The Charlotte Checkers were an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

, playing in the Eastern Hockey League

Eastern Hockey League

-Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972...

 and Southern Hockey League.

Franchise history

On Jan. 23, 1956, Carlin's Iceland in Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

 burned down, forcing the EHL's Baltimore Clippers to scramble for a place to play their last 12 home games. Five of them were played at the Charlotte Coliseum (now Bojangles' Coliseum), drawing over 40,000 fans. Amid such a strong reception, the Clippers moved to Charlotte full-time for the 1956-57 season, becoming the state's first professional hockey team. They became the Checkers in 1960.
As the Clippers, the team won the EHL's Atlantic City Boardwalk Trophy in 1956-57 and back-to-back Walker Cup regular season titles the first two seasons in Charlotte. The Checkers would win the EHL title again in the 1970-71 and 1971-72 seasons. Along with most of the EHL's Southern Division, the Checkers joined the Southern Hockey League in 1973, along with the Macon Whoopees, Greensboro Generals

Greensboro Generals

The Greensboro Generals were an ECHL team that existed from 1999-2004. The franchise replaced the Greensboro Monarchs, who called the city home from 1989-1995....

, Roanoke Valley Rebels

Roanoke Valley Rebels

The Roanoke Valley Rebels were a minor league hockey franchise in the ECHL from 1990-92. The Rebels played their games at the LancerLot in Vinton, Virginia...

, Suncoast Suns

Suncoast Suns

The Suncoast Suns were an American ice hockey team in Saint Petersburg, Florida. They played in the Southern Hockey League in the 1973-74 season. The club folded after 31 games.-Season-by-season record:-Records:...

 and Winston-Salem Polar Twins

Winston-Salem Polar Twins

The Winston-Salem Polar Twins is a name held by two professional hockey franchises in Winston-Salem, NC. The first Polar Twins franchise operated in the 1970s before folding. They were followed by the Carolina Thunderbirds...

. Charlotte would win SHL titles in 1974-75 and 1975-76 before that league's demise in 1977.