Minneapolis Mighty Millers

The Minneapolis Mighty Millers are a historic team from Minnesota, and existed in many leagues from 1923 through 1961. They started in AHA in 1923 and swapped between the CHL and AHA in the ensuing years, winning the AHA title in 1928 and 1937. For their 1928 title run, they were coached by Hall of Famer Lyle Wright. After a brief hiatus during the war, they would return as a USHL team for the 1945-46, and would later win that league in 1950. At that time, Minneapolis had three USHL teams, with the Millers playing along with the Minneapolis Jerseys and Minneapolis Bermans.

After spending most of the 50s in the USHL, the team moved to the IHL for 1959-60 when the Denver Mavericks came to town and renamed themselves the Millers. The Millers would play three more seasons in the IHL. In 1960-61, they would win 50 games led by player/coach Ken Yackel who had 114 points to lead the team. Yackel, who was on the 1952 Olympics team, would put up a whopping 312 points in three seasons with the Millers. He would later be inducted in the the Hall of Fame. Despite the a combined 96 wins and Yackel's points, the Millers would bow out in the first round of the playoffs in both 1961 and 1962. In 1963, they would finally find playoff success by reaching the Finals. This time it wasn't only Yackel but also long time IHL player and coach Moe Bartoli who notched 130 points to lead the team. Unfortunately for the Millers, they would lose in the finals to the Fort Wayne Komets and fold after the season.