“Barons Stung by Philadelphia” – Nov 26, 1977 – download here

Playing the Philadelphia Flyers in the mid-to-late 1970s was never a treat. They were rude, aggressive, and talented, and more often that not, those three traits were going to lead them to a win. Weak teams like the California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons barely stood a chance, and November 25, 1977 was no exception.

 

“Barons Rescued by Gund’s Funds / NHL, WHA to Merge” – June 26, 1977 – download here

When George Gund took over as majority owner of the Cleveland Barons, he made an early commitment to the team by resigning head coach Jack Evans and promoting acting general manager Harry Howell to the full-time position. There was also talk that the Barons, and the NHL’s other teams, would be receiving a nice little windfall courtesy of the soon-to-happen WHA-NHL merger. What’s that, you say the two leagues didn’t merge for another two years? You would be correct, but the NHL and WHA were very close to concluding an agreement to merge as early as the summer of ’77, and the second article of the week, goes into detail about what the NHL was expected to look like as early as October 1977. Enjoy these two interesting articles from the Salina Journal.

“Barons’ Bussie Bungled Badly” – Oct. 6, 1977 – download here

Here is a funny story from the Miami Herald about the Cleveland Barons trying to make a good impression on their fans in this, their second season in Ohio. Well, to be more accurate, the season hadn’t quite started yet. That would happen five days later. Anyway, the Barons were hosting a little luncheon for 600 fans and well-wishers except the Barons were late to their own party, all because of a bus driver badly in need of a GPS years before the technology existed.

“Kings Drop 3-1 Battle To Barons” – Oct. 20, 1977 – download here

It was very early in the season, but the Barons were off to an unusually good start. After three games, the Barons had allowed just five goals, including just a single marker against the talented L.A. Kings. Gilles Meloche was sensational as usual. The Kings entered the game undefeated in three games, and were feeling a little overconfident. The Barons made them pay. It was also the last win they would ever earn against their former cross-state rival, which you can read about in this Marion (Ohio) Star.

Washington Capitals Scouting Report of Cleveland Barons – Nov. 13, 1977 – download here

Thanks to Pete Manzolillo for sending this for inclusion on the site. This is not an article per se, but rather a very cool little piece of inside history from the perspective of the Washington Capitals, who were gearing up to play the Barons in December 1977. Special Assignment Pro Scout D.W. Brewer paid close attention to how the Barons fared against the Boston Bruins that night and asked Barons’ coach Jack Evans a few questions, and you can find all of Brewer’s impressions of the Barons here, from how they handled the physical play, how they used speed to their advantage, and who their best defenseman was. This was originally printed in an old Goal game program.

“Retribution” (by Robin Innes) – Dec. 1, 1977 – download here

On November 29, 1977, the Cleveland Barons were 13 points out of a playoff spot as a result of a disappointing 3-2 loss to the Maple Leafs, so when the two teams met again in Ohio the following night, the Barons could ill afford to lose a second in a row to Toronto. Luckily, the Barons came out blazing and came away with a 5-3 win that was loaded with flukes, quirks, and mishaps.

“Barons Suffer 11-1 Humiliation” – Dec. 12, 1977 – download here

This article from the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram is all about the infamous game in which Philadelphia’s Tom Bladon turned into a Bobby Orr for a night and blitzed the Cleveland Barons for 8 points, a record for defensemen which still stands. Needless to say, comments from members of the Barons were few and far between.

“Barons First to Beat Czechs” (by Robin Innes) – Jan. 5, 1978 – download here

In the 1970s, the Iron Curtain was still doing its very best to separate the East and West, but slowly but surely, East met West, most notably in memorable Summit Series in 1972 and 1974. In 1975-76, Soviet league teams made their way to North America to play mid-season exhibition games against NHL and WHA teams. For the most part, the Russians ran roughshod over their North American brethren, even teams that were the cream of the hockey crop. One team the Russians never played was the Seals/Barons. By 1977, however the Czechs also started sending teams to play exhibition games against the NHL and WHA, and this time the Barons competed. In the entire history of the California Golden Seals/Cleveland Barons, the team played just one mid-season exhibition game, January 4, 1978 against Kladno. The Czechs were told the Barons weren’t particularly good, but around this time the Barons were on the verge of a decent 8-6-1 stretch which vaulted them into a race for the final playoff spot, so the Czechs were in for quite a surprise when the Barons put up a good fight.

“Barons ‘New Look’ Paying Dividends” – Jan. 12, 1978 – download here

Mike Bossy scored 573 goals over his 752-game NHL career, but only one was scored against Cleveland Barons, and it happened on January 11, 1978 in a shocking 5-3 win for the Barons. The game took place just one day after the Barons sent Wayne Merrick and Darcy Regier to the New York Islanders in exchange for J.P. Parise and Jean Potvin. The deal briefly turned the Barons’ season around, and the playoffs looked like a possibility for a few weeks, but a lengthy winless streak in March would put the kibosh on those plans.

“Barons Find Way to Score on Montreal” (by Jerry Rombach) – Jan. 19, 1978 – download here

The Seals and Barons never really had a lot of success against the Montreal Canadiens. That fact should surprise no one since the Canadiens were almost always at the top of the standings in the 1960s and 70s, while the Seals and Barons were usually lucky to just not be last. Once in a while though California or Cleveland would come up with a decent effort against the perennial Stanley Cup champions. Sometimes those “whiles” were not particularly long periods, sometimes just a few minutes like this article from the Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle-Telegram details.

“Barons End Jinx at Boston” – Jan. 23, 1978 – download here

January 1978 was one of the few highlights of the Barons’ two-year run in Cleveland. The first season had mostly been a disappointment; the team was expected to jump 10 or 15 points in the standings, but they ended up with two points less than the 1975-76 Seals. Furthermore, there was the little issue of players not getting paid, and threats of contraction. The following season was a bit different, however. There was a new wild-card playoff system in place so teams who finished last in their division now had a chance at the playoffs. The Barons also started the season with four wins in their first five games, so there was more enthusiasm than usual in Ohio. Of course, the team couldn’t maintain that pace for long, but general manager Harry Howell got permission from owners George and Gordon Gund to spend a little more cash. It was as though the Barons were going for broke, and Howell went out and picked up useful veterans like J.P. Parise, Walt McKechnie, and Chuck Arnason. All of a sudden, the Barons had a new attitude that January, and they kept the last wild-card playoff spot well within reach. This article from the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram is all about how the Barons finally ended their lengthy losing streak to the mighty Boston Bruins.

“Barons Lure 527 Chicago Fans in Blizzard” – Jan. 27, 1978 – download here

The Cleveland Barons were not exactly known for playing in front of large audiences, but surprisingly enough, the smallest crowd to ever watch the Barons play was in Chicago Stadium. There was a reason for that however, and that was because a huge snow storm kept everyone away. 

“Victory – Barons Finally Taste Sweet Smell of Success” (by Scott Haislet) – Mar. 30, 1978 – download here

Yes, you read that title correctly. The Cleveland Barons somehow tasted a smell, which I didn’t think was humanly possible, and I still don’t quite believe it is possible. The 1977-78 Cleveland Barons were making a serious run for a playoff spot in this, their last NHL season, due to the NHL’s decision to allow all teams finishing lower than second in their division to have a chance at gaining a wild-card spot. A series of bold trades put the Barons in a good position to make the playoffs for the first time since 1970, but then disaster, in the name of a 15-game winless streak, pretty much doomed them. On March 29, however, the equally hapless Minnesota North Stars were courteous enough to roll over and allow the Barons to end their franchise-record skein. This article comes from the Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle-Telegram.

“Barons Deny Move to Texas” – May 10, 1978 – download here

At the conclusion of the Barons’ last NHL season, there were rumours the team was heading to Houston in what was supposed to be a merger between the NHL and World Hockey Association.  Of course, that merger did not happen until a year later, but the Barons themselves did merge with another team, the Minnesota North Stars.  This short article detailing the possibility of seeing the Houston Aeros and Cleveland Barons merge comes from the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.

“Struggle Ends, Barons, Stars Merge” (from Winnipeg Free Press) – June 15, 1978 – download here

You can read how it all ended right here: the famous “merger” that occurred between Cleveland and Minnesota in June, 1978.  Needless to say, this was one unusual proposal, but in 1978, the NHL was not exactly on firm financial footing, and, like any season-ending episode of Game of Thrones, some familiar faces weren’t going to survive.  Both Cleveland and Minnesota had struggled at the gate for years, but with Minnesota’s richer hockey history and past attendance success, it was only logical the Barons would get the axe.  For some players, like Al MacAdam, Gilles Meloche, Dennis Maruk, and Greg Smith, the Barons’ merger with Minnesota would turn their fortunes around significantly.  For others such as Dave Gardner, Bob Stewart, Len Frig, and Rick Hampton, it would signal the beginning of the end of their NHL careers.

“Swig’s Multi-Million Dollar Hockey Fling” (by Ed Schoenfeld) – July 16, 1977 – download here

Mel Swig definitely lost a lot of money as owner of the California Golden Seals. The guy certainly believed hockey could be successful in the Bay Area – he was right about that – and he certainly believed hockey could be successful in Cleveland – he was wrong about that although the Columbus Blue Jackets make a strong case that he was right. Before the end of his first season in Cleveland, however, Swig was finally ready to give up his dream of owning a NHL team.