The Spokane Bombers 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 from

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

that played in the

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 ...

History

In 1936, three teams from the

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 ...

made plans to reform the PCHL and included a new franchise from Spokane in their plans. The

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Co ...

were scheduled to begin play in the fall of 1936, however, before the team played its first game, owner Arthur C. Rud changed tack and relocated the team to

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. The renamed club began play as the 'Clippers' but very quickly discovered several problems with their move. The team's home arena, the Oakland Ice Rink, had several columns in the stands that led to obstructed views. That problem was secondary, however, to the dearth of spectators as the team did not draw many fans for their games. The poor attendance numbers exacerbated the financial strain that was caused by the team having to travel long distances to face any of their league opponents. After a snowstorm in early February caused two games to be delayed and one of Oakland's 'home' games to be played in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, Rud decided to end his foray into

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and moved the team back to Spokane. The turmoil of the year left the Clippers 3rd in the 4-team league but they managed to win their semifinal series and advance to the championship. The second season wasn't any better for the club as they ended up missing the playoffs and saw continued poor attendance. After the start of the third season, Rud announced that he was looking to sell the team but there were few willing to spend the time or money to try and save the Clippers. On November 21, Rud withdrew the club from the PCHL and the team suspended operations. After a week, Rud was eventually convinced to turn over control of the Clippers to the players who, in order to keep the team alive, agreed to halve their salaries and travel by car instead of train. Rud remained owner of the club in name until it was sold to Roy Hotchkiss and H.R. Gilkey, who jointly owned a car dealership. The Clippers finished out the season and then quietly disbanded. A year later, the franchise restarted as the 'Bombers' and finished first in the league. Unfortunately, the timing could not have come at a worse time; due in part 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 ...

, the PCHL suspended play after the season. When it returned three years later, the Spokane franchise was left dormant.

Year-by-year results

Notable players

* Jack Arbour * Henry Dyck * Irv Frew * Paul Gauthier * Louis Holmes * Bill Hutton *

Ernie Kenny William Ernest Kenny (August 20, 1907 – June 2, 1970) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He played 10 games in the National Hockey League: 6 with the New York Rangers during the 1930–31 season, and 4 with the Chicago Black Hawks Chi ...

* Pete Leswick * Sammy McAdam *

Stan McCabe Stanley Joseph McCabe (16 July 1910 – 25 August 1968) was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test cricket, Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander, McCabe was described by ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, ...

* Walter McCartney * Ron Moffat * Hal Picketts * Vic Ripley * Des Roche * Aubrey Webster

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spokane Bombers Defunct ice hockey teams in Washington (state) Ice hockey clubs established in 1940 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1941 1940 establishments in Washington (state) 1941 disestablishments in Washington (state)