Ray Miron is the former owner of the new
Central Hockey LeagueThe Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....
, founded in 1992 by Miron and William "Bill" Levins, as well as a former
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
executive, serving in the
Toronto Maple LeafsThe Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
organization and as General Manager of the
Colorado Rockies (NHL)The Colorado Rockies were an American professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League that played in Denver, Colorado, from 1976 to 1982. They were a relocation of the Kansas City Scouts, a 1974 expansion team. The franchise moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1982 and was...
. They founded the league under the concept of central ownership of all the teams. Miron had previously coached in the "old" Central Hockey League (1963-1984). He also was president of the league for three weeks, before leaving to accept the role of GM with the Rockies.
Miron served as the president of the new league after Levin's death. He sold the league in 2000. In recognition of his importance to the league, the championship trophy, formerly known as the Levin's Cup, was renamed to the Ray Miron Cup. After the CHL merged with the competing
Western Professional Hockey LeagueThe Western Professional Hockey League is a defunct minor professional ice hockey league.It operated in the United States from 1996 to 2001, with teams in the southern United States, mainly Texas. The league started with six teams in the 1996-1997 season and grew to 18 teams in 1999-2000...
, the trophy was renamed to the "
Ray Miron President's CupThe Ray Miron President's Cup goes to the play-off champion of the Central Hockey League. The Ray Miron President's Cup has been awarded to teams since 2002. Prior to 2002, the playoff winner was awarded the Ray Miron Cup. The current cup is named after Ray Miron, one of the league's co-founders...
." In 2004, Miron was awarded the
Lester Patrick TrophyThe Lester Patrick Trophy has been presented by the National Hockey League and USA Hockey since 1966 to honor a recipient's contribution to ice hockey in the United States. It is considered a non-NHL trophy because it may be awarded to players, coaches, officials, and other personnel outside the NHL...
by the NHL, a recognition he described as his "greatest hockey accomplishment." Today, Miron is retired and resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Personal life
Miron was born in 1929 in
Cornwall, OntarioCornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He played hockey growing up and played in the minor leagues. Miron has said he wasn't a strong enough skater to make it in the NHL. While working in a Canadian plant during World War II, Miron was in a mustard gas accident. The accident left much of his body covered in mustard acid, which severely burned him and left him in a hospital for months.
Miron met his wife Rowena in the 1950s. Rowena died in 2004. They have two children and four grandchildren; their son Monte Miron served as commissioner of the CHL from 1992-2000.