Indianapolis Capitols

The Indianapolis Capitols were one of the original five teams in the Central Hockey League. They played nine games as the Capitols before they were relocated to Cincinnati on November 7, 1963 due to an explosion at the Indianapolis Fairgrounds Coliseum. On October 31, 1963, during an Ice Follies show, a propane tank tipped over in the commissary under the bleachers on the southeast corner of the Coliseum. When the gas came in contact with a spark it caused a large explosion. A couple sections of stands were obliterated. 73 people were killed and nearly 400 were injured. Following the explosion, the ice rink was used as a morgue. This was one of the single deadliest tragedies in Indianapolis history. Following the incident, the Coliseum was closed. The Capitols began searching for a place to play the balance of the season. Initially, it looked as if they were going to play elsewhere while the Coliseum was repaired, and then return to Indianapolis. Conn Smythe even offered Maple Leaf Gardens for the Capitols to use on Sundays as a temporary home. Louisville and Cincinnati also made bids for the team, and Cincinnati was chosen -- but, not as just a temporary home like folks initially thought. As the move was announced, the Red Wings basically said they weren't coming back. Attendance in the few games in Indianapolis was very poor-- hovering around 1,500 for nearly every game. (Click here to read Andrew Smith's in depth article on the Indianapolis Capitols).

Indianapolis returned to the Central Hockey League as the Indianapolis Checkers for the 1979/80 season.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith for providing this site with his research data on the Indianapolis Capitols. Please make sure to visit his Indianapolis Hockey History. A great site on Indianapolis Hockey History from 1939 to today's teams.

Regular Season Records
Seasons	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
1963	9	1	7	1	3	18	38	197	*	*

* The Capitols moved to Cincinnati on Nov. 7, 1963, one week after a deadly explosion at the Fairgrounds Coliseum.

Indianapolis Capitols - 1963 Statistics

                 Regular Season

Name             #  GP  G  A Pts PIM

Don Chiz        10   8  5  1  6    2
Sid Finney      17   8  2  3  5    4
Norm Beaudin    16   8  1  4  5    5
Ron Harris       2   8  1  4  5   57
Jack McIntyre   11   8  0  4  4   12
Bob Cox          8   8  1  2  3    9
Dennis Rathwell 15   8  1  2  3    0
Ray Ross        12   8  2  0  2   12
Howie Menard     7   8  2  0  2    4
Dennis Kassain   9   8  1  0  1    0
Frank Hincks    14   7  1  0  1    2
Roger LaFreniere 3   8  0  1  1   10
Wayne Mulon      4   8  0  0  0   46
Jim Watson       5   5  0  0  0    2
Irv Spencer          4  0  0  0   26
Hank Bassen      1   4  0  0  0    4
Denis Champoux       3  0  0  0    0
Harrison Gray    1   2  0  0  0    2
------------------------------------
Team                 8 17 21 38  197
Forfeit *            -  1  -  -    -
------------------------------------
Totals               8 18 21 38  197

                  Regular Season

Name              GP  MIN  GA ENG GAA SO  SS  SV%  W  L  T
  
Hank Bassen        4  219  14  0  3.83   104 .865  0  3  1
Denis Champoux     3  177  13  1  4.41    96 .865  0  3  0
Harrison Gray      2   80   9  0  6.75    56 .839  0  1  0
==========================================================
Team               8  480  37  1  4.63   256 .855  0  7  1
Forfeit *          1    -   -  -     -     -    -  1  -  -
----------------------------------------------------------
Totals             9  480  37  1  4.63   256 .855  1  7  1

*-October 12, 1963 game against St. Louis forfeited to Indianapolis because of litigation against Braves owner Arthur Wirtz by the state of Indiana. Fearing seizure of equipment stemming from a 10-year-old lawsuit due to allegedly unpaid
debts Wirtz had when he owned the AHL Indianapolis Capitals, he refused to allow the team to play in Indiana. The matter was solved the day before the Capitols and St. Louis played on Oct. 26, 1963. Indianapolis was credited with a 1-0 victory, and one goal that was never scored.

Indianapolis Capitols - 1963 Game by Game Results

Date   Opponent         Score   Record Goalie    GW Goalie   Atten.

10/9   OMAHA            L 1-2   0-1-0  Champoux    Peters     2157
10/12  ST. LOUIS        W 1-0   1-1-0  FORFEIT * (see note above)
10/16  MINNEAPOLIS      L 4-6   1-2-0  Champoux    Gilbert    1136
10/19  OMAHA            L 4-6   1-3-0  Champoux    LaRose     1839
10/13  ST. PAUL         L 1-6   1-4-0  Bassen      Balon      1501
10/25  at St. Louis     L 1-3   1-5-0  Bassen      Draper     1500
10/26  ST. LOUIS        T 2-2   1-5-1  Bassen      Menard     1211
11/1   at Minneapolis   L 1-5   1-6-1  Bassen/Gray Schultz    1614
11/2   at St. Paul      L 3-7   1-7-1  Gray        Johnson    3685
FRANCHISE MOVED TO CINCINNATI 11/7/63

Capitols record vs.
                         Home     Away    Total   GF/GA    
Minneapolis Bruins       0-1-0    0-1-0    0-2-0   5/11   
Omaha Knights            0-2-0    0-0-0    0-2-0   5/8   
St. Louis Braves         1-0-1    0-1-0    1-1-1   4/5*
St. Paul Rangers         0-1-0    0-1-0    0-2-0   4/13   
CPHL                     1-4-1    0-3-0    1-7-1  18/37