Minor League Hockey Game Programs Collection

Collection

Identifier: HKY_630

Staff Only
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Scope and Contents

This collection contains more than 750 programs published by Minor League Hockey teams. Teams, venues, and other vendors published programs for purchase by fans. Many of the earlier programs were published by the arenas in which the teams played and include content on attractions other than hockey. The programs usually contain at a minimum roster and lineup information and space for attendees to keep score of the game. The programs tend to become larger, longer, and more substantial over the years and sometimes contain additional information about the teams, players, coaches, and other subjects. Many programs also include advertisements. In some years, teams issued substantially the same program for every game of the season, merely swapping out team rosters and statistics depending on the opponent. In other years, leagues printed magazine-style programs that teams adapted for their games. Some programs do not contain a specific date and only indicate the season of competition.

Programs issued by more than 150 teams from all levels of organized hockey and from all parts of the United States and Canada are included. Most of the programs in the collection date from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with scattered examples from earlier and later years. Only about 30 programs were for games before 1946. The opponent, when indicated on the insert, follows the date. The league affiliation of the issuing club is also indicated, following the club's name. When programs are held from teams representing the same city but different leagues, these are listed under separate headings.

Among the leagues with numerous teams represented in the collection are the International Hockey League (1945-2001), the American Hockey League (1938- ), the Western Hockey League (1952-1974) / Pacific Coast Hockey League (1944-1952), the Eastern Hockey League (1954-1973) / Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933-1953), the Central Hockey League (1963-1984), and the United States Hockey League (1945-1951)

Other features that may characterize individual programs - autographs, for example, or ephemera like ticket stubs - are present as noted.

Formats include programs.

Dates

Creation: 1933-2000

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Scorecards and programs for sporting events were first printed in the late nineteenth century for fans to keep track of the game and for teams to publicize their games and their players. Scorecards included space for fans to keep score, and many scorecards featured pre-printed lineups. Through the years, scorecards became more substantial and sometimes evolved into the multi-page published game programs that were common in the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century.