The Southern League was the top-flight ice 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...

 league in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 from 1970, when it was formed as the counterpart to the Scottish Northern League

Northern League (ice hockey, 1967)

The Northern League was the top-flight ice hockey league in Scotland and initially northern England, from 1966. In 1982 it merged with the Inter-City League and the English League North to form the British Hockey League....

. In 1978, it was replaced by the English League North

English League North

The English League North was the top-flight ice hockey league in northern England from 1978, when it alongside the English League South it replaced the Southern League. In 1982, it was replaced by the British Hockey League, running on a national basis....

 and English League South.

In 1976-7, a "B" league was run, while a junior league was also contested in most seasons.

Champions

• 1970-71: Sussex Senators Coached by ex Paisley player Scot - Joe Conway led the senators on their first season. All games played away as ther was no home rink. Brighton was a silver blades rink for figure skating.

Players such as Mike OBrien,Jim Thomson,John Rost,John Baxter played during the 2 seasons that Senators won the league.

• 1971-72: Sussex Senators
• 1972-73: Altrincham Aces
  Altrincham Aces
  The Altrincham Aces were a semi-professional and amateur ice hockey team based out of the old Altrincham Ice Rink, situated on Devonshire Road in Altrincham, a large town located just south of Manchester and Salford...
  
  
• 1973-74: Streatham Redskins
  Streatham Redskins
  The Streatham Redskins are a British ice hockey club based in Streatham, London, England. Amongst the oldest British ice hockey teams still in existence, they were oginally founded in 1932 as Streatham, and added the name Redskins in 1974. During the 1980s, the club were one of the leading teams in...
  
  
• 1974-75: Streatham Redskins
  Streatham Redskins
  The Streatham Redskins are a British ice hockey club based in Streatham, London, England. Amongst the oldest British ice hockey teams still in existence, they were oginally founded in 1932 as Streatham, and added the name Redskins in 1974. During the 1980s, the club were one of the leading teams in...
  
  
• 1975-76: Streatham Redskins
  Streatham Redskins
  The Streatham Redskins are a British ice hockey club based in Streatham, London, England. Amongst the oldest British ice hockey teams still in existence, they were oginally founded in 1932 as Streatham, and added the name Redskins in 1974. During the 1980s, the club were one of the leading teams in...
  
  
• 1976-77: Streatham Redskins
  Streatham Redskins
  The Streatham Redskins are a British ice hockey club based in Streatham, London, England. Amongst the oldest British ice hockey teams still in existence, they were oginally founded in 1932 as Streatham, and added the name Redskins in 1974. During the 1980s, the club were one of the leading teams in...
  
  
• 1977-78: Solihull Barons
  Solihull Barons
  Solihull Barons are an English ice hockey team from the town of Solihull who play at Solihull Ice Rink on Hobbs Moat Road. They were formed in 2005, although they are named after the team of the same name who played at the same ice rink between 1972 and 1996...