Colorado Rockies

One of the 90s expansion teams in Major League Baseball. Based in Denver, they play at Coors Field by "Denver Rules" - the altitude causes the ball to travel "15%" farther, a boon to offense. The ERA of pitchers, however, inflate like an errant flotation device.

A former NHL team (begun as the expansion Kansas City Scouts), once coached by Don Cherry; they later became the New Jersey Devils. People still refer to the Colorado Avalanche as "the Rockies", in moments of brain cramp.

The Colorado Rockies were an NHL team that came into the league after The Kansas City Scouts were bought and moved to Colorado. The Rockies lasted for six seasons from 1976 to 1982.

Their jerseys were almost identical to the Scouts, aside from a different logo. The Rockies home jersey is mostly white with stripes of yellow and red at the elbows and bottom, while the road jersey is mostly blue with stripes of yellow and red at the elbow and bottom. The center logo is the Colorado flag in the shape of a mountain. The shoulder logo is the flag's red "C" with the yellow circle in the middle. The jerseys, along with other Rockies merchandise, were rereleased for sale recently as part of the NHL's new "Vintage Hockey" line.

The Rockies played at McNichols Arena, which they shared with the NBA's Denver Nuggets. Two General Managers served the team. Ray Miron was with the team fron '76 to '81, and when he left, Bill MacMillan served as the GM for the last season the team was in Denver and stayed with the franchise when it moved. There was a different Head Coach every season. In order, they were John Wilson, Pat Kelly, Aldo Guidolin, Don Cherry, Bill MacMillan, Bert Marshall and Marshall Johnston. The most notable of these coaches was Don Cherry. After being fired from the Boston Bruins for his famous "Too many men on the ice" screwup, Cherry came to the Rockies to coach the 79-80 season. His presence didn't help, however as the team finished with a dismal record of 19-48-13.

The Rockies were terrible every season they played. They usually finished close to or dead last in the league. Their third year, however, the Rockies actually made it to the playoffs. They were quickly ousted in the first round. The fans in Denver did not appreciate the poor performing hockey team. The team played its last game in Denver at the the end of the 1982 season and was bought and moved. Its current home is New Jersey where they play as the Devils. The Devils have had better luck then the Scouts and the Rockies, winning the Stanley Cup three times.

Here's how the Rockies did each season they played:

Year    Record(w-l-t)   Coach            Playoff Result
1976-77   20-46-14      Johnny Wilson    Out of Playoffs
1977-78   19-40-21      Pat Kelly        Lost in round 1
1978-79   15-53-12      Multiple coaches Out of Playoffs
1979-80   19-48-13      Don Cherry       Out of Playoffs
1980-81   22-45-13      Bill MacMillan   Out of Playoffs
1981-82   18-49-13      Multiple coaches Out of Playoffs

http://www.hockeydb.com
http://www.azhockey.com