The Southern Hockey League was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league that operated from 1973 to 1977. The league was formed when the Eastern Hockey League split in two; the southern teams became the Southern Hockey League, and the northern teams became the North American Hockey League. It was the first professional hockey league to operate wholly within the Southern United States, and followed the establishment of the Atlanta Flames in the National Hockey League; and also the Richmond Robins and the Tidewater Wings in the American Hockey League. The Southern Hockey League was a feeder league for the recently started World Hockey Association. Tedd Munchak was appointed the league's first commissioner, and was owner of the Greensboro Generals. The championship trophy of the league was named the James Crockett Cup, after local figure Jim Crockett Sr. The league disbanded during its fourth season, when four of its seven teams folded due to financial issues. History In May 1973, the four teams in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL)'s Southern Division–the Charlotte Checkers, Greensboro Generals, Roanoke Valley Rebels, and Suncoast Suns–all left the EHL to form the Southern Hockey League. For some time, the EHL's southern teams had felt chagrin at the costs of traveling to northern arenas, and other regulations such as dressing only 14 players for games. The four charter members were joined by two expansion teams, the Macon Whoopees and Winston-Salem Polar Twins. The SHL established itself as a fully professional league; the EHL was nominally an amateur league, but players were known to be paid for playing. It became a development league for the year-old World Hockey Association (WHA). The affiliation with the WHA brought the promise of better players, but drawbacks included not finalizing rosters until just before the season started, and mid-season callups straining the talent pool. Six teams began the 1973–74 Southern Hockey League season, but two did not complete the schedule due to financial trouble. The Suncoast Suns folded on December 19, 1973. The Macon Whoopees forfeited a game against Charlotte on January 17, 1974, when players refused to play because of not being paid. The team eventually folded on February 15, 1974. The remaining four teams made the playoffs, with the Roanoke Valley Rebels finishing as champions. On July 31, 1975, Jack Riley was announced as the new commissioner of the SHL, taking over for interim leader Gene Hawthorne, of the