The Perth Panthers were a Scottish

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

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Competing in the Scottish National League, the original club operated from 1936 to 1955 and won several league championships and other tournaments. After folding in the mid-1950s, the club was revived in 1995 and played several more seasons before folding again.

History

Based in

Perth, Scotland Perth (; ) is a centrally located Cities of Scotland, Scottish city, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and is the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about ...

, the Panthers were founded in 1936 and competed in the Scottish National League (SNL). The Panthers played their home games at the Central Ice Rink in Perth, which was also established in 1936. They were one of five teams in the league during the 1936–37 season, alongside the Glasgow Mustangs, Glasgow Mohawks, Kelvingrove and the Glasgow Lions. They also played games against teams outside the league, such as against

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. In addition to the senior Panthers team, the club ran a junior squad, known as the Perth Black Hawks. In 1938, the Panthers became SNL champions and won the Coronation Cup championship. They failed to repeat as league champions in 1938–39, but won both their second Coronation Cup and the President's Puck tournament in the SNL. The following season, the Panthers reached the semifinals of the Scottish Cup. They played little in 1940–41 due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, only playing away games. They thereafter suspended due to the war, before returning in 1946. The Panthers peaked in popularity in the years after the war, regularly receiving attendances of 3,000. Their lineup consisted mainly of Americans and Canadians who had served in the war, along with "a sprinkling of talented locals". In their first season after returning, 1946–47, they won their second league title. They remained successful in subsequent years, led by Canadian players Bruce Hamilton, Ken Doig, Mike Mazur, and Jack Siemon, along with locals Jimmy Spence, Tommy Lauder and Ian Forbes, with the latter three all being inductees to the

British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame The British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 1948 and is the third oldest ice hockey Hall of Fame in the world, behind the Russian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame (also founded in 1948) and the International Hockey Hall of Fame (founded in 19 ...

. The Panthers won the Scottish Cup during the 1953–54 season. However, the team disbanded at the end of the 1954–55 season. After a 10-year effort from local figures including coach Mike Fairlie and manager Richard Harding, the Panthers were announced as being revived in late 1995, playing as an independent team. Initially announced to play at Dewar's Rinks in Perth, plans fell through and they debuted in 1996 by playing "home" games in

Aviemore Aviemore (; ) is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popular for skiing and ...

. They remained in operation for several years and joined the Scottish National League, playing through 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perth Panthers Ice hockey teams in Scotland Sport in Perth, Scotland 1936 establishments in Scotland 1955 disestablishments in Scotland 1995 establishments in Scotland 2002 disestablishments in Scotland Ice hockey clubs established in 1936 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1955 Ice hockey clubs established in 1995 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2002