By Michael Heilman
In 1931, Atlantic City, New Jersey, became home to a hockey team called the Atlantic City Sea Gulls. They started in the Interstate Ice Hockey League for one season before joining the Tri-State Hockey League in 1932. From 1933 till 1952, the Sea Gulls played in the Eastern Hockey League until they folded after the 1951-52 season. Since then, there was no hockey team in Atlantic City.
That was until in 2001 when the Birmingham Bulls relocated to Atlantic City and renamed themselves the Boardwalk Bullies. At that time in 2001, Atlantic City had several sports teams. The Atlantic City Surf of the ALPB, Atlantic City Sea Gulls of the United States Basketball League, and in 2004 the Atlantic City Cardsharks of the NIFL.
In their first year in Atlantic City, the Boardwalk Bullies finished in third place in the Northeast Division with a record of 42-22-8 and would lose in the fourth round of the Kelly Cup playoffs to the Dayton Bombers three games to one. Boardwalk Bullies left-winger Luke Curtin led the team in scoring with 27 goals and 45 assists.
The team reached new heights in their second year, winning the Northeast Division with a record 41-19-12. They would end the season as Kelly Cup champions defeating the Columbia Inferno four games to one. Right-winger J.F. Caudron led the team with 39 goals and 46 assists.
After winning the Kelly Cup, the Boardwalk Bullies would continue to be in the hunt for another Kelly Cup championship. However, they would fall short in the 2003-04 season despite winning more games than the previous two at 47-19-6 to the Peoria Rivermen in the first round 3 games to one. Luke Curtin led the team with 33 goals and 45 assists.
As Atlantic City was rapidly declining, so did the sports in Atlantic City. In their final year at Boardwalk Hall in 2004-05 season, the Boardwalk Bullies would finish in third place in the Northern division. Once again, they would exit in the first round by in-state rivals Trenton Titans. Forward Jason Notermann led the team with 28 goals and 27 assists. After the season, the team was sold and relocated to Stockton, CA, and renamed the Stockton Thunder. By that point, the Sea Gulls basketball team had already folded, the Surf would switch leagues but would ultimately fold after the 2008 season.
The Boardwalk Bullies played four years at Boardwalk Hall with a record of 288-172-82. They had several players make it to the NHL, including Kevin Colley, Carl Corazzini, Brian Fahey, Daniel Lacroix, Adam Munro, Geoff Platt, and Matthew Yeats.
Since then, there have been some hockey games at Boardwalk Hall as when the Albany Devils had four regular-season games, an AHL All-Star game, and a charity game during the NHL lockout. While those games were going on, many fans came wearing Boardwalk Bullies gear, and the championship banner still stands at Boardwalk Hall. The Stockton Thunder would relocate to Glens Falls, NY, and became the Adirondack Thunder in 2015. Like the Atlantic City Surf, the Boardwalk Bullies left a significant footprint in Atlantic City and will never be forgotten.
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