Steve Palumbo: Remembering the Anaheim Bullfrogs and the RHI

Loved RHI. It's no PBH (with the 3-pont line), but it's better than MLRH.

Your own Pat Maroon was an incredible in line player as well as B Ryan, Brad Boyes, the Sweat Brothers in Vancouver, and even Gilbert Brule. Many inline guys made the cross over. Many many others. most of them got their "hands" on the roller rink.

We are officially in the "dog days of summer".

Vancouver Voodoo

Vancouver Voodoo
- Yeti1181

I recall that the Canucks ownership group at the time were pitched an opportunity to own the expansion Vancouver Giants (WHL) but they elected to go with the Voodoo.

Not a great decision.

Nic Kerdiles (Ducks prospect) grew up playing as well. Roller hockey is a good time if you just want to get out there and play some cheap hockey.

I never actually saw an RHI game, but about a year after the league started my friends dad started the Sherwood Park Inline (SPINline) league and we played on the Provincial team. Since his dad started the league and coached the provincial team my friend and I got to pick the team name based off the RHI teams. We ended up going with the Bullfrogs, and to this day every team in provincial, national, or international events from Sherwood Park is still named the Bullfrogs

I have a bullfrogs jersey and a darren perkins stick signed by the whole team.

I remember going to a few of the games in 97-98.

I went to 1 Philadelphia Bulldogs game years back, the quality was "meh" at best.

I played roller hockey all my life growing up. When I was 15, my 15-16 y/o team was the #1 ranked Junior Olympic team in the nation, but we couldn't get to Iowa for the Nationals and some team we repeatedly pummeled ended up winning gold.

I actually played 1 1/2 years for the NJ Riot in MLRH. As much as RHI was "meh", MLRH was way worse. I'm 5'9, 150 lb, and I was able to be fairly reliable in MLRH, never would have made it in RHI. That league eventually became basically a goon league until all the East teams folded and it moved out West, and now it's just refusing to die, because the owner's a huge scumbag who seemingly has unending amounts of cash to throw at it.

We are officially in the "dog days of summer".
- Go Canucks

Officially we have been there for at least 3 weeks.

Loved RHI. It's no PBH (with the 3-pont line), but it's better than MLRH.
- jmatchett383

Oh man PBH was unreal!

Officially we have been there for at least 3 weeks.
- Peterg

Yup, but a post reminiscing about the RHI confirms it.

Never knew they existed ?

Interesting article, mostly accurate.

Steve, I would like to invite you and your readers to the Roller Hockey International Reunion that will take place Saturday, November 16, 2013, at the Knott's Berry Farm Hotel in Buena Park, California.

I covered RHI from 1992 to its demise in 1999, and actually wrote a book about the league.

Contact me at HockeyRG at AOL.com for more info.

Thank you.

Richard Neil Graham
Author of Wheelers, Dealers, Pucks & Bucks: A Rocking History of Roller Hockey International.