International Hockey League

The International Hockey League was formed in Windsor, Ontario on Dec. 5, 1945. It was largely a resurrection of the old Michigan-Ontario League that existed prior to WWII. The league initially consisted of two Detroit based teams and two Windsor based teams, one of which was a junior team. The league name came from this cross border arrangement.

The league soon became a strictly Senior league and expanded into other US markets. On occasion, the league reached into centers that had been long associated with Central leagues, however its footing remained the Michigan-Ohio area. The International aspect of the 'I' ended in 1963 when Windsor and Chatham packed it in. It would be over 30 years before another Canadian center would join the league putting the 'I' back in the IHL.

The Senior league evolved into a low level professional league in the 1960's and 1970's. The 1980's presented an opportunity for the league to fill the void westward after the demise of the WHL, CHL and WHA. Initially, the IHL was successful at exploiting this situation and in the 1990's was rivaling the AHL as the top minor league. There was even an illusion of grandeur among some of the IHL's larger market team owners that the 'I' could one day rival the NHL.

The illusion quickly turned to a nightmare. The IHL was overextended and many of the established smaller markets were losing money while the novelty in the newer larger markets was wearing off. Some teams began to fold while others jumped ship to supposedly lesser leagues.

The IHL would pay dearly for abandoning the small but established markets that had formed the foundation of the league. The United Hockey League was quietly filling the void left by the IHL during its time of rapid growth. Not only had the IHL failed to become a rival to the NHL, it could no longer return to its traditional base. It had foolishly allowed the UHL to claim its smaller markets.

Faced with an inevitable collapse, the IHL officially disbanded in 2001 with six of its stronger markets being absorbed by the AHL as expansion teams. The Orlando Solar Bears were the last team to win the Turner Cup.