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History Brief

Fear of European immigration seeping into the country through Canada led US Attorney General Mitchell Palmer to convince brewer Casey Lyman to legitimize his business and invest in Franchise #15, which in 1926 was based near Toronto. That brought the Newmarket EH's across the border to Portsmouth, where they stayed until 1935. With the Red Scare and Prohibition a distant memory, Lyman returned to brewing, raising funds by selling his team to Jim Beeman, who moved the team to Covington for the 1934 season. In the winter of 1952-53, Lyman reinvested in Franchise #15 as a commercial tie-in with his brewery. Ten years later, the team was re-purchased by Newmarket's Canadian Hockey tycoon, Ed Hebscher.