Stadium Seats and Stories From the Gardens
Over this weekend, I was lucky enough to add an original seat from the Cincinnati Gardens to my pair of Riverfront Stadium seats. I loved the Gardens and have a lot of great memories from there. I'm still hoping that I can maybe do one more story on the place and see it one last time before its date with the wrecking ball.
Hara Arena
Just outside of Dayton, Ohio, people had the opportunity to bid their final goodbye to a place of memories and spectacle. Taking in an event at Hara Arena was a collective experience shared among many. As it prepared to close its doors, the the world lost one more classic hockey barn.
The Cincinnati Gardens and The Press Box That Never Was
In the rafters above the city’s classic arena, there’s a story of history and a unique view.
The Only Time You'll See the Stanley Cup in Cincinnati
The Stanley Cup is one of the most revered and hallowed trophies in all of professional sports. Its roots trace back to 1892 and each spring it's awarded to the champions of the National Hockey League. There's only one occasion where you'll catch it in Cincinnati—a city without an NHL team to win it, but a city that almost had one.
Hockey Night in Hamilton
Just north of Cincinnati in the city of Hamilton there used to be an old school ice rink. Open air with an aircraft hangar like roof, the facility embodied "old time hockey." Today it's a parking lot adjacent to a satellite campus of Miami University, but at one time the place made it to the silver screen - when Hollywood considered Cincinnati a "hockey town.”
How Minor League Hockey Should Be
Andy MacWilliams is known to tell the story of how in 1977, the front office staff of the Cincinnati Stingers were answering the telephones with: "Cincinnati Stingers - National Hockey League (NHL)," in anticipation of the announcement that would come later in the day, declaring the Cincinnati World Hockey Association (WHA) franchise as part of the WHA's merger deal with the NHL. MacWilliams, the former Stingers radio broadcaster who would later become the voice of the Xavier Musketeers, would be disappointed along with the rest of the front office when they were informed that the merger deal had been voted down by the NHL.
Redness in the Midwest
Photographs taken during Christmas Break in the southwestern corner of Ohio.
Who is "The Cyclones Insider?"
Cincinnati has been home to numerous minor league hockey teams and even one major league team, but probably the best known, and currently the only pro hockey team in town, is the Cincinnati Cyclones. While the current Cyclones of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) are not the original franchise from 1990, this incarnation of the team recently won their leagues championship, the Kelly Cup, in 2008 and call the US Bank Arena downtown their home.