The Birmingham Bulls were a minor professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team in the East Coast Hockey League from 1992 to 2001. Their home arena was the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center. The team moved to

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

and was renamed the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies in 2001. After the 2005 season, the franchise was sold to a California investor group and became the Stockton Thunder, affiliated with the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. On February 20, 2017, former Bulls' owner Art Clarkson was approved by the Pelham City Council to bring another Bulls team back to play in the

Southern Professional Hockey League The SPHL (formerly the Southern Professional Hockey League) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indian ...

(SPHL) for the 2017–18 season and were approved by the SPHL on April 25, 2017.

History

In the early part of 1991, Art Clarkson flirted with the idea of bringing professional hockey back to Birmingham. Clarkson, who owned the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

, knew of the popularity of the Bulls from the World Hockey Association days. In the summer of 1992, the first Cincinnati Cyclones of the East Coast Hockey League relocated to Birmingham and were renamed the Bulls. The

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

were the Bulls' NHL affiliated club from 1992 to 1993. The

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

then became the Bulls NHL affiliate from 1993 to 1995. The

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

were then the Bulls NHL affiliate from 1995-1996. Bruce Garber was the team's first coach. The Bulls finished 30–34, just missing the playoffs. After the inaugural season, Phil Roberto was named coach. He was familiar with Birmingham from his playing days with the earlier team. The club affiliated with the

. Roberto stayed with the team through the 1994–95 season. The Bulls made it through the second round of the playoffs each season. During the 1995–96 season, the Bulls changed coaches three times. Roberto was replaced by player-coach Jerome Bechard, and Dennis Desrosiers finished the season as head coach. Prior to the 1997–98 season, Clarkson sold his interest in the team. Charles Felix became the primary owner. Dennis Desrosiers was let go after the 1999–2000 season. They lost 18 of their last 20. The Bulls were forced to forfeit games, due to using ineligible players. Following the 2000–01 season, dwindling attendance and poor performance, owner Charles Felix sold the team to NBA owner George Shinn of the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

. He relocated the team to Atlantic City, NJ, naming them the Boardwalk Bullies. The team won the Kelly Cup in their third season. They franchise would eventually relocate again to

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

in 2005 and then

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,83 ...

in 2015.

Playoffs

* 1992–93: Did not qualify. * 1993–94: Defeated Huntsville 2–1 in first round; defeated

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

3–0 in quarterfinals; lost to

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

3–1 in semifinals. * 1994–95: Defeated Wheeling 3–0 in first round; lost to

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

3–1 in quarterfinals. * 1995–96: Did not qualify. * 1996–97: Defeated

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

3–1 in first round; lost to

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

3–2 in quarterfinals. * 1997–98: Lost to

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

3–1 in first round. * 1998–99: Defeated Mobile 2–0 in first round; lost to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

3–0 in second round. * 1999–00: Did not qualify. * 2000–01: Did not qualify.

References

External links

Season-by-season results

BirminghamProSports.com
{{ECHLdefunct Defunct ECHL teams Sports clubs and teams in Birmingham, Alabama Ice hockey clubs established in 1992 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2001 Defunct ice hockey teams in Alabama New Jersey Devils minor league affiliates Florida Panthers minor league affiliates St. Louis Blues minor league affiliates 1992 establishments in Alabama 2001 disestablishments in Alabama