Florida Rockets / Jacksonville Rockets
The Jacksonville Rockets, sometimes known as the Florida Rockets, were Florida's first professional hockey team. For the 1964-65 season, they joined the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) at the Jacksonville Coliseum.
St. Petersburg was also interested in a hockey franchise at the time and played neutral site games with other EHL teams during the season. The Jacksonville Rockets played a portion of their games in St. Pete at the Bayfront Arena and changed their name to the Florida Rockets to represent the fact that they were a two-city club. They were also scheduled to play at West Palm Beach (thus the three stars on the emblem), but that did not happen. They never ended with a record above .500 in eight seasons, although they did qualify for the playoffs three times. They went bankrupt in the summer of 1972, a year before the EHL itself went under.
St. Petersburg was also interested in a hockey franchise at the time and played neutral site games with other EHL teams during the season. The Jacksonville Rockets played a portion of their games in St. Pete at the Bayfront Arena and changed their name to the Florida Rockets to represent the fact that they were a two-city club. They were also scheduled to play at West Palm Beach (thus the three stars on the emblem), but that did not happen. They never ended with a record above .500 in eight seasons, although they did qualify for the playoffs three times. They went bankrupt in the summer of 1972, a year before the EHL itself went under.
