The Portland Buckaroos was the name of several 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 ...

teams based in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

PCHL/NWHL era (1928–1941)

The first incarnation of Portland Buckaroos played their home games at the Portland Ice Arena. The Buckaroos initially played in the four-team

Pacific Coast Hockey League The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in three incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952. PCHL 1928–1931 The fir ...

(PCHL) from 1928 to 1931. The PCHL folded in 1931, and in 1933, the Buckaroos joined the new

North West Hockey League The North West Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed from 1933 to 1936. It was formed from the Calgary and Vancouver franchises of the Western Canada Hockey League and ...

. In 1936, the Buckaroos rejoined the reconstituted four-team PCHL, and won league championships in 1937 and 1939. With the onset of

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 ...

, the PCHL folded again in 1941. In 1944, it was again resurrected, but this time, Portland's team was the

Portland Eagles The Portland Eagles were a minor league professional hockey team located in Portland, Oregon. They were known as the Portland Penguins for one season. History The Eagles competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey League from 1944 until the team's final ...

(known as the ''Portland Penguins'' for one season).

WHL/WIHL era (1960–1975)

In 1960, Portland was granted a franchise in the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

(WHL) for its newly built 10,500 seat Memorial Coliseum, and the Buckaroos name was reincarnated. The new Buckaroos were composed mostly of players and coaches from the

New Westminster Royals The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia, first established in 1911 for the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). Though nominally based in New Westminster, ...

, including its head coach Hal Laycoe. The Buckaroos went on to beat the

Seattle Totems The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise in Seattle, Washington. Under several names prior to 1958, the franchise was a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League (renamed the Western Hockey League (1952–1974), Western Hockey ...

in the league championship and win the

Lester Patrick Cup The Lester Patrick Cup was the championship trophy of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1949 to 1974. Originally known as the Phil Henderson Cup and then in 1952 it was renamed to the President's Cup. The t ...

in its first season of existence. That 1960–61 Buckaroos team was inducted into the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 1990. The Buckaroos won another league championship under Laycoe in 1964–65, and a third in 1970–71 under coach and former team captain Gord Fashoway. In the early '70s, the Buckaroos served as a minor league affiliate for a variety of National Hockey League teams, most notably the Los Angeles Kings. In 1974, the WHL folded and the Buckaroos moved to the

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André 3000 (credited as And ...

Western International Hockey League The Western International Hockey League (WIHL) was a senior level ice hockey league that featured teams from the Western United States and Western Canada. It operated from 1946–62 and 1963–88. It grew out of the West Kootenay League, whi ...

for the 1974–75 season, and to the startup

Northwest Hockey League The Northwest Hockey League is a defunct senior amateur ice hockey league. It was only in operation for the 1975-76 season. The league comprised seven teams: *Abbotsford Coppertones, (Abbotsford, British Columbia) *British Columbia Braves, (Britis ...

the next year, but that league did not last a full season.

Notable Buckaroos

An incomplete list of noted Buckaroos players:

PCHL/NWHL era

Andy Aitkenhead Andrew Aitkenhead (March 6, 1904 — October 21, 1968) was a Scottish-born Canadian ice hockey goaltender for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League between 1932 and 1934. Born in Glasgow, Aitkenhead came to Canada as a young child wit ...

(goalie; 1987

inductee)

WHL era

* Marv Edwards (WHL Outstanding Goaltender Award) * Gord Fashoway (1960–61 team captain; 1960–61 Fred Hume Cup for sportsmanship; coach from 1969–1973) * Don Head (1960–61 WHL Rookie of the Year; three-time Outstanding Goaltender Award; 1993

inductee) *

Andy Hebenton Andrew Alexander "Spuds" Hebenton (October 3, 1929 – January 29, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. At the time of his retirement, he held the record for the longest streak without missing a game in professional hockey hi ...

(five-time Fred Hume Cup for sportsmanship) * Art Jones (two-time George Leader Cup for most valuable player; six-time Leading Scorer Award; 1984

inductee) * Dave Kelly (1963–64 WHL Rookie of the Year; two-time WHL Outstanding Goaltender Award) *

Connie Madigan Cornelius Dennis "Mad Dog" Madigan (October 4, 1934 – January 2, 2024) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 20 games in the National Hockey League with the St. Louis Blues during the 1972–73 season. The rest of his c ...

(Hal Laycoe Cup for outstanding WHL defenseman) * Jimmy McLeod (four-time WHL Outstanding Goaltender Award) * Doug Messier (father of NHL Hall of Famer

Mark Messier Mark John Douglas Messier (; born January 18, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward. His playing career in the National Hockey League (NHL) lasted 25 seasons (1979–80 NHL season, 1979–2003–04 NHL ...

) * Cliff Schmautz (1965–66 Leading Scorer Award) * Pat Stapleton (Hal Laycoe Cup for outstanding WHL defenseman)

References

External links

Portland Buckaroo Players from 1962-1974Portland Buckaroos & Western Hockey League History and MemorabiliaThe Internet Hockey Database
{{Ice hockey teams based in Portland, Oregon Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Defunct sports clubs and teams in Oregon Buckaroos Western International Hockey League teams Defunct ice hockey teams in Oregon 1928 establishments in Oregon 1960 establishments in Oregon 1974 disestablishments in Oregon Western Hockey League (1952–1974) teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1928 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1941 Ice hockey clubs established in 1960 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1974