Dennis Maruk looked the tough-as-nails hockey player part as he roamed the ice at the former Richfield Coliseum. Wearing a bushy Fu Manchu mustache, the NHL center spent two seasons with the Cleveland Barons from 1976 to 1978. What the 5-foot-8 Toronto native lacked in stature, he made up for with grit.
“I had to produce and perform because I finally made it to the NHL,” Maruk says. “I wanted to stay there.”
In his two years here, he led the Barons in goals and assists.
Maruk made his NHL debut with the California Golden Seals in 1975, but minority owner and Clevelander George Gund III helped the team relocate to Cleveland the next season. The city, which flirted with joining the NHL for 40 years, finally had a team.
But fewer than 9,000 people took in the home opener 40 years ago this month. The team rarely won and struggled financially. Once, players went a month without paychecks and almost missed a 1978 game because their insurance hadn’t been paid.
“This is the NHL,” Maruk recalls thinking. “What kind of deal is this?”
The Barons merged into the NHL’s Minnesota North Stars in 1978, and Maruk was traded to the Washington Capitals.
“You have to respect the great fans that did show up and did come to the games,” Maruk says. “I was a Cleveland Baron, and I’ll always remember that.”
For 2 Years in the 1970s, Cleveland Had an NHL Team
Center Dennis Maruk led the Cleveland Barons in goals and assists during the team's short stint.
