Roller Hockey Quiz

Okay, how many of you remember professional roller hockey? Happy 10th Anniversary (sorta) of the death of pro roller hockey. Guess how long Roller Hockey International (RHI) lasted as a "professional" league:

RHI lasted:

A)1 year
B)2 years
C)3 years
D)5+ years


The answer?

Amazingly the answer is D. Who knew? Luckily Wikipedia tells all.

Wiki sez:

Roller Hockey International (RHI) was an inline hockey league in North America between 1993-97 and 1999. Teams competed through a regular and playoff season in hopes of winning the Murphy Cup (like the NHL's Stanley Cup). The league appeared during the inline skating boom of the early 1990s, but lost steam as the fad died down. In its five combined years of activity, the league saw seven franchises move and eight franchises change names. After folding in 1998, there was a movement to revamp and come back the following year as the Major League Hockey (MLH) that year, but it never came to fruition. The RHI was revived in 1999, but cancelled the 2000 season and the league finally folded operations in 2001 when their team sites were limited to arenas in California.

How in the world did this league last so long? Was it promoted by hockey equipment companies? Did it have any legit fans? I remember several of the teams were owned by NHL players, so I suppose there were some real hardcore hockey fans behind it.

I just remember the games looked like fun, but as TV fodder they were unwatchable.

Check out all the teams. RHI makes indoor soccer look stable. What gives with a team called the "Minnesota Brown Shirts"?

Note: RHI 1993-97, Major League Roller Hockey 1998, revived RHI 1999-2000 and California Roller Hockey League 2001, folded before 2002 season.

Anaheim Bullfrogs (1993-1997;1999 and 2001)
Calgary Rad'z (1993-1994)
Connecticut Coasters (1993)/Sacramento River Rats (1994-1997)
Florida Hammerheads (1993-1994)
Los Angeles Blades (1993-1997; 1999 and 2001)
Oakland Skates (1993-1996; 1998-99 and 2001)
Portland Rage (1993-1994)
San Diego Barracudas (1993-1996)/ Ontario Barracudas (1999)
St. Louis Vipers (1993-1997;1999)
Toronto Planets (1993)
Utah Rollerbees (1993)/Las Vegas Flash (1994)
Vancouver Voodoo (1993-1996)
Atlanta FireAnts (1994)/Oklahoma Coyotes (1995-1996)/Las Vegas Coyotes (1999) and (2001)
Buffalo Stampede (1994-1995)
Chicago Cheetahs (1994-1995)/Michigan Cheetahs (1996-1997)
Edmonton SledDogs (1994)/Orlando Rollergators (1995)/Orlando Jackals (1996-1997)/ Miami Jackals(1999)
Minnesota ArcticBlast (1994; 1996)
Montreal Roadrunners (1994-1997)
New England Stingers (1994)/Ottawa Loggers (1995-1996)/Ottawa Wheels (1997)
New Jersey Rockin Rollers (1994-1997)
Philadelphia Bulldogs (1994-1996)
Phoenix Cobras (1994-1995)/Empire State Cobras (1996)/Buffalo Wings (1997; 1999)
Pittsburgh Phantoms (1994)
San Jose Rhinos (1994-1997;1999 and 2001)
Tampa Bay Tritons (1994)
Minnesota Blue Ox (1995; 1999)
Motor City Mustangs (1995)
Denver Daredevils (1996-1997)/ Detroit Renaissance (1999)
Long Island Jawz (1996-1997)
Toronto Trojans (1999)
Chicago Bluesmen (1999)
Dallas Stallions (1999)
Utah Sun Dogs (1999)/ Spokane Sun Dogs (2001)
Austin Chiles (1999)/ Arizona Chiles (2001)
Fresno/Bakersfield Bombers (2001)
Idaho Idols (1999; 2001)
Milwaukee Blue Waves (2001)
Minnesota Brown Shirts (2001)
Phoenix Phantoms (2001)
Ventura County Surfers (2001)
San Diego Jackals (2001)
Virginia Seagulls (1997-1998)/ Oakland Seagulls (1999)/ San Diego Seagulls (2001)
Washington Web Warriors (2001)
Washington DC Power (1998-1999)/ Portland Power (2001)
Iowa Roadhogs (1999)/ Reno Roadhogs (2001)
Kansas City Chiggers (1999)/ Fresno Chiggers (2001)
Kansas City Rollerhawks (1999)/San Bernardino Rollerhawks (2001)
Reno Redskates (1999)/ Redding Redskates (2001)
Sacramento Golden Wheels (2001)
San Francisco Hippys (2001)
Santa Rosa Radikals (2001)
Stockton Silver-Kats (2001)
Note: The Palm Desert Silver-Cats (1995) and later in Ontario, California (1997) were a semi-pro team that played exhibition games with the Blades and Bullfrogs of the RHI league.

Click HERE to check out all the goofy/ugly/cool logos.

This logo is pretty cool and I remember seeing this team on TV (I think):