The Memphis 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 in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. They played from 1964–67 in the

Central Professional Hockey League Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. As their name suggested, they were a

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

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 ...

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

The Red Wings' farm team was originally (in 1963–64) in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. An arena explosion in November moved the team to become the

Cincinnati Wings The Indianapolis Capitols/Cincinnati Wings were a professional ice hockey team that operated for one season in the Central Professional Hockey League (CPHL). Originally named the Indianapolis Capitals, the team started the 1963–64 season playing ...

. The following season, the team moved into Memphis. The Wings missed the playoffs in their first two years. In 1966–67, they made it into the semi-final, which they lost in seven games to the

Omaha Knights Omaha Knights may refer to: * Omaha Knights (AHA) an ice hockey team that played from (1939–1942) in the American Hockey Association and from (1945–1951) in the United States Hockey League * Omaha Knights (IHL) an ice hockey team that played ...

. Attendance in the first year was over 130,000, or over 3,700 a game. In 1966–67, the attendance was about 71,000, or just over 2,000 a game. In 1967 the team moved to become the

Fort Worth Wings The Fort Worth Texans were a professional ice hockey team based in Fort Worth, Texas. The Texans started playing in 1967 as the Fort Worth Wings, a minor league affiliate for the Detroit Red Wings. The team were part of the Central Hockey League ...

. The team was replaced by the

Memphis South Stars The Memphis South Stars were a minor professional ice hockey team in Memphis, Tennessee, that replaced the Memphis Wings in the city. They played in the Central Professional Hockey League for two seasons ( 1967–68 and 1968–69).

Season-by-season records

Notable players

* Gerry Abel * Henry Anderson * Doug Barrie *

Norm Beaudin Norman Joseph Andrew Beaudin (born November 28, 1941) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. Between 1962 and 1979, he played two short stints in the National Hockey League and spent most of his major league career in the World Ho ...

Danny Belisle Daniel George Belisle (May 9, 1937 – November 28, 2022) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach. He played 4 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1960–61 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1957 to 1971, was ...

* Gary Bergman * Craig Cameron * Bryan Campbell *

Dwight Carruthers Gordon Dwight Carruthers (born November 7, 1944) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in two National Hockey League (NHL) games, one with the Detroit Red Wings in 1966 and the other with the Philadelphia Flyers T ...

Billy Carter William Alton Carter (March 29, 1937 – September 25, 1988) was an American farmer, businessman, brewer, and politician. The younger brother of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, he promoted Billy Beer and Peanut Lolita; and he was a candidate for ...

* Bob Champoux * Bart Crashley * Joe Daley *

Bob Falkenberg Robert Arthur "Steady" Falkenberg (born January 1, 1946) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman who played 54 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings between 1966 and 1971 and 378 games in the World Hockey ...

* Alex Faulkner * George Gardner * Warren Godfrey * Ron Harris * Chuck Holmes *

Brent Hughes Brent Hughes may refer to: *Brent Hughes (ice hockey, born 1943) Brent Hughes (born June 17, 1943) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman. Career During his career, Hughes played in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, ...

* Roger Lafreniere * Real Lemieux * Nick Libett * John MacMillan *

Lou Marcon Luigi Angelo Marcon (May 28, 1935 – May 30, 2023) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 60 games in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a p ...

Gary Marsh Gary Marsh is an executive who was President and Chief Creative Officer for Disney Branded Television, where he used to develop and produce Disney Channel Original Series, Disney Channel Original Movies, and Disney Junior Series (formerly Playh ...

Bert Marshall Albert Leroy "Moose" Marshall (born November 22, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Oakland Seals/California Golden Seals, New York Rangers and New Y ...

* Rick McCann *

Ab McDonald Alvin Brian McDonald (February 18, 1936 – September 4, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. Career Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, McDonald began his professional hockey career with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey L ...

* Howie Menard * Butch Paul * Jimmy Peters, Jr. * Andre Pronovost * Pat Quinn * Doug Roberts * Dave Rochefort *

Glen Sather Glen Cameron Sather (born September 2, 1943) is a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He is the current senior advisor and alternate governor of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the Rangers' general m ...

* Sandy Snow *

Irv Spencer James Irvin Daniel Spencer (December 4, 1937 — October 22, 1999) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played 73 games in the World Hockey Association and 230 games in the National Hockey League between 1959 and 1974. Spencer played for the Phi ...

Vic Stasiuk Victor John Stasiuk (May 23, 1929 – May 7, 2023) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger and coach. He played in the National Hockey League from 1949 to 1963 and then served as a coach from 1969 to 1973. Biography Stasiuk played juni ...

* Bob Wall * Bryan Watson * Jim Watson

References

Defunct ice hockey teams in Tennessee Central Professional Hockey League teams 1964 establishments in Tennessee 1967 disestablishments in Tennessee

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

Ice hockey clubs established in 1964 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1967 {{Tennessee-sport-team-stub