In January 1970, the newspaper sponsored a bus trip to a Cleveland Barons game. The ad above appeared in the Journal on Thursday, January 8, 1970.
It was a pretty good deal: one ticket to the Jan. 17th game against the Montreal Voyageurs, and transportation to and from the Cleveland Arena, on a chartered bus, all for $4.50.
The first Baron game bus outing was a success, and a second event was planned. The ad below appeared in the Journal on Feb. 3, 1970. This game was against the Hershey Bears and was designated “Lorain County Day” at the Arena.
(Unlike the Barons and the Voyageurs, the Hershey Bears are still around. In fact, according to their Wiki entry, "The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still playing in its original city.”)
And here’s another ad for the same promotion. It appeared in the Journal on Feb. 13, 1970.
The Morning Journal should consider reviving this promotion as an advertising gimmick. Cleveland Monster hockey games are fun to watch, but I’m sure navigating the way there and finding decent parking scares off a lot of potential customers.
I’m heading to a Monsters game later this month to see them play the Toronto Marlies. Unfortunately, I’ll be rooting for the Marlies. (I’m a big Toronto Maple Leaf fan and the Marlies are their AHL farm team.)
Anyway, I had to chuckle at the hockey illustration in the first two Journal ads. It’s the exact same art we have on file at work in our Harry Volk clip art collection from 1958.
