History
The Western had been a part of the Big '10' until 1956, when the Eastern and Western conference were split into separate leagues—the Eastern becoming the Central, the Western becoming the Western League.
In 1968, the St. Thomas Barons, Sarnia Legionnaires, Guelph Imperials, Chatham Maroons and Brantford Foresters broke away from the Ontario Hockey Association to form a Junior "A" League known as the Western Ontario Junior A Hockey League. A year later, the OHA pulled together a bunch of local teams (the Waterloo Siskins, Stratford Warriors, Sarnia Bees, St.Marys Lincolns and the London Squires) as well as the return of the Strathroy Rockets (who had joined the Central Junior B league for a season) and formed a new Western Ontario Junior "B" Hockey League.
According to the WOJHL history, a re-organization of Ontario's Jr. B hockey teams occurred prior to the 1978/79 with the folding of the short lived Southwestern Junior B Hockey League and the Mid-Ontario Junior B Hockey League. The realignment meant that the OHA had consolidated the Southern Ontario region from 7 to 5 Junior "B" leagues. Although this marks the birth of the modern Western Ontario Jr. B league, the teams in the league did not change. In 1989, the Metro league went renegade and eventually became a Tier II Junior "A" league. In 1993, the Central league was promoted to Tier II Junior "A" as well. Since then, the OHA has operated with 3 Junior "B" leagues, but due to the talent level of these 3 league there has been a recent push to bring all three leagues to the Tier II Junior "A" level and allow for a new realignment.
From 1999 until 2001, the league changed its name to the Greater Ontario Hockey League in an attempt to drop the "Junior B" designation . The league has since referred to itself as the Western Ontario Hockey League.
In 2007, the WOHL merged with the Mid-Western Junior Hockey League and the Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League to become the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975–76 season. An unrelated OHA Jr. A Spitfires team, founded in 1946, moved to become the Hamilton Tiger Cubs in 1953 and went through other iterations/moves to become the present OHL Erie Otters in 1996.
The Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League was a Junior "C" ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association. The champion of the Great Lakes competed for the All-Ontario Championship and the Clarence Schmalz Cup. It is now a division in the Provincial Junior Hockey League.
The Mid-Western Junior Hockey League (MWJHL) was a junior ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association from 1973 until 2007. In 2007, the league became a division of the newly formed Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League along with the Western Ontario Hockey League and Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League.
The Chatham Memorial Arena is an ice hockey arena located in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1949. The arena seats approximately 2,500 spectators and is the home to the Chatham Maroons of the Western Ontario Hockey League. Located in a residential area on the south side of Chatham, the Memorial Arena has seen numerous renovations in the past ten years, the most recent addition being the installation of a larger, more modern score clock as well as improved lighting.
In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I and Tier II. In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate independently of the OHA. Finally in 1980, the OMJHL became the Ontario Hockey League.
The Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League was a Tier II Junior "A" ice hockey that lasted from the late 1960s until 1977 in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league was swallowed by what is now called the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League in 1977.
The Stratford Warriors are a junior ice hockey team based in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The team was originally named the Warriors but was changed to Culliton in 1975 in honour of the team sponsor the Culliton brothers. The sponsorship from the Culliton brothers ended in 2016, bringing the name "Warriors" back to the city.
The Chatham Maroons are a junior ice hockey team based in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The Maroons were the 1970 Western Ontario Junior A Champions and 1973 Southern Ontario Junior A Champions. The Maroons have won multiple Junior B league titles and the 1999 Sutherland Cup as Ontario Hockey Association Junior B Champions.
The Leamington Flyers are a junior ice hockey team based in Leamington, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. They are an affiliate of the Ontario Hockey League's Flint Firebirds.
The Sarnia Legionnaires are a junior ice hockey team based in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The LaSalle Vipers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in LaSalle, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. As a franchise, the Vipers are two-time Sutherland Cup provincial champions, two-time Great Lakes champions and five-time Western Ontario champions.
The Niagara Falls Flyers were a Tier II Junior "A" ice hockey team and member of the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League. The team played home games at the Niagara Falls Memorial Arena in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
The Sarnia Sailors are a defunct Canadian semi-professional and amateur senior ice hockey team. The team played in the City of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada and participated in the International Hockey League and the OHA Senior A Hockey League afterwards.
The Hamilton Mountain A's are a defunct Junior "A" ice hockey team from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They were a part of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League.
The Sarnia Legionnaires were a Canadian junior ice hockey team that won five Western Jr. 'B' Hockey League championships and four Sutherland Cups as Ontario Hockey Association Junior B champions in the 16 seasons they operated out of Sarnia, Ontario from 1954 until 1970. The club folded after two unsuccessful years as a Tier II Jr. 'A' team. The original Legionnaires were one of the most successful junior teams in Canadian hockey history, playing out of the Western Ontario Junior A and B Hockey Leagues. Counting the Sutherland Cup they won when they were known as the Sarnia Sailors, the franchise won five titles in 20 years, beginning with the 1950-51 campaign. They were founded as members of the Big 10 Junior B Hockey League.
The Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League was a top tier Canadian Senior ice hockey league in Ontario from 1890 until 1979. The league was sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and its clubs competed for the Allan Cup.
The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association, Ontario Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. The league is considered Junior B by the OHA, although it has attempted several times to be promoted to Junior A.
The Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League was a Canadian Junior ice hockey league based in Ontario and sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. The league operated from 1972 until 1987. This league was the forerunner to the current Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League that was promoted in 1993. From 1972 until 1977, the OPJHL shared their region with the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League.
The Toronto Nationals are a pair of defunct Tier II Junior "A" & Junior "B" ice hockey teams from Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. They were a part of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League and the Metro Junior B Hockey League.
The Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league spanning parts of Southern Ontario. The PJHL is the third tier of the Ontario Hockey Association and is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada. The league was formed in 2016 with the merging of eight Junior C leagues. PJHL teams compete for the Clarence Schmalz Cup.
