Cleveland Barons: A Complete Disaster

When people think of hockey in Ohio, most would think about the Columbus Blue Jackets, others would remember the Columbus Chill. Not too many people remember the Cleveland Barons. The Cleveland Barons played in the old Prince of Wales Conference in the Adams Division along with the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, the Barons were a small blip on the radar in NHL history. They only lasted two seasons in the mid to late 1970’s. Who were these guys? What happened to them?

The struggling California Golden Seals owned by Mel Swig were playing in the smallest arenas in the NHL, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. After a new deal for a 17,000 new arena fell through, George Gund III convinced Swig to move the team the Cleveland. The home ice for the Barons was Richfield Coliseum located between Akron and Cleveland. It was also home to the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team. The Cleveland Barons took the name of a former AHL team and began their inaugural season in 1976. Swig hoped the team name would bring fans of the old AHL team to the games.

“There is a great history attached to the name Barons,” Swig said. “Their history in this community is a proud one. We hope to do as well or better.”

Disaster, horror, and calamity would ensue for the new team right from the beginning. The announcement of the new Cleveland hockey team came three months before the start of the 1976-77 in October.

“People were kind of lukewarm about it,” said Cleveland sports historian Scott Longert. “It happened all of sudden, like ‘Hey, here’s a hockey team!’ ”

Attendance was a huge problem from the start. On opening night 8,889 fans came to watch the Barons take on the Los Angeles Kings to a 2-2 tie. Three nights later, head coach Jack Evans coached the team to its first ever NHL win against the Washington Capitals in front of 5,209 fans.

“We had the big cavernous building in the middle of a farmers field and we couldn’t draw flies.” Said winger Gary Sabourin. “It wasn’t a very good experience.”

Swig headed up to Vancouver for the 1977 All Star Game to tell the league that he was losing millions and he needed a bailout. The NHL brass refused.

“The Board of Governors were stunned.” Said Rich Passan. Passan was the beat writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer at the time. “Nothing like that had happened to them since the 1930’s or 40’s when the league was finding itself in the sports world.”

Swig was denied funding. By January, he was publically talking about moving the team or folding out right. By February the team was ready to strike because management couldn’t make payroll. The team had suffered multiple losing streaks with an average of 5,300 in attendance looking on. Baron’s ownership was hit with losses to the tune of $2.4 million and Swig asked the players to take a 27% pay cut. The players refused and they weren’t paid for two payrolls.

The then NHL Players Association head Alan Eagleson earned a stay for the Barons giving them $1.3 million. Swig paid $350,000, the other NHL owners gave $20,000 a piece, and the NHLPA took out a loan for $600,000. The Barons finished dead last with 63 points. Swig promptly sold the team to Gund and his brother Gordon for $5.3 million. The Gunds took another crack at the 1977-78 season. The next season was no different for the Barons going 22-45-13. They suffered multiple routes including a 11-1 whipping by the Philadelphia Flyers and a severe 13-3 beating at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres. The Gunds took over the ownership of the Minnesota North Stars and merged the Barons with the team.

A hasty dive into a first season, incompetence, and an ugly 47-87-26 record over two seasons was the recipe for a complete laughable travesty. It would be 23 years for the NHL to put a team in Ohio again. The Columbus Blue Jackets have seen themselves go from a bottom of the barrel team to the playoffs in the past 18 years. The Cleveland Barons are a cautionary tale when incompetent business men don’t count the cost and lose millions of dollars.