Jim Morrison	Defense	AHL Hall of Fame	2013
Marcel Paille	Goaltender	AHL Hall of Fame	2010
Harry Pidhirny	Center	AHL Hall of Fame	2011
Noel Price	Defense	AHL Hall of Fame	2008

Coaches

Terry Reardon held the position of general manager for fourteen years and led the Baltimore Clippers as head coach for nine seasons. His coaching excellence was recognized with the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL Coach of the Year in 1970–71. From 1962 to 1976, nine individuals served as either head coach or co-coach for the team.

Season(s)	Head coach(es)
1962–63	Red Sullivan, Aldo Guidolin
1963–64	Aldo Guidolin
1964–65	Jack Crawford
1965–66	Jack Crawford, Terry Reardon
1966–68	Terry Reardon
1968–69	Aldo Guidolin
1969–70	Rudy Migay
1970–71	Terry Reardon
1971–74	Terry Reardon & Jim Morrison
1974–76	Terry Reardon & Kent Douglas
1976–77	Larry Wilson, Don Grierson

Attendance

At the outset, Baltimore experienced fan turnout that exceeded the league average when compared to other teams. Nonetheless, the city was unable to obtain a major league franchise during the NHL expansion of 1967 and the following expansion period. In the early 1970s, attendance figures dropped, a trend that was exacerbated by the emergence of the Washington Capitals and competition from the WHA during the 1974–75 season.

Season	Average attendance
Season	Baltimore	League
1962–63	4,776	4,747
1963–64	5,281	4,856
1964–65	4,963	4,572
1965–66	3,946	4,433
1966–67	4,576	4,447
1967–68	4,895	4,860
1968–69	4,367	4,721
1969–70	6,082	4,617
1970–71	5,213	4,521
1971–72	2,910	4,915
1972–73	2,910	4,077
1973–74	3,083	3,364
1974–75	3,049	3,930
1975–76	3,304	3,761
1976–77	Data incomplete

Results

The season-by-season summary outlines both regular season achievements and playoff outcomes.

Season	League	Regular season								Playoffs
Season	League	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	Points	Goals for	Goals against	Standing	1st round	2nd round	Finals
1962–63	AHL	72	35	30	7	77	226	244	3rd East	L,1-2 Hershey	—	—
1963–64	AHL	72	32	37	3	67	200	220	4th East	Out of playoffs
1964–65	AHL	72	35	32	5	75	275	249	3rd East	L,2-3 Hershey	—	—
1965–66	AHL	72	27	43	2	56	212	254	4th East	Out of playoffs
1966–67	AHL	72	35	27	10	80	252	247	2nd East	W,3-2 Quebec	L,1-3 Rochester	—
1967–68	AHL	72	28	34	10	66	236	255	4th East	Out of playoffs
1968–69	AHL	74	33	34	7	73	266	257	2nd East	L,1-3 Providence	—	—
1969–70	AHL	72	25	30	(17)	67	(230)	(252)	3rd West	(L,1-4 Montreal (Nova Scotia))	(—)	(—)
1970–71	AHL	(72)	(40)	(23)	(9)	(89)	(263)	(224)	1st West	(L,2-4 Providence)	(—)	(—)
1971–72	AHL	(76)	(34)	(31)	(11)	(79)	(240)	(249)	1st West	(W,4-2 Cleveland)	(W,4-2 Cincinnati)	(L,2-4 Nova Scotia)
1972–73	AHL	(76)	(17)	(48)	(11)	(45)	(210)	(315)	6th West	Out of playoffs)
1973–74	AHL	(76)	(42)	(24)	(10)	(94)	(310)	(232)	1st South	(W,4-1 Richmond)	(L,0-4 Hershey)	(—)
1974–75	AHL	(46)	(14)	(22)	(10)	(38)	(136)	(180)	5th South	Did not complete season)
1975–76	AHL	(76)	(21)	(48)	(7)	(49)	(238)	(316)	4th South	Out of playoffs)
1976–77		SHL		47		21		24		2		44	182	169	4th SHL	League folded January 31st

External links