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Rochester Americans history
Rochester Americans company history timeline
When 60-year-old Duquesne Gardens in Pittsburgh was scheduled for demolition in 1956, it left the Pittsburgh Hornets without an arena and forced them to go idle, freeing up room in the AHL for a Rochester team.
Upon entering the league for the 1956–57 season the Americans became a joint affiliate of both the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, though the club was operated by the Canadiens.
The return of Horvath marked his fourth tour of duty with the Amerks since 1956–57.
The Americans reached the playoffs in 1959, losing to the Buffalo Bisons in five games.
The 1959 Americans were led by the "WHAM" line of center Rudy Migay, left wing Gary Aldcorn and right wing Billy Hicke.
In the summer of 1959, the Maple Leafs bought out the Canadiens ownership share of the club, giving them a 55% controlling interest, due to concerns that with Montreal operating the club they were giving their prospects priority over those of the Leafs.
Following the 1960–61 season, in which the Americans failed to qualify for the playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens transferred their working agreement to the Quebec Aces of the American Hockey League and sent Rochester players Guy Rousseau and Claude Labrosse to Quebec.
Beginning in 1963–64, former Americans defenseman Joe Crozier became the team's coach and general manager.
On May 8, 1966, before a crowd of 7,655 at the "Aud" the Americans tied up the series at two games apiece with a 3–1 victory over the Cleveland Barons.
In July 1966, Maple Leaf Gardens Limited sold the team to a group which included their then general manager Punch Imlach for a reported $400,000.
When the National Hockey League expanded from six to twelve teams for the 1967–68 NHL season the Americans lost several players.
The Americans struggled through the early part of the 1967–68 AHL season.
Playing the next two seasons independent of any NHL affiliations, the Amerks qualified for the playoffs in 1972–73, losing to the Boston Braves in the first round.
The next season, 1973–74, the Amerks went on to become regular season champions, but lost in the first round to New Haven.
During the five seasons with the Bruins, the Amerks made the playoffs the first four years, losing in the Calder Cup finals in 1977 to Nova Scotia.
Prior to the 1979–80 season, the Americans were purchased by the Knox family, owners of the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) and became the Sabres' AHL affiliate.
The Americans won the first of their "Sabres era" Calder Cups in 1983 under young coach Mike Keenan, sweeping Maine, 4–0.
In the 1986–87 season, the John Van Boxmeer-coached team won the division championship on the last game of the season against the Binghamton Whalers.
They again lost in the finals to the Cape Breton Oilers in 1993.
After a very slow start in the 1995–96 season, the Americans came together midway through the season behind the dramatically improved goaltending of Steve Shields.
In 2000, with the promotion of then-coach Brian McCutcheon to assistant coach with the Sabres, former Amerks player Randy Cunneyworth was named coach of the Amerks.
On November 12, 2003, the Sabres and the New Jersey Devils played in the first-ever NHL regular-season game in Rochester.
In the 2003–04 season, the Americans were beaten in five games by the eventual Calder Cup champion Milwaukee Admirals in the Western Conference Finals.
The Americans began a dual-affiliation in 2005 after signing an agreement with the Florida Panthers.
In 2007, the Sabres announced that season would be their last season of affiliation with the Americans.
On May 6, 2008, the American Hockey League approved the sale of the Americans to Canadian businessman Curt Styres and his investment group, Arrow Express Sports.
In 2008, the 29-year affiliation officially ended when Buffalo chose the Portland Pirates to be their new AHL affiliate.
On May 13, 2009, Lewis Staats, president of the Americans, formally announced that Jody Gage would not return after 13 seasons as the team's general manager.
The Americans notched their 2,000th win on February 21, 2010, in a shootout against the Portland Pirates.
On May 17, 2011, it was revealed that Terry Pegula had signed a nonbinding letter of intent to purchase the Americans.
After these arrangements were made, the agreement was reached June 24, 2011, with the official announcement following the same day.
The potential purchase had to clear several financial and legal obstacles; first, Pegula had to seek the permission of the Sabres' then current farm team, the Portland Pirates, since the Pirates had an agreement with the Sabres that lasted through 2014 and had no out clause.
Cunneyworth was relieved of his duties the following season on May 16, 2016 and reassigned to a position in the Sabres' department of player development.
In June 2017, the Sabres' new assistant general manager Randy Sexton was also made the Americans' general manager and former Americans' player Chris Taylor was named head coach.
Sexton was fired on June 16, 2020, along with Botterill.
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| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syracuse Crunch | 1994 | $3.4M | 53 | - |
| VISIT Milwaukee | 1967 | $10.0M | 40 | 1 |
| Indiana Sports Corp | 1979 | $10.0M | 20 | 5 |
| Boston Bruins | 1924 | $37.0M | 326 | - |
| World Racing Group | - | $9.4M | 125 | - |
| New York Lizards | 2001 | $2.5M | 46 | - |
| Philadelphia Union | 2008 | $3.3M | 236 | 5 |
| Orange Bowl | 1935 | $50.0M | 20 | 2 |
| Norfolk Festevents | 1982 | $5.0M | 34 | - |
| Colorado Eagles | 2003 | $420,000 | 15 | - |
Rochester Americans history FAQs
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