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The Cleveland Barons were a minor league professional Ice Hockey team in the American Hockey League . They played in Cleveland, Ohio , USA at the Cleveland Arena . HISTORY The most successful team in AHL history, the original incarnation of the Barons played at the Cleveland Arena in the AHL from 1937 to 1973 . In that time they won ten division titles and nine Calder Cup s, both unsurpassed AHL records. The team traces its roots back to the 1929-30 season of the International Hockey League , as the "Cleveland Indians." The Indians played for five seasons, until being renamed the Cleveland Falcons for the 1934-35 season. The Falcons played for three more years, when they became the Barons in 1937-38 . For many years, the team was owned by Al Sutphin, who was also an owner of the Braden-Sutphin Ink Company in Cleveland. Sutphin, a true sportsman, was known to often pay better salaries than NHL teams at the time ('30s and '40s), and some players preferred to remain in "minor league" Cleveland instead of playing in the "major" NHL. Sutphin built the Cleveland Arena, at the time one of the largest hockey facilities in North America. Cleveland sought a National Hockey League franchise during the early 1950s, but purported financing irregularities caused the NHL to turn down the bid. During the '40s and '50s, the Barons played to standing-room-only audiences. The preeminent star of the franchise was Fred Glover , the team's career leader in goals, assists, points, penalty minutes and seasons, (and second in league history in all those categories). Also notable was Hall Of Famer goaltender Johnny Bower , who before he starred in the NHL played brilliantly for the Barons for nine seasons and is the AHL's career shutout leader. The longtime general manager for the franchise was James C. Hendy , a Hall of Fame Builder and the first prominent statistician in the history of the sport. Other notable players included Les Cunningham , a five-time league All-Star for whom the AHL's MVP award is named, Jack Gordon , Norm Beaudin , Bill Needham (the team's career leader in games played), Cal Stearns , Fred Thurier and Les Binkley . When the World Hockey Association (WHA) Cleveland Crusaders began play in 1972, it shrank the market for the Barons and caused their demise. The Barons could not compete with the WHA practice of hiring ex- NHL players whose contracts had expired and consequently lost many fans. In addition, creation of the new "major league" drew talent away from the AHL. The owner, Nick Mileti , who also owned the Crusaders, decided the team could not co-exist with the new Crusaders in Cleveland and moved the Barons mid-season (in February, 1973) to Jacksonville, Florida . The Jacksonville Barons played to poor audiences and folded for good the next season, ending the franchise's long and illustrious history. The team was replaced in this market by:
TEAM RECORDS Single Season :Goals: Lou Trudel , 45, 1945 :Assists: Fred Glover , 69, 1960 :Points: Glover, 107, 1960 Career :Career Goals: Glover, 410 :Career Assists: Glover, 695 :Career Points: Glover, 1105 :Career Penalty Minutes: Glover, 2164 :Career Goaltending Wins: Johnny Bower , 284 :Career Shutouts: Bower, 38 :Career Games: Bill Needham , 981 SEASON-BY-SEASON RESULTS
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