The San Francisco Spiders were a professional

Professional sports

Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...

 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 based in Daly City

Daly City, California

Daly City is the largest city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with a 2010 population of 101,123. Located immediately south of San Francisco, it is named in honor of businessman and landowner John Daly.-History:...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. They were members of the South Division of the former International Hockey League (IHL). Playing at the Cow Palace

Cow Palace

Cow Palace is an indoor arena, in Daly City, California, situated on the city's border with neighboring San Francisco, notable as a sporting arena.-History:...

, the Spiders competed for one season, folding at the close of the 1995–96 IHL season.

History

On November 22, 1994, the IHL announced an expansion franchise had been awarded to the Bay Area to begin play for the 1995-96 season at the Cow Palace

Cow Palace

Cow Palace is an indoor arena, in Daly City, California, situated on the city's border with neighboring San Francisco, notable as a sporting arena.-History:...

. The former president and chief executive officer of the Jackson National Life Insurance Company Dave Pasant was the owner and paid the $6 million franchise fee to the IHL in becoming the league's 18th team. By December, the Spiders nickname and logo were unveiled. Spiders was selected over Seals, Quakes, Fog and Rush and at the time of its establishment was the lone professional sports team with the Spiders nickname. Jean Perron

Jean Perron

Jean Perron was a head coach for the National Hockey League Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques. Perron coached the Habs for three seasons, and led them to a Stanley Cup in 1986. He was the last rookie coach to win the Stanley Cup until Dan Bylsma achieved the same feat in 2009 with the...

 served as both the general manager and head coach and was assisted by Bruce Boudreau

Bruce Boudreau

Bruce Allan Boudreau is a Canadian professional ice hockey head coach and current head coach of the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League . As a player, Boudreau played professionally for 20 seasons, logging 141 games in the NHL and 30 games in the World Hockey Association...

 who later became the head coach of the Washington Capitals

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...

. The inaugural game was a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Ice Dogs before 11,415 fans on September 29, 1995.

For the one season, the Spiders roster took on a familiar look to the Cow Palace's previous hockey tenant, the San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...

. Dale Craigwell

Dale Craigwell

Dale A. Craigwell is a retired professional hockey player who played professionally for 9 years and played parts of 3 years with the San Jose Sharks in the NHL. He played centre and shot left-handed....

, Link Gaetz

Link Gaetz

Link Gaetz, aka "the Missing Link", is a former professional ice hockey player known for his battles when he was an up-and-coming enforcer in the National Hockey League and his troubles on and off the ice while in the minor leagues...

, Robin Bawa

Robin Bawa

Robin N. Bawa is a retired former professional ice hockey player who spent parts of four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1989 and 1994.-Playing career:...

, Steve Stein, David Maley

David Maley

David Joseph "Dave" Maley is a former American hockey player, having played for the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks and New York Islanders; and is currently a radio and television analyst for the San Jose Sharks.As a player, Maley was a part of the...

, Ed Courtenay

Ed Courtenay

Edward Emmett Courtenay is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger and head coach.-Professional career:...

 and Mike Lalor

Mike Lalor

John Michael Lalor is an American former professional ice hockey defenceman. Although a U.S. citizen by birth, Mike Lalor spent his growing years in Fort Erie, Ontario. Mike played in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens, St...

 all played for the IHL expansion team. The most notable NHL player who played briefly for the Spiders was Sandis Ozolinsh. Ozolinsh, who was holding out for a new contract from the Sharks, played two games with the Spiders. He scored one goal, the first goal in team history, shortly before the NHL's San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...

 traded him to the Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...

.

The team finished in third place in the South division, winning 40 games and losing only 32. The Spiders lost 3–1 in the first round of the playoffs to the Chicago Wolves

Chicago Wolves

The Chicago Wolves are a professional hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. They are the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois...

. Goalie Stephane Beauregard won league MVP.

Poor attendance and difficulties with the arena caused the team to suspend operations. On weekends, attendance tended to be respectable, around the 7–8,000 mark, but on weekdays, the Spiders often struggled to draw more than 2,500 in averaging 5,024 fans for each home game. The team filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 1996 in citing losses of $6 million for the season, and would officially cease operations on June 24, 1996. Most of the players were traded away to other IHL teams for "future considerations." The Kansas City Blades

Kansas City Blades

The Kansas City Blades was a professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League from 1990–2001 until the demise of the league after the 2000–01 season. The Blades was based in Kansas City, Missouri at Kemper Arena....

 received eight players from the Spiders. The team was scheduled to move to Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 in 2000, but this move never happened due to failure to replace the aging Victoria Memorial Arena

Victoria Memorial Arena

Victoria Memorial Arena was an ice hockey arena, located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was built in 1949 and demolished in 2003 due to aging and being outdated....

.

Season-by-season results

Last five seasons:
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
1995-96	82	40	32	10	90	278	283	1,835	3rd, South	Lost in Round 1, 1–4 (Wolves Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. They are the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois... )