The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by
Tommy Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1937 to 1972. Lockhart, who operated a small intramural hockey league at New York City's Madison Square Garden, offered his teams – and the use of the MSG ice – in exchange for joining the league. The EAHL operated between 1933–1948 and 1949–1953. The league had a somewhat tenuous existence. It began with seven teams, and had various numbers of teams, going as low as four. There was no 1948–49 season, but the league returned for the 1949–50 season with eight teams. The league again did not operate during the 1953–54 season.
Teams •
Atlantic City Seagulls (1932–33 to 1941–42) •
Atlantic City Seagulls [second franchise] (1947–48 to 1951–52) •
Baltimore Blades / Clippers (1944–45 to 1949–50) •
Baltimore Orioles (1933–34 to 1941–42) •
Boston Olympics (1940–41 to 1951–52) •
Bronx Tigers (1933–34 to 1933–34; 1937–38) •
Brooklyn Crescents (1943–44) •
Cleveland Knights (1949–50) •
Crescent-Hamilton Athletic Club (1933–34 to 1934–35) •
Grand Rapids Rockets (1949–50) •
Hershey B'ars / Bears (1933–34 to 1937–38) •
Hershey Cubs (1938–39) •
Johnstown Blue Birds (1941–42) •
Johnstown Jets (1950–51 to 1952–53) •
Milwaukee Clarks (1949–50) •
New Haven Eagles (1943–44) •
New Haven Tomahawks / Nutmegs (1951–53) •
New York Athletic Club (1933–34) •
New York Rovers (1935–36 to 1951–52) •
Philadelphia Falcons (1942–43 to 1945–46; 1951–52) •
Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets (1935–36 to 1936–37) •
River Vale Skeeters (1939–40 to 1941–42) •
St. Nicholas Hockey Club (1933–34) •
Springfield Indians (1951–52 to 1952–53) •
Toledo Buckeyes (1949–50) •
Troy Uncle Sam's Trojans (1952–53) •
United States Coast Guard Cutters (1942–43) •
Washington Eagles (1939–40 to 1941–42) •
Washington Lions (1944–45 to 1946–47; 1951–52 to 1952–53)
Timeline ==Eastern Hockey League (1954–1973)==