In autumn of 1927, long before the Flyers were even a glimmer in the eye of Ed Snider, Philadelphia received its first professional ice hockey team: the Philadelphia Arrows of the Canadian-American Hockey League, a minor league.
The Arrows played their home games at Philadelphia Arena, located on the 4500 block of Market Street in West Philadelphia. It was on the same block as the legendary WFIL television studio that hosted Dick Clark’s iconic American Bandstand TV program.
The Arrows got off to a very poor start, coming in last place in both of their first two seasons, and going through two head coaches in the process. The club’s fortunes changed dramatically in their third year with the appointment of Herb Gardiner as head coach. Gardiner, a World War I veteran and the winner of the 1926-27 Hart Trophy (NHL MVP), completely turned the team around and would coach the Arrows for the remainder of the club’s existence. They finished in second place during the 1929-30 regular season before an early playoff exit at the hands of the Boston Tigers. The team took a couple of steps back in the subsequent two seasons, just missing out on the playoffs in the 1930-31 and coming in second to last place in 1931-32.
The 1932-33 season saw the Arrows dominate behind league points leader, Center Paul Runge. They finished the regular season in first place, earning them an automatic berth in the Finals. In true Philadelphia fashion they lost the finals against the Boston Cubs. The Arrows would jump out to a two-games-to-none lead before losing the final three games of the best-of-5 series, culminating with a heartbreaking 4-3 loss at home. The following season saw the Arrows drop down to third place, losing to Boston in the first round of the playoffs. In 1934-35, their last season as the Arrows, the team slumped down to last place.
In the offseason, the team changed names to become the Philadelphia Ramblers. The name change must have helped as the Ramblers won the 1935-36 Canadian-American Hockey League championship. In 1936, the Canadian-American Hockey League merged with the International Hockey League to form the International-American Hockey League. This would later be shortened to the American Hockey League. The Ramblers would make the finals of this new league two out of the next three years, losing on both occasions. After three seasons out of the playoff picture, the Ramblers (Now with a new moniker: the Philadelphia Rockets) ceased operations for good in 1942.
Philadelphia Arena fell into disuse after the construction of the Spectrum in 1967, and was renamed after Martin Luther King Jr. in 1977. On August 24th, 1983, the arena was burned down by arsonists. Today the location where the arena stood is occupied by an apartment complex.
Fun Facts about the Philadelphia Arrows:
Shibe Vintage Sports features this vintage Philadelphia Arrows shirt now available.
