Hockey has
never been the most popular sport in America, but it has a significant and
devoted fan base. From 1964 through 1980, Dayton had its own minor league
hockey team: the Dayton Gems. In 1970, the Gems debated a move to Cincinnati. During
this year, the Cincinnati Gardens, a 10,000 seat arena in Cincinnati, expressed
its desire to acquire a hockey team. Larry Sadoff, the general manager of the
Cincinnati Gardens, didn’t care which league could come to Cincinnati, he just
wanted a team. Sadoff explained, “It’s almost that simple. We want a franchise
and we’re not particular whether it’s an American League, IHL or what have you.
We need hockey in the building.” “Lefty” McFadden, general manager of the
Dayton Gems and hockey’s minor league executive of the year, went to the annual
National Hockey League meetings with the goal of helping Cincinnati bring in a
new team. He recognized that, down the road, this could bring competition to
the gems, but he saw the benefits of hockey in Cincy. Two AHL teams needed new
homes. One of them was interested in Larry Wilson (long time Gem player and
coach) to coach their team if they moved to Cincinnati. Lefty was approached by
the Cincinnati Gardens and was asked to move the Gems to Cincinnati. Lefty
didn’t want to move, but “if that’s the way the ball bounces, that’s the way
it’ll have to be.” The discussion could have been attributed to the uncertainty
concerning the Dayton venue for the next season. The Wampler brothers, owners
of Dayton’s Hara Arena, had not settled with the Gems on a contract for the
next season. The proposal by Larry Sadoff and the Cincinnati Gardens compelled
Club President Jack Walker to present the idea to the stockholders of the
Dayton Gems. Five major stockholders committed to the move, but the rest needed
more time to consider the move. In the end, there wasn’t enough time before the
start of the next season for the Gems to make the move to Cincinnati. Jack
Walker admitted that this lack of time and public sentiment convinced them to
stay for at least one more year. The club had also come to a verbal agreement
with the Wampler brothers for the 1970-1971 season. I imagine that Jack Walker
and Lefty McFadden had used the interest by the Cincinnati Gardens to pressure
the brothers into an agreement.
Dayton Gems Records 1970-1971. MS-107. Wright State Special Collections and Archives. Wright State University: Dayton, OH.
Articles used...
“‘Lefty’ watching Cincy closely”
“Cincinnati Makes Pitch for Gems”
“Gems to stay in ’70-71-Walker”
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