[6] On the television side, WUAB channel 43[7] did a very limited schedule with Steve Albert[8] and Dick Hammer[9] on commentary in 1976-77, and perhaps only one game in 1977-78 with Charlie Steiner and Pete Franklin on commentary. The team was named "Barons" in honor of the successful team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played in the city from 1929 to 1973, winning nine Calder Cups. 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. In 1976, the team moved to Cleveland and took the name of the city's old beloved American Hockey League team, the Barons.They played their home games at the Coliseum in Richfield. Minority owner George Gund III persuaded majority owner Melvin Swig to move the team to his hometown of Cleveland for the 1976–77 season. All players, spectators, and coaches will be required to enter and exit at the designated doors. 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. Dennis Maruk was the last Baron (and last Golden Seal as well) to be active in the NHL, retiring from the North Stars after the 1988–89 season with 356 goals in 888 games. Shop with confidence. The bottom fell out in February, when the team missed two payrolls. Team Names: Cleveland Barons, California Golden Seals, Oakland Seals. In January 1977, Swig hinted the team might not finish the season because of payroll difficulties. Number of bids and bid amounts may be slightly out of date. In 1973, they … Most Goals, Season: Dennis Maruk (1977-78), 36 The Barons then challenged the NHL for the right to play for the Stanley Cup, which was also rejected. The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1976 to 1978. The Barons never recovered from this lack of visibility. The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1976 to 1978. Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. Today, we continue our strong development model by fielding multiple teams, at different playing levels — Barons Elite, Barons Black and Lady Barons — at almost every age level. The situation quickly deteriorated and team workers went unpaid for two months. Sutphin sold the team and arena in 1949. Sutphin built the Cleveland Arena, at the time one of the largest and most beautiful hockey facilities in North America. This Summer's Northern Lights Hockey Camp! In 1991, the Gunds were granted an expansion franchise in San Jose, which became the San Jose Sharks, in return for selling their stake in the North Stars to a group led by Hartford Whalers' founder Howard Baldwin. This website is powered by SportsEngine's Sports Relationship Management (SRM) software, but is owned by and subject to the Cleveland Barons / Strongsville 8U Hockey Program privacy policy. Fearing that two franchises were on the verge of folding, the league granted approval on June 14, 1978, for the two teams to merge. At the time, the Richfield Coliseum had the largest seating capacity in the NHL, at 18,544. The Indians played for five seasons, until being renamed the Cleveland Falcons for the 1934–35 season. An asterisk (*) indicates a playoff appearance. [1] It had also been turned down for an NHL expansion team on three previous occasions, in the 1950s and 1960s.