The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies were an ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

 hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team in Atlantic City

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 from 2001 to 2005. The team's venue was the historic Boardwalk Hall

Boardwalk Hall

Boardwalk Hall, formally known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is an arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States...

, which seats 6,979.

In 2001, the franchise played its inaugural season in Atlantic City after relocating from Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

, where it was known as the Birmingham Bulls

Birmingham Bulls (ECHL)

The Birmingham Bulls were a minor professional ice hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League from 1992 to 2001. Their home arena was the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center. The team moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey and was renamed the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies in 2001...

. In 2003, the team won the Kelly Cup

Kelly Cup

The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the play-off champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup. The current cup is named after Patrick J. Kelly, the league's first commissioner. The cup is loaned to the winning...

, beating the Columbia Inferno

Columbia Inferno

The Columbia Inferno are an ECHL team based in Columbia, South Carolina. The team is currently on voluntary suspension awaiting construction of a new arena in suburban Lexington County. They played their home games at the Carolina Coliseum. They planned on playing in a new arena during the...

 in the finals.

Even though the Bullies found success on the ice, the team's attendance was poor. In its championship season, attendance averaged slightly above 3,000 per game. During the 2005 season, the franchise was sold to an ownership group from Stockton, California

Stockton, California

Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...

. The team moved and was renamed the Stockton Thunder

Stockton Thunder

The Stockton Thunder are a minor league professional ice hockey team from Stockton, California. The Thunder are a member of the ECHL, and began playing in the 2005–06 season. The Stockton Arena is their home ice, providing a capacity for 9,737 fans...

for the 2005–06 season.