Ron Tugnutt
October 7, 2000: The Columbus Blue Jackets bring the NHL back to Ohio after 22 years, and give the State capital its 1st-ever major league team, unless you count Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, or the Columbus Bullies who won the only titles of the 1940-41 American Football League.
Their 1st game is at home against the Chicago Blackhawks, who win, 5-3 at Nationwide Arena, still the Jackets' home. The Jackets' 1st goal is scored by Bruce Gardiner.
The Cleveland Barons were one of the greatest minor-league hockey teams, playing out of the Cleveland Arena. So were the Cincinnati Mohawks, playing out of the Cincinnati Gardens. But at the major league level, neither city could make it. The California Golden Seals, seeing the new Coliseum in suburban Richfield, moved in 1976, taking the Barons name. But they had no money, and after 2 seasons, they were merged with the Minnesota North Stars.
Likewise, the World Hockey Association had the Cleveland Crusaders and the Cincinnati Stingers. The Crusaders lasted 4 seasons, moving from the Arena to the Coliseum in 1974, and made the Playoffs every season. But when the Seals became the Barons, Crusaders owner Jay White moved them to St. Paul, to become the 2nd version of the Minnesota Fighting Saints. That team folded in midseason. The announcement was made at the airport, as they were about to board a plane -- ironically, for Cincinnati.
There, the Stingers began play in 1975 in the brand-new Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center), and made the Playoffs in 1977 and 1979. They were 1 of the last 6 teams standing as the WHA folded in 1979, but they were not 1 of the 4 teams taken into the NHL: Those were the Quebec Nordiques, the Hartford Whalers, the Winnipeg Jets and the Edmonton Oilers. The Stingers and the Birmingham Bulls folded.
"White flight" meant that, while the metropolitan areas of Cleveland and Cincinnati maintained their populations, the cities themselves had shrunk. Neither one had a big enough population base for an NHL team, expansion or moved. And the Cleveland Arena had been torn down, and neither The Coliseum nor the Gardens nor the Riverfront Coliseum was seen as a viable option. The Gund Arena (now the Rocket Arena) opened in 1994, and a minor-league team became successful there, as in Cincinnati. But neither city was going to get a team.
So while both Cleveland and Cincinnati had minor-league teams, neither was considered big enough of a metropolitan area to support a team by itself. But if it was put in Columbus, an even smaller metro area, it could represent the entire State.
And attendance has never been an issue for the Blue Jackets. Nationwide Arena is in downtown Columbus, 70 miles east of Dayton, 107 miles northeast of Fountain Square in Cincinnati, 142 miles southwest of Public Square in Cleveland, and 142 miles southeast of Toledo. So it's not hard for fans from all over the Buckeye State.
However, the Jackets have not had much success on the ice. It took them until 2009 to make the Playoffs, until 2014 to win a single Playoff game, and 2019 to win a Playoff round. And they have yet to extend Ohio rivalries with other places. They haven't built on Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, or Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates to make Blue Jackets vs. Penguins a big rivalry. Nor have they built on Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons, or Ohio State vs. Michigan, to make Blue Jackets vs. Red Wings a big rivalry. It doesn't help that the Jackets aren't in the same Division as the Wings, although they are with the Pens.
UPDATE: The Blue Jackets have retired one uniform number, 61, for their all-time leading scorer, left wing Rick Nash. They have also raised banners honoring team founding owner John H. McConnell, and left wing Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed along with his brother Matthew when they were hit by a drunk driver in South Jersey in 2024. An All-Star when he was with the Calgary Flames, his Number 13 has been removed from circulation, but not officially retired.
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It is also the night of the 1st game for another expansion team, the Minnesota Wild. They open on the road, at the America West Arena (now the Footprint Center) in Phoenix, and lose to the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-1.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 2-1 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.
* The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1 at the First Union Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.
* The Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes play to a tie, 3-3 at the Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena (now the Lenovo Center).
* The Ottawa Senators beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario.
* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.
* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators, 3-1 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.
* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-3 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.
* And the Colorado Rockies and the Edmonton Oilers play to a tie, 1-1 at the Skyreach Centre, as the Northlands Coliseum was then known, in Edmonton.
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October 7, 2000 was a Saturday. This was also the day the TV show Queen of Swords premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.
It was also the day of Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Benny Agbayani's 13th inning home run ends the longest LDS game ever played to that point, 5 hours and 22 minutes. The dramatic round-tripper by the Mets outfielder, who (like a previous Met, Sid Fernandez) wears Number 50 because he's from Hawaii, the 50th State, gives the Mets a 3-2 victory, and a 2-games-to-1 series advantage over the San Francisco Giants.
In the other NLDS, the St. Louis Cardinals do the Mets a huge favor, completing a 3-game sweep over the team in the Mets' heads, the Atlanta Braves. The Cards win, 7-1 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.
In the American League Division Series, the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Yankees, 11-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum) in Game 4. This ties the series up. But the Yankees win the series the next day. The other ALDS was wrapped up the day before, with the Seattle Mariners sweeping the Chicago White Sox.
And there was college football on the day, including the following games:
* Number 1 Florida State were upset by Number 7 Miami, 27-24 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Hurricanes won the Big East Conference title. Florida State still won the Atlantic Coast Conference title.
* Number 2 Nebraska beat Iowa State, 49-27 at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.
* Number 3 Virginia Tech beat Temple, 35-13 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.
* Number 4 Kansas State beat their arch-rivals, Kansas, 52-13 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.
* Number 5 Clemson beat North Carolina State, 34-27 at Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.
* Number 6 Michigan lost to Purdue, 32-31 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue won the Big 10 Conference title.
* Number 8 Ohio State beat Number 24 Wisconsin, 23-7 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
* Number 10 Oklahoma beat Number 11 Texas, 63-14 in the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Sooners went on to win beat Kansas State for the Big 12 Conference title, and Florida State in the Orange Bowl, and won the National Championship.
* Number 12 Florida beat Louisiana State, 41-9 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators went on to beat Auburn for the Southeastern Conference title, but lost the Sugar Bowl to Miami.
* Number 13 Washington beat Number 23 Oregon State, 33-30 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Washington won the Pacific-10 Conference title, and beat Purdue in the Rose Bowl.
* Number 15 Auburn were upset by Number 20 Mississippi State, 17-10 at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi.
* Number 18 Southern California were upset by Arizona, 31-15 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
* Number 19 Georgia beat Number 21 Tennessee, 21-10 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. Tennessee still ended up going to the Cotton Bowl, but lost it to Kansas State.
* Number 25 Notre Dame beat Stanford, 20-14 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame went to the Fiesta Bowl, but lost to Oregon State.
* Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) beat arch-rival Nevada, 38-7 at Sam Boyd Stadium in the Las Vegas suburb of Whitney, Nevada.
* In a battle between service academies, Air Force beat Navy, 27-13 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
* Army lost to New Mexico State, 42-23 at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
And the last event was held in the 77-year history of the original Wembley Stadium in London. The England national soccer team lost to Germany, 1-0. I have a separate entry for that event.
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