Nashville South Stars

Lore & Background

The Nashville South Stars were founded by Larry Schmittou, who was also a principal owner of the Nashville Sounds minor-league baseball team. The team played at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, where the hockey seating configuration was such that spectators seated more than a row back in the seats above and behind the goal lines could not see the nets. It had been 10 years since Nashville's last hockey team, the Nashville Dixie Flyers, played as part of the Eastern Hockey League. The South Stars were the top affiliate of the Minnesota North Stars of the NHL and were coached by Gene Ubriaco, who would later coach the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team reached the CHL playoffs but lost in the first round to the Wichita Wind. After only one season in the CHL, the franchise joined the Atlantic Coast Hockey League for the 1982–83 season, then relocated to Vinton, Virginia during the next season in December 1983.

Reader's Guide

The Nashville South Stars represent a brief but notable chapter in Nashville's hockey history, bridging a ten-year gap after the Nashville Dixie Flyers. As the top affiliate of the Minnesota North Stars, the team served as a developmental platform for NHL talent. Notable personnel included goaltender Don Beaupre, who played five games during an injury rehab posting; Bob Suter, a defenseman from the 1980 U.S. Olympic gold-medal team; and John Tortorella, a right wing who later became a Stanley Cup-winning head coach. Mike Antonovich, a former Minnesota high school star who played in the WHA and later the NHL, also played for the team. Warren Young, a regular member of the 1981–82 team, later benefited from Mario Lemieux's assists in Pittsburgh. The franchise's relocation to Vinton, Virginia in December 1983 ended its Nashville tenure, but the team's legacy includes its role in developing players and coaches who achieved success at higher levels.

Did You Know?

• Goaltender Don Beaupre played in five games for the South Stars during an injury rehab posting.
• Defenseman Bob Suter was a member of the Miracle on Ice U.S. gold-medal team in the 1980 Olympic Winter Games.
• John Tortorella, a right wing for the South Stars in the 1983-84 ACHL season, later became a Stanley Cup winning head coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

A Decade-Long Drought Filled

The Nashville South Stars arrived in the city's hockey scene after a ten-year absence of professional ice hockey, the last having been the Nashville Dixie Flyers in the Eastern Hockey League. The franchise was brought to life by Larry Schmittou, a principal owner of the Nashville Sounds minor-league baseball club, who saw an opportunity to fill that void. The team called Nashville Municipal Auditorium home, though the venue presented a peculiar challenge: the seating arrangement meant that fans sitting more than a row back in the elevated sections behind the goal lines simply could not see the nets. Despite this architectural quirk, the South Stars established themselves as the top affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota North Stars, giving Nashville a tangible link to the major league for the first time in over a decade and rekindling local enthusiasm for the sport.

A Franchise in Motion

The South Stars' existence as a Nashville-based entity was remarkably brief. They competed in the Central Hockey League for the 1981–82 season, reaching the playoffs but falling in the first round to the Wichita Wind. After that single CHL campaign, the franchise crossed over into the Atlantic Coast Hockey League for the 1982–83 season and continued there into the 1983–84 campaign. However, the Nashville chapter came to an abrupt end in December 1983, when the franchise was relocated to Vinton, Virginia, and reborn as the Virginia Lancers. In total, the South Stars endured barely three seasons across two different leagues before the team's identity was severed from the city that had embraced them. The rapid succession of league changes and the eventual relocation underscored how fragile minor-league hockey franchises could be in that era.

A Roster Touched by Hockey History

The South Stars' roster, though short-lived, featured several players whose names would later echo through hockey lore. Bob Suter, a defenseman on the legendary Miracle on Ice U.S. gold-medal squad from the 1980 Winter Olympics, suited up for the team. Right wing John Tortorella played during the 1983–84 ACHL season, a stop on his journey before he would become a Calder Cup-winning coach with the Rochester Americans in 1996 and a Stanley Cup-winning head coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. Mike Antonovich, a former Minnesota high school standout who had starred in the World Hockey Association and later played in the NHL for both the Minnesota North Stars and the New Jersey Devils, also wore the South Stars jersey. Goaltender Don Beaupre appeared in five games during an injury rehabilitation stint, adding another layer of major-league pedigree to the club.

Coaches and Careers That Outlasted the Franchise

Gene Ubriaco, the South Stars' head coach, went on to helm the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL, carrying the experience of coaching in Nashville into the major league. His former player Warren Young followed him to Pittsburgh, where he spent one season benefiting from the playmaking of Mario Lemieux, recording 40 goals before fading into obscurity. The coaching tree extended further: Tortorella, who had played for the South Stars, would build a distinguished career spanning the Calder Cup and Stanley Cup. Even the Suter name carried forward—Bob Suter's son, Ryan, was selected in the first round by the NHL's Nashville Predators in 2003, creating a full-circle connection to the city where his father had once played. The South Stars, though gone for barely three seasons, served as a stepping stone for individuals whose careers would stretch far beyond the Municipal Auditorium.