NORFOLK, Va. — I first met Blake Cullen when he came into my office in 1989. After 23 years in front offices in major league baseball, he wanted to know if I thought minor league hockey would work in Hampton Roads. Of course, I told him probably not, but good luck with that. Apparently he didn't need any luck. What a success story the Hampton Roads Admirals turned out to be.
Cullen died early this morning after battling health issues for years. He was 85.
When Cullen stepped away as owner in 1996, he had this to say, "The seven years that I spent here are by far the happiest of my sports career and that includes the 23 years I spent in the major leagues. I just hope everybody here realizes how affordable and how much fun this level of sports is."
Those early Admirals team were a phenomenon. They won three ECHL championships and at a time were selling out Scope every Friday night. Take it from Dennis McEwen the first player to sign a contract with the Admirals in 1989, "He kept it basic. He kept it affordable. It was great. Friday night hockey, Friday night in Norfolk became a thing."
The first stroke of genius was the idea to bring hockey to Hampton Roads. Secondly, he hired John Brophy the fiery, charismatic former NHL coach to take care of the hockey. John Rhamstine was a long-time friend to Blake Cullen and helped worked out the original contract between Cullen and the Norfolk Scope. "You put this coach and Blake with his business acumen and a team that was willing to mix it up on the ice and the fans ate that stuff up."
For the most part, Cullen was a :behind the scenes kind" of guy. Rhamstine knew him as well as anybody, "He was a very cerebral man. He went to Cornell. He was quiet, but after you get to know him and you get to sit down and talk with him, he was incredibly intelligent and would do anything for his friends. He was a very generous man."
There is a time and place for everything. Cullen was the right man at the right time for sports in Hampton Roads.