Charlotte is considered the birthplace of professional hockey in the South. The city of Charlotte, home of the Checkers (originally known as the Clippers), is the greatest Southern town in the history of professional hockey, winning the most play-off championships: three Eastern Hockey League titles, two Southern Hockey League titles, and one East Coast Hockey League title. Several Charlotte players and coaches starred in the National Hockey League�including Walter �Turk� Broda, John Broph...

Hockey in Syracuse retraces the history of the eight professional teams that have taken the ice in Syracuse in six different leagues since 1930. Each team has its own colorful story, beginning with the Syracuse Stars of the International Hockey League. The "Twinklers" have the distinction of capturing the first Calder Cup ever awarded. Other teams included the Warriors (1951-1954), the Braves (1962-1963), the Blazers (1967-1977), the Eagles (1974-1975), the Firebirds (1979-1980), and the H...

Springfield has a dynamic hockey history that dates back 80 years, beginning with the Springfield Indians. One of the first professional hockey teams in the United States, the Indians were an inaugural member of the Canadian-American Hockey League. The Indians helped form the American Hockey League, where Springfield won seven Calder Cups, including a record three in a row from 1960 through 1962. Major-league hockey followed in the mid-1970s, when the New England Whalers came to town. Toda...

Providence has an old and rich hockey tradition. The Providence Reds were one of the first professional hockey teams in the United States. In their 51-year history (1926�1977), the Reds won seven playoff championships, including four Calder Cup titles. The Reds were the first minor-league hockey team to operate for 50 seasons. The Providence Bruins, established in the 1992�1993 season, carry on the city�s great hockey legacy and gave Providence its fifth Calder Cup title. Several Hockey Ha...

Nashville may be the country music capital, but local hockey fans know it as Smashville. The Predators adopted their name from the bones of a saber-toothed tiger found beneath a local building. Craig Leipold first purchased the expansion rights in 1997, and the team quickly built a loyal following. It won twenty-eight games in the inaugural season. Twelve seasons later, the team finished second in the Central Division and appeared in its first-ever conference semifinals. One year later, it...

In 1905, facing capricious weather on a primitive outdoor rink, Dartmouth�s first hockey team took to the ice. In 1974, two years after coeducation came to the Hanover campus, Dartmouth women�fired with more competitive spirit than actual hockey experience commandeered the used equipment of their male counterparts and intramural skaters and became one of the college�s most successful athletic teams. Dartmouth College Hockey: Northern Ice portrays two programs that have followed parallel pa...

Since he started smacking long balls for the Baltimore Orioles, John "Boog" Powell has enjoyed the gustatory delights of his adopted hometown. A four-time All-Star and a fixture in two World Series, Boog also knows how to make one heck of a pit beef sandwich. Backyard barbecues at Boog's Baltimore row house were once a post-game tradition for the team. After hanging up his spikes, the former MVP set up his now iconic barbecue operation at Camden Yards. Baltimore author Rob Kasper takes a b...

The New York Rangers: Reliving the excitement, drama and triumphs from one of the world's most historic hockey franchises. For more than three-quarters of a century, the New York Rangers have been delighting hockey fans-New Yorkers and suburbanites alike-with a classy brand of entertainment that has no equal. Commonly referred to as "The Blueshirts," the team's history includes four Stanley Cups, magic moments and scores of individual stars, including arguably the best to ever do it, Wayne...

The Philadelphia Flyers joined the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1967, along with five other teams, to double the league from six to twelve teams. They have enjoyed a lot of success since, including being the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. They won back-to-back cups in 1973-1974 and 1974-1975 and would qualify for the Stanley Cup Final six more times. The Flyboys have left their mark on the NHL through their physicality, which helped them garner the nickname "Broad Street B...

For nearly 120 years, Long Island has fielded high school sports teams. In that span, numerous local athletes rose to the highest level, dynasties were built, legends were made, and the nation's largest island was filled with captivating athletic stories and sports lore that will live forever. Long Island High School Sports strings together a pictorial history of Long Island's oldest, most famous, and well-respected teams, coaches, and athletes.

From its humble beginnings as a club team with hand-me-down football jerseys, William and Mary men�s soccer team has become an exemplary intercollegiate program. Whether judged by their 30 consecutive winning seasons or the success of their graduates�including Comedy Central�s Jon Stewart and MLS stars Wade Barrett, Steve Jolley, and Adin Brown�Tribe soccer has become what college soccer should be. For almost 50 years, William and Mary has not only developed outstanding individuals and tea...

From Boulevard Park and Memorial Field to Security Service Field (formerly Sky Sox Stadium), Colorado Springs is a baseball town. Professional baseball arrived in 1901; the Brown Bombers, a semiprofessional black team, came in the 1940s; and the original Sky Sox won the Western League Championship in 1953, 1955, and 1958. Local players such as Ed Kent, Bill Everitt, Jim Landis, Sam Hairston, Connie Johnson, Vinny Castilla, and Todd Helton have made it to the major leagues. Rich �Goose� Gos...