World Roller Hockey League

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You’d have to have a very good memory to recall the World Roller Hockey League.  It lasted just two months but it will always be a part of the Disney-MGM Studios history.

The game is similar to ice hockey but tried to capitalize on the popularity of inline skates.  The league was created by promoter David McLane and played inside the Disney-MGM Studios as part of a partnership between Disney and ESPN.   The games were played with a ball instead of a hockey puck and were held on an outdoor rink on a SportCourt surface.  Games were taped and later broadcast on ESPN.

Walt Disney Studios head Bob Lamb, ESPN president and CEO Steve Bornstein, Goofy and David McLane announce the formation of the WRHL at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park and broadcast on ESPN

The league had 8 teams

  • Aztecs
  • Blast
  • Express
  • Fury
  • Titans
  • Turbos
  • Typhoon
  • Wave

 

Following the league’s first televised season, ESPN and DME merged the WRHL with a second upstart league to form Roller Hockey International but games were no longer held at the Disney-MGM Studios.  After just 28 games, the World Roller Hockey League was gone but some may remember this small part of the Studios history.