Kings Of The Rink: Remember The Amazing Amarillo Gorillas?

Amarillo has had its fair share of sports teams throughout the years, from hockey to indoor football to baseball teams. We've really had it all.

But do you remember the Amarillo Gorillas? I mean, as a child I vaguely remember seeing the logo around town, but aside from the bits and pieces of my memory that remain--I can't really tell you much about the Amarillo Gorillas.

Apparently, the team's roots go back to 1996 with the creation of the Amarillo Rattlers, a moderately successful hockey team that changed its name to the Amarillo Gorillas around 2002. During their reign, the Gorillas actually had a pretty solid reign, making the Western Professional Hockey League playoffs for 4 years in a row until their 2006-07 season.

Sadly from 06 on, the team would slowly decline both in performance on the rink and in ticket sales until they finally announced that their 2009-10 season would be their last. The team would be succeeded by the Amarillo Bulls who came to Amarillo in 2010, so at least Amarillo would still have a hockey team to occupy the town.

Even though the team is officially gone, for anybody who never had the opportunity to buy Amarillo Gorillas merch it turns out that it's still possible to get yourself some. On websites like vintageicehockey.com you can actually buy hoodies, shirts, and other Amarillo Gorillas memorabilia to get that nostalgic itch if you have one.

Sadly I cannot verify whether the merch sold on the website is authentic Amarillo Gorillas merchandise, but it's all we've got left in terms of options to fill that gorilla-shaped hole in our hearts.