History of the CHL

The Central Hockey League (CHL) was revived in 1992 by Bill Levins and Ray Miron under the idea of central ownership of both the league and the teams. Both men were from hockey backgrounds—Miron had been general manager of the Colorado Rockies and had briefly been president of the previous Central Hockey League in 1976. In the inaugural 1992-93 season the league had six teams, including the Oklahoma City Blazers, the Tulsa Oilers, the Wichita Thunder, the Memphis RiverKings, the Dallas Freeze and the Fort Worth Fire. After Levins died, the championship trophy awarded to the winner of the CHL playoffs was renamed the Levins Cup. After running the league for eight years, Miron retired in 2000 and sold the league. The Levins Cup was renamed the Ray Miron President's Cup. After several experiments in expansion and a long battle for players and markets with the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL), the CHL merged with the WPHL in 2001. Brad Treliving, the current CHL Commissioner, has provided a stablizing influence on the league.