Third Class of The Cleveland Hockey Legends Ring of Honor Set to be Inducted
November 29, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release
CLEVELAND -Cleveland Barons President Michael T. Lehr announced today that the third class of Cleveland Hockey Legends will include Bill Needham, Moe Roberts, Tommie Williams, and Al Sutphin. They will be inducted into the Cleveland Hockey Legends Ring of Honor prior to the Barons game on Friday, December 16th at National City Rink at The Q. The first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive Legends Collectors Cards.
Needham played his entire AHL career with the original Cleveland Barons, appearing in Barons Blue from 1956-1971. He was a part of the Barons Calder Cup winning team in 1963-64. In the 1967-68 season, Needham was named to the AHL 1st All-Star Team and was honored with the Eddie Shore Award, given to the AHL's Outstanding Defenseman. His 981 games stands as 7th on the American Hockey League All-Time Games Played list. After his retirement from the game, he spent two seasons (1972-73 and 1973-74) coaching the Cleveland Crusaders of the World Hockey Association.
Roberts spent seven seasons between the pipes in Cleveland, playing for the Falcons from 1934-1937 and the original Cleveland Barons from 1937-1942. He led the Barons to two Calder Cups championships, in 1938-39 and 1940-41 and was named to the AHL All-Star team those seasons. Roberts paced all AHL goaltenders in goals-against-average in 1939-40 with a 2.32 GAA. Roberts was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame this past November 5th.
Williams saw two stints as a defenseman for the Barons, playing from 1948-1956 and again from 1960-1964. He was named to the AHL All-Star team four times throughout his career, in 1952-53, 1953-54, 1956-57, and 1957-58. He also raised the Calder Cup three times for the Barons as a part of the championship teams in 1950-51, 1952-53, and 1953-54. Williams appeared in 822 AHL games through his career and is ranked 24th on the AHL All-Time Games Played list.
Sutphin's name became synonymous with Barons hockey through his time as owner and general manager of the team. After purchasing the team in 1934, Sutphin promptly changed the name to Cleveland Falcons, then later oversaw the name change to the Barons. He owned the team from 1934-1949 and made the Barons into a dominant force in the AHL both on and off the ice. Sutphin's Barons won three Calder Cup Championships (1938-39, 1940-41, and 1947-48). The personable Sutphin was also responsible for building the famous Cleveland Arena, home to the infamous Saturday Hockey Nights in Cleveland.
"We are very pleased to induct these four legends into the Ring of Honor," stated Lehr. "They represent some of the finest history of Cleveland professional hockey."
The Barons will return to National City Rink located in The Q on Tuesday, December 6th against the Toronto Marlies at 7:05pm. Tickets for all regular season games are on sale now at the Quicken Loans Arena Box Office, Ticketmaster outlets and on-line at the Barons official website. For more information, contact the Front Office at 216.420.0000 or Crash The Net at www.clevelandbarons.net.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from November 29, 2005
- Stars win third in a row - Iowa Chops
- Griffins drop one to Iowa - Grand Rapids Griffins
- âDogs Beaten by Moose - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Monarchs Come From Behind For Sixth Shootout Victory - Manchester Monarchs
- Bergenheim and Smith Recalled By Islanders - Bridgeport Islanders
- Comcast SportsNet to air four Phantoms games - Adirondack Phantoms
- P-Bruins To Collect Toys for Toys for Tots - Providence Bruins
- Gamache Claimed On Waivers By St. Louis - Milwaukee Admirals
- Blues, Rivermen each gain a player - Peoria Rivermen
- Falcons play back-to-back road games this weekend - Springfield Falcons
- AHL to reach milestone Thursday - AHL
- Monarchs Send Bernakevitch And Roussin To Reading - Manchester Monarchs
- Bulldogs in the community - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Cote recalled by Canadiens - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Chiodo reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Third Class of The Cleveland Hockey Legends Ring of Honor Set to be Inducted - Cleveland Barons
- Knights will try to start new streak - Abbotsford Heat
- Bulldogs game notes - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Phil and Carol Garner to serve as Honorary Aeros on Sunday - Houston Aeros
- Sound Tiger snippets - Bridgeport Islanders
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
