International Hockey League (1962-1981)
Tombstone
Born: 1962 – IHL expansion franchise
Folded: Postseason 1981
First Game:
Last Game:
Turner Cup Champions: 1966, 1971 & 1972
Arena
McMorran Arena (3,582)
Opened: 1960
Marketing
Team Colors: Red & White
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners:
- 1962-1970: John Wismer
- 1970-1981: McMorran Authority
NHL Affiliations:
- 1971-1974: Detroit Red Wings
Background
The Port Huron Flags were a long-standing minor league hockey outfit in the small northern Michigan border city of Port Huron (pop. 30,000). From the 1971 through 1974, a period that saw Port Huron affiliated with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, the team was known as the “Port Huron Wings”.
The Flags/Wings played in the International Hockey League’s Turner Cup championship series seven times in 19 seasons, winning the crown in 1966, 1971 and 1972.
Left wing Bill Lecaine was the club’s all-time leading scorer. Lecaine tallied 264 goals and 405 assists in 10 seasons with the Flags/Wings between 1962 and 1975. Lecaine appeared in four NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 1968-69 season in between stints with Port Huron.
Demise
In 1970, the City of Port Huron acquired the Flags franchise from team founder John Wismer and placed it under the management of the McMorran Auditorium Authority. Morris Snider, the general manager of the Arena, served the same role for the Flags from 1970 through the team’s final season in 1980-81. The City had to backstop annual deficits for both the Flags and the arena throughout the 1970’s. In 1981, disillusioned with the latest $250,000 deficit, low attendance and the IHL’s overall direction, Snider proposed that the struggling league become a junior amateur circuit.1Smith, Rick. “Snider’s dream may be buried with Flags”. The Times Herald (Port Huron, MI). April 22, 1981 After that proposal was turned aside by IHL leadership, Snider recommended to McMorran Authority board members that the team cease operations. The Flags folded in the spring of 1981.
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