Waterloo Black Hawks fans had to sweat through several summers in the 1970s. When the ice melted at McElroy Auditorium in the spring, it wasn't always clear whether the Hawks – or the ice – would be back when cooler weather arrived.

"This is a matter of salvaging a hockey team," said Joe Nutting in June of 1973. Nutting was a director of Northeast Iowa Sports, Inc., one of the entities which operated the Black Hawks during that period. He and other Waterloo residents repeatedly grappled with the challenge of keeping hockey from being scrapped during an era of change.

The Black Hawks had two opportunities to play for a championship between 1973 and 1977. Three other times during that span, the organization faced possible bankruptcy. Over the same timeframe, the United States Hockey League started every new season with a different collection of teams. Uncertainties shadowed the USHL and the Black Hawks during the 1970s. Despite that – or perhaps because of it – the league and the team adapted and evolved toward 21st century success.

The venue known as McElroy Auditorium – and today, called the Hippodrome – stands prominently on the National Cattle Congress grounds. It was operated through a partnership between the NCC and City of Waterloo for more than a decade before a major renovation in 1962. An ice plant and rink infrastructure were part of the upgrades, creating the situation necessary for Waterloo to join the USHL. The Black Hawks won five championships in the 60s, attracting a passionate following. Northeast Iowa Sports was the non-profit in charge of the team's business operations. Its directors were prominent figures in the Cedar Valley business community, and each season, a different executive or entrepreneur would serve as board president.

By the early 1970s, expansion had more than doubled the size of the National Hockey League, and other pro leagues grew to match. Senior players had once been attracted to Waterloo by the combination of high-level hockey and fulltime off-ice employment. The number of swift-skating, hard-hitting college graduates or tradesmen – previously with better prospects for career success off the ice than on it – shrank. There were more chances to "make it" in pro hockey than there had ever been, but Waterloo and the USHL were a long way from the NHL or the newly-created World Hockey Association. At McElroy Auditorium, wins were harder to earn, crowds were marginally smaller, and expenses increased with road destinations farther away than they had been in the prior decade.
 
During the 1972/73 season, the Hawks were a solid 23-18-1. Nonetheless, they placed third in their division and outside the four-team postseason field. Waterloo still hosted the two-game divisional playoff series between the Chicago Warriors and Green Bay Bobcats; a combined total of 1,306 neutral fans attended. Had the Hawks skated in those games, ticket sales would likely have been several times larger and might have limited Northeast Iowa Sports' losses for the season. Instead, Waterloo hockey finished the fiscal year with a budget gap of over $21,000, an amount which would have purchased five new 1973 Chevy Cameros at sticker price with enough left over to keep them gassed up at approximately 40 cents per gallon.

A spring pledge drive helped assure that Northeast Iowa Sports would be able to cover its losses. Eighty people committed to contributing up to $400 apiece to keep hockey going. However, those pledges were never collected. Converting the team into a for-profit venture with local investors seemed like a better way forward. The newly-organized Black Hawk Enterprises Inc. was created to pay off the debt and make arrangements for the 1973/74 season.

"What it boils down to is that we will have strong financial backing from a few but still leave it open for community investment," said Nutting. "The major operation will be left up to the biggest spenders."

Black Hawk Enterprises immediately had 35 investors, many who had played significant roles during the non-profit years. By mid-July, 71 shareholders bought in, generating $30,000 from a stock sale. They hoped to make a profit from hockey, but at minimum they accepted the personal financial risks of keeping the team active.

Meanwhile, the Soo Canadians of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, had been part of the USHL since 1969. After four years of middling to poor results, they dropped out. The league still managed to expand to nine teams in the summer of 1973, adding new clubs in Milwaukee and Madison. The schedule was stretched from 42 to 48 games, providing optimism to Waterloo investors that shorter road trips and three additional home games could provide a financial tailwind. The league also considered the intriguing possibility of a collaboration with the WHA. USHL leaders began discussing overtures to the upstart major league circuit as early as September.

The Thunder Bay Twins were eventually the 1973/74 regular season champions. They followed up with a playoff title, sweeping the Black Hawks during a three-game Final series. Even so, the Twins were one of the teams considered to be in poor financial condition ahead of the league's May 1974 meeting. Chicago and the Copper Country Chiefs of Calumet, Michigan, were also struggling. The Madison Blues were worst off. After one season, Madison owed the USHL $3,000 in back fees. They could not provide the league with the required $7,000 guarantee that they would play their slated games in 1974/75. Blues ownership and USHL officials spent months trying to work out a solution, with the league schedule delayed as a result. Madison's players were finally dispersed to other clubs in mid-August, including a new team in Stevens Point, the Central Wisconsin Flyers.

Hopes to affiliate with the WHA were also quashed after a nearly yearlong flirtation.

"The WHA board of governors voted against a formal tieup between the major professional league and one of North America's leading amateur circuits," the Waterloo Courier reported on June 23rd. "[It] would have called upon WHA members to provide the USHL teams with around seven players a year and financial support based on the development and eventual progress of these players into professional hockey."

For its own part, the USHL rejected a counteroffer which would have allowed league teams to create individualized partnerships with WHA clubs. USHL leaders believed that would lead to a competitive imbalance if such deals weren't standardized.

In Waterloo, the Black Hawks enjoyed a relatively quiet summer in 1974. The team's push to the playoffs generated positive publicity and good crowds. Season attendance climbed to nearly 83,000, approximately 2,800 per game. First-year head coach Dave Swick was voted the USHL's Coach of the Year. Black Hawks Enterprises did not pay a dividend on its shares but did well enough to invest in McElroy Auditorium improvements. When hockey returned in the fall, new plastic dasherboards and glass were installed to replace the plywood half walls and wire screens which had been in place for years.

The Hawks did well again in 1974/75, posting a 30-15-3 regular season record. During the 1975 playoffs, Waterloo earned a rematch in the championship series against Thunder Bay. The Twins prevailed again, this time in four games. However, Waterloo benefited from the additional revenue created from four postseason home games. In the 1975 offseason, the team focused on organizing a pro shop to serve the larger Cedar Valley hockey community and youth program. The big news that summer was the creation of the Columbus High School team and the Waterloo Warriors to represent the city's public high schools.

Other USHL organizations faced a more tenuous offseason. After winning the league title, Thunder Bay went on to claim the Allan Cup as Canada's senior national champions. Then they dropped out of the USHL, in part due to high travel costs from flying to all of their road games. Chicago left the league, and Copper Country vacillated all summer, just like Madison the year before. The Milwaukee Admirals had trouble securing home dates in a building they shared with the National Basketball Association's Milwaukee Bucks. The USHL did add the Traverse City Bays, but the new destination meant a long trip around Lake Michigan for almost all of the expansion club's opponents.

"It is hoped that Marquette [Michigan] will be able to revitalize their community hockey enthusiasm and support; and for Calumet and Central Wisconsin, the 75/76 season will either make or break their franchise operations," noted the USHL Yearbook in a remarkably candid preseason assessment.

A renaissance in those cities didn't happen.

Copper Country – who did not officially commit to playing in 75/76 until September – dropped out of the league before Christmas. Marquette and Central Wisconsin left the USHL after the 1975/76 season ended. Making matters worse, the USHL was forced to find a new commissioner in early November 1975 when 51-year-old Bob Kasubeck died of a heart attack.

The Black Hawks were also facing trouble as the 1975/76 season commenced. Season ticket sales were down. As of October 21st, the team was "…nearly 100 season tickets short of the 700 they sold last year. That's far below the goal of 850 that General Manager Jack Barzee established…" noted the Waterloo Courier. Black Hawks players were also dissatisfied. Several veterans refused, at least initially, to sign their contracts, even at or near the league maximum of $50 per game.

Results before Christmas were poor. A big finish allowed Waterloo to win 30 games for a second consecutive season and earn a playoff bid for the third straight year. Yet big crowds still did not materialize often enough during the 1976 portion of the schedule. Season attendance was off by an average of 650 fans per night. The difficult winter wiped out $14,000 in reserve funds which Black Hawks Enterprises had accumulated. Instead, the closing financial report showed a debt of nearly $23,000.

As the team reviewed the dire situation, a long-term investment of time and resources in the community's youth program paid off.

"Should the Black Hawks fold, hundreds of Waterloo and Cedar Falls kids would be without hockey for the first time in 14 years," wrote Richard Smith in a letter to the Courier. "At a time when the Junior Hawk program has become a success for both the kids and fans, and at a time when both the Columbus and public schools high school hockey teams have just completed their first year with a promising success, it seems ironic to abandon the hockey team that brought indoor skating to this area 14 years ago."

It was a broadly-held sentiment and helps explain why dozens of fans committed to sell season tickets for 1976/77 a month after the old schedule had ended. On May 15, Black Hawk Enterprises voted to prepare for another year. It was not clear who the Hawks would play.

Marquette and Central Wisconsin were out. Milwaukee and Traverse City both lost substantial sums, despite facing each other for the league championship. Green Bay accumulated $45,000 in debt, but the venerable Bobcats were committed to playing again. The Sioux City Musketeers made a small profit. USHL leadership hoped to stabilize the league through expansion. Madison, Peoria, Omaha, Des Moines, and Grand Rapids were all considered candidates. In the end, only Grand Rapids (the Blades) joined, despite geographic concerns ("If we can stay on this side of the lake, I think we have a chance," is how departing Black Hawks Enterprises President Dave Tyler had expressed the state of affairs earlier in the offseason).

The Admirals were given an extension into July of 1976 to commit to another season. They managed to solve their financial difficulties and signed on for 1976/77. It was a mixed blessing. That summer, the NBA and ABA merged, again delaying Milwaukee's available home dates. That created a domino effect which stunted ticket sales opportunities in other USHL markets. The league schedule wasn't finalized until August 30th.

Waterloo opened the new campaign with an 8-2 road loss against the Blades. By the end of November, the Hawks had only won twice. It was unfortunate timing for the organization to have a season which – by some measures – was the worst in team history up to that point. The 20-28-0 Hawks missed the playoffs again and lost $26,000 in the process. A month after the schedule ended, stockholders met and voted to sell the club, placing an ad in The Hockey News.

Other USHL teams fared just as badly, regardless of record. An April 1977 estimate put the collective losses of the league clubs at a quarter million dollars. By this point, the USHL's other teams each had small ownership groups or individual owners. Gary Lipschutz was among them. The founder of the Sioux City Musketeers had also become president of the USHL. It was Lipschutz who came to the Hawks' rescue in June. After multiple potential deals to sell the Black Hawks had fallen through, the league itself pledged to support the team during the 1977/78 season.

"The USHL has arranged a series of loan guarantees to be sure the Black Hawks will operate this year," Lipschutz said at the end of June. "Waterloo is a good hockey town, and the league needs Waterloo. We feel things will be turned around here."

He went on to make a further optimistic prediction which proved true in ways he couldn't have imagined that summer.

"The caliber of hockey in this league is going to continue to improve. The talent available is getting better. Several higher leagues have folded and the possible merger (between the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association) would make more money available for development. We'd try to get our share of that money."

Another hockey merger made local news in late August. The Milwaukee Admirals defected to the International Hockey League, leaving Sioux City, Green Bay, and Waterloo as the only clubs officially committed to the USHL for the coming season. The Midwest Junior Hockey League was also down to three members: the Austin Mavericks, St. Paul Vulcans, and Bloomington Jr. Stars. An agreement to bring the six teams together into one league was quickly approved. The former MJHL clubs would continue to play with all-junior rosters. The Hawks, Musketeers, and Bobcats would feature a limited number of senior players during a three-year transition period (later reduced to two seasons).

"I was really down on it when we first started talking about the idea," Barzee frankly revealed when asked about the situation at that time, "But now I see that things will work out better than they did before…There's advantages of using junior players. The Midwest Junior League has really been instrumental in developing young American hockey players. And, if you have players drafted (by the National Hockey League), you'll get development money for them."

The transition was long in Waterloo. In the immediate aftermath, the Black Hawks won championships in 1978 and 1979. However, a good all-junior season in 1979/80 coupled with poor financial results convinced Barzee to relocate to Dubuque. Waterloo again scrambled to stay in the USHL for the sake of youth and high school hockey programs. The hockey community clawed through the 1980s and 90s with only a few successful years. Winning records, big crowds, and the development pipeline Lipschutz and Barzee anticipated truly began to emerge in the 2000s.

The USHL and the Waterloo Black Hawks persevered and became part of the success stories for hundreds of individual players. It couldn't have happened without determination and creativity during the warm, worrisome summers of the 1970s.

This story is collected with others in a forthcoming book about the Black Hawks, which is expected to be released this fall.

Photo: The 1974/75 Black Hawks team picture. This group of Hawks played in the USHL Championship Series during the spring of 1975.

Where Are They Now features are presented by Karen's Print Rite, 2515 Falls Avenue in Waterloo.