The Johnstown Red Wings were a 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 based in

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Metropolitan statistical area ...

They were founded as a member of the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart ...

in the 1979-80 season. The Red Wings were used as an affiliate to the

Adirondack Red Wings The Adirondack Red Wings were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Glens Falls, New York, United States at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The team was affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the Nati ...

of the AHL. At the time, Adirondack was the primary affiliate of the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

History

A year after Johnstown's 1977 flood, former Jets Executive Director/GM John Mitchell founded the Johnstown Wings of the Northeastern Hockey League. Mitchell used his connections with the NHL's

for the 1978-79 NEHL season. Mitchell worked with Lincoln Cavalieri, who was president of Olympia Stadium Corporation. At the time, Olympia Stadium Corporation owned the Detroit team, and Mitchell was able to secure an affiliation with the Red Wings. Johnstown worked closely with Detroit General Manager

Ted Lindsay Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay (July 29, 1925 – March 4, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played as a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lindsay scored over 800 ...

and Assistant GM Jim Skinner to develop players. Mitchell eventually ran into financial difficulties. With the assistance of local businesses and a local television station (

WJAC-TV WJAC-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Johnstown– Altoona– State College market as an affiliate of NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which pro ...

) ran a "Keep Hockey Alive" promotion, enough donations were raised to help fund the Wings' expenses for the season. The following season, a group of 10 prominent local business people took over the team, now the Johnstown Red Wings (with the NEHL taking on the league name of the former

). The 1979-80 team had difficulties on the ice and also lost money, but negotiations with the War Memorial for a new lease were underway when the EHL folded. The Red Wings hired a new coach for the 1979-80 EHL season. Marty Read, the new coach of the Red Wings, had previously played his college hockey at University of Michigan. The Red Wings had a mascot, a red bird named "Reddy", who was brought on midway through the season. The Red Wings played for one season, disbanding after a 24-45-1 season. The team averaged 2,309 fans per game, and had four games where they drew over 3,000 fans. Following the 1979-80 season, the team ceased operations. Johnstown would go without hockey until January 1988, when the

Johnstown Chiefs The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now ECHL) when th ...

were brought back as part of the AAHL's inaugural 1987-88 season.

Season-by-season results

Eastern Hockey League seasons only.

Regular season

Playoffs

None

Notable Personnel

* Jim Cardiff, played three seasons in the WHA as a member of the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Vancouver Blazers The Vancouver Blazers were a professional ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1975. The Blazers played at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, sharing the facility with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hocke ...

. Played two partial seasons with the Johnstown Jets before finishing his career as a member of the Red Wings. Briefly coached the team during the final 23 games of the 1979-80 season. * Ron Docken, starting goalie for Johnstown Wings in 1978-79, had minor role in Slap Shot as backup goalie "Lebrun". *

Lorry Gloeckner Lorry Gloeckner (born January 25, 1956) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played 13 games in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hoc ...

, played 13 games for the

, sat out a season due to injuries, played final season in Johnstown before retiring. * John Hilworth, former Detroit Red Wings draft pick (55th overall,

1977 NHL Entry Draft The 1977 NHL amateur draft was the 15th NHL entry draft. It was held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. It was notable for the inclusion of players being drafted at 20 years of age. This was the only draft in which the Cleveland Bar ...

) who played 57 games over three seasons with Johnstown's parent club. * Claude Legris, former Detroit Red Wings draft pick (120th overall, 1976 NHL Entry Draft) who made one appearance in Johnstown. Legris remained in Detroit's system until his eventual retirement in 1983. *

, member of the Hockey Hall Of Fame who briefly accepted position as General Manager with the team. *

Dave MacQueen Dave MacQueen (born February 8, 1959) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. MacQueen is the head coach of Corona Brașov. Playing career Prior to becoming a coach, MacQueen played seven years of professional hockey (1979–86), bounc ...

, leading scorer for the Red Wings in 1979-80, former

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

assistant coach. * Harry Shaw, played 15 years of professional hockey. *

Paul Steigerwald Paul Steigerwald (born August 6, 1954) is an American sportscaster, who through the 2016–17 NHL season first worked as the Pittsburgh Penguins' color commentator and then the TV play-by-play announcer on Root Sports Pittsburgh (now SportsNet ...

, started broadcasting career as the play-by-play announcer for the Johnstown Red Wings. He later held the same role as the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

as a color analyst on radio (1985-2004) and play by play announcer on television (2006-2017). Steigerwald moved to the Penguins' front office and assumed the role of communications and marketing advisor, a role that he continues to hold in 2020. *

Wayne Wood Wayne Wood (June 5, 1951 – November 10, 2019) was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. He played 104 games in the World Hockey Association with the Vancouver Blazers, Toronto Toros, Calgary Cowboys, and Birmingham Bulls. He played between the pip ...

, former

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

draft pick (83rd overall, 1971 NHL Entry Draft).

References

{{reflist 1978 establishments in Pennsylvania 1980 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Defunct sports clubs and teams in Pennsylvania Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Detroit Red Wings Eastern Hockey League (1978–1981) teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1978 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1980