Pro Beach Hockey
Encyclopedia
Pro Beach Hockey was a professional
inline hockey
league. It lasted three seasons, 1998, 1999 and 2000.
PBH games were played with a ball instead of a puck on an outdoor rink on the beach at Huntington Beach, California
. The season lasted slightly less than two months in the early summer. Games were taped during the short season and aired on ESPN 2 from June to September. The league is infamous for having ramps behind the nets to "increase speed," angled glass sections attached to the top of the dasher board glass to redirect the ball back into play and a 2-point line that was treated much like basketball's three-point line.
PBH players were mostly Roller Hockey International
(RHI
) players, several of which had previous National Hockey League
(NHL) experience. The players were paid from a bonus pool depending on how each team finished each season.
Web Warriors won the first PBH championship, named The James J. Allegro Cup, over Dawg Pac, two games to none. Xpress won the second PBH championship in 1999 over Heavy Metal, two games to one. Web Warriors won the final PBH championship in 2000.
Ultimately, ESPN
was unhappy with the TV ratings the league was receiving and decided to stop financially sponsoring the league.
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
inline hockey
Inline hockey
Inline hockey, often referred to as roller hockey in the United States, is a sport similar to ice hockey but played with inline skates. Like its parent sport, skaters on two teams use hockey sticks to direct a disk-shaped puck into the opponent's goal; however, various details of the game, such as...
league. It lasted three seasons, 1998, 1999 and 2000.
PBH games were played with a ball instead of a puck on an outdoor rink on the beach at Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 189,992; making it the largest beach city in Orange County in terms of population...
. The season lasted slightly less than two months in the early summer. Games were taped during the short season and aired on ESPN 2 from June to September. The league is infamous for having ramps behind the nets to "increase speed," angled glass sections attached to the top of the dasher board glass to redirect the ball back into play and a 2-point line that was treated much like basketball's three-point line.
PBH players were mostly Roller Hockey International
Roller Hockey International
Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey....
(RHI
RHI
RHI may refer to:* Renewable Heat Incentive* RHI Entertainment* Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport, IATA code RHI* Rhiwbina railway station, Cardiff, Wales; National Rail station code RHI* Robert Half International* Roller Hockey International...
) players, several of which had previous National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) experience. The players were paid from a bonus pool depending on how each team finished each season.
Web Warriors won the first PBH championship, named The James J. Allegro Cup, over Dawg Pac, two games to none. Xpress won the second PBH championship in 1999 over Heavy Metal, two games to one. Web Warriors won the final PBH championship in 2000.
Ultimately, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
was unhappy with the TV ratings the league was receiving and decided to stop financially sponsoring the league.
External links
- PBH Logos on Logoserver
- http://www.shellycastellano.com Roller Hockey Archive by Shelly Castellano
- game photos by Jennifer Rosevear
- Rink construction photos from Spohn Ranch
- PBH historical site by Richard Martorello