Doing It Right In Indiana

Imagine it's 1952 and you're heading to the local arena to catch the new professional team in action. If you're a man, you're wearing your best fedora, a snazzy suit and overcoat, and you're looking forward to the spectacle of hockey as you find your seats behind the chicken wire protecting the fans. Women would have been dressed in long dresses with perhaps a fur coat and a scarf to stay warm as the action unfolded on the ice in front of them. Hockey looked different back in 1950 when the ECHL's Fort Wayne Komets got their start in the International Hockey League, and it will look different on opening night as the team honours its storied history once again!

I had mentioned before on this blog that the Komets were going to wear three jerseys this season from different championship eras, but I never really examined each of those jerseys so I'll do that here today before we get to what the Komets will wear on opening night. After all, if they're going to honour their history in a classy way, they deserve a little credit for making that effort! Let's check them out!

As per the Komets' blurb about these 1962-63 jerseys, "Following setbacks in 1959 and 1960, the Komets secured their first Turner Cup championship in 1963" and "[t]he team defeated Minneapolis in five games to win the cup on April 23, 1963." I removed the dozen players who were named in the blurb, but, frankly, anytime a team can do horizontal stripes is a win for me. Of the names I omitted from the Turner Cup-winning team, Reggie Primeau played eight seasons with the Komets, Winnipegger Len Thornson spent 12 seasons with the Komets including five as team captain, and John Goodwin spent parts of eight seasons in Fort Wayne. The Komets went 35-30-5 in '62-63 to finish atop the six-team IHL standings, one point better than the Minneapolis Millers and two better than the Muskegon Zephyrs!

From the Komets' site, "Under head coach Marc Boileau, and with strong performances from Terry Pembroke, Terry Thomson, Cal Purinton, and goaltenders Robbie Irons and Don Atchison, the Komets allowed the fewest goals in the IHL that season. They defeated Flint in the first playoff round and swept Port Huron in the finals to win the cup on April 15, 1973." I'm not overly convinced that this jersey couldn't use a splash of white, but that orange jersey is beacon on the ice. What should be noted is that the Komets were first-overall in the nine-team IHL that season with a 48-23-3 record, finishing ten points ahead of the Flint Generals en route to a Turner Cup championship! Wayne Ego led the team with 94 points!

Again, from the Komets' site, "Few outside their locker room gave Fort Wayne a chance against San Diego in the 1993 Turner Cup Finals. After a sweep of Cleveland and Atlanta in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Komets did the unthinkable. They swept the favored Gulls, completing one of the most dominant playoff performances in pro hockey history, going 12-0." This is the jersey I associate with the Komets after seeing them play the Manitoba Moose in the IHL, but it's pretty incredible to think that the 49-27-6 Komets were only the fourth-best team in the IHL that season, and only two points better than the Kansas City Blades in the twelve-team circuit! But, as the legend states, the Komets were perfect in the playoffs as the ousted Cleveland, 52-win Atlanta, and 62-win San Diego in series sweeps!

That leads us to opening night this season where Komets history will shine. The 1952-53 season would be Fort Wayne's first season in the International Hockey League. By all accounts, fans in Fort Wayne took to their new professional team quickly, filling the Fort Wayne Memorial Coliseum for each game. They battled some good teams from Cincinnati, Grand Rapids, and Toledo, but would ultimately finish in fifth-place of the six teams with a 20-38-2 record under head coach Alex Wood. George Drysdale led the way with 59 points while goaltender Jack Siemon appeared in 56 games that year. What's even cooler is that the Komets had five Winnipeg-born players on their roster for their inaugural season as all of defenceman Len Wharton, forwards Bob Daski, George Harrison, and Jack Kernahan, and goaltender Stan Fogg all were born in the Manitoba capital!

What's even cooler is that the Toledo Walleye, who Fort Wayne faces on October 17 in those 1952-53 jerseys, will bring their own heritage and history to the game by donning jerseys representing the '52-53 Toledo Mercurys that night! The Mercurys finished in third-place in the inaugural IHL season with a 32-25-3 record under player-coach/defenceman Doug McCaig. Roger Maisonneuve, who would soon become a Komet Hall-of-Famer, led the Mercurys in scoring with 38 goals and 85 points while six more Mercurys players had 19-or-more goals! Like Fort Wayne, Toledo brought in the Winnipeggers as defenceman Lou Kazowski and forwards Don Hart and Jerry Kruk were in the Mercurys' lineup!

All of these jerseys have some incredible historical significance in the Komets' franchise history, and seeing the Komets go all-out for their 75th anniversary is pretty awesome. If more teams paid attention to their histories with as much class and dignity as the Komets, the game would look a lot better and would allow teams to explore their histories a lot more. There have been a lot of great sweaters and jerseys worn by some incredible teams, and those teams should be known and celebrated in the modern era like the Komets are doing.

Once again, the Fort Wayne Komets are the head of the class in the ECHL when it comes to honouring their history, and this fourth throwback jersey to be worn on opening night along with Toledo's Mercurys throwback jersey should have the hockey gods smiling this season. No matter how things end this season the Fort Wayne Komets are doing hockey right. Two thumbs-up for all these jerseys!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!