The Macon Whoopees, a minor league professional ice hockey team, emerged in 1973 and only played in the 1973-1974 Southern Hockey League (SHL) Season. The team’s name, Macon Whoopee, was inspired by Davis Day’s recording of ‘Makin’ Whoopee. The team’s mascot was a whooping crane pestered by a mischievous bee, a double entendre of “the birds and the bees.”
The Whoopees were based in Macon and played home games at the Macon Coliseum. After a record 22 wins, 38 losses, and two ties, the Whoopees folded in 1974 due to underfunding.
The book “Once Upon a Whoopee” by Ed Grisamore and Bill Buckley details the unique founding and disbanding of the Macon Whoopee Hockey team. The book says, “The Macon Whoopees were built on a dream and a song.”
After a 22-year hiatus, this dream became a reality when the Macon Whoopees resurrected in 1996, playing in the Central Hockey League (CHL) from 1996 to 2001. The team went bankrupt after enduring several owners and financial losses.
Later efforts to continue professional hockey in Macon came in the form of the Macon Trax and then the Macon Mayhem, emerging in the 2015-16 Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) and is still an active team.
Although the Whoopees were short-lived, they had a long-lasting impact on Macon and America’s sports folklore. The Macon Whoopees are more than just a hockey team; they tell the story of Macon’s unique love affair with Southern Hockey.
1. Whoopi Goldberg autographed the ceremonial first puck used at the Macon Whoopee’s season-opening game in 1996.
Whoopi is a fan of the Macon Whoopee! The Tampa Bay Times documented that Goldberg had agreed to autograph three pucks to be used in the Whoopee’s season-opening game on Oct. 31, 1996. In return, Goldberg asked for the first puck used in the opener against the Nashville Nighthawks to be kept as a memento. Macon Whoopee owner Pat Nugent happily fulfilled this request, even having all of the team members sign the puck before sending it to Goldberg. Nugent invited the actress to attend the first game; however, she had previous commitments.
2. Whoopees were written about in Sports Illustrated magazine and mentioned by Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show.’’
In 2015, Sports Illustrated magazine mentioned Macon Whoopee and the team logo in an article honoring 10 of the wackiest hockey team names. “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is an American late-night talk show that ruled late-night TV for four decades. The Macon Telegraph article “Long Live – and Love – The Macon Whoopees” confirms that Carson once mentioned the Macon Whoopee Hockey team in an episode of “The Tonight Show.”
3. President Richard Nixon had a Whoopees T-shirt at the White House.
The Telegraph states that the 37th US President Richard Nixon owned a Whoopees T-shirt at the White House. In 1973, in an attempt to disentangle himself from the Watergate scandal and improve his political situation, Nixon went on a five-day trip through the South. On this trip, Nixon visited Macon and gave an improvised speech in the Willingham Chapel of Mercer University, visited the Robins Air Force Base, and gave a speech at the celebration of Mercer University School of Law’s 100th anniversary and the 90th birthday of graduate Carl Vinson.
4. The Whoopee’s original coach, Keke Mortson, was the first hockey player to wear the number 99.
In 1999, the resurrected Macon Whoopee team retired the jersey of original coach Cleland “KeKe” Mortson to honor his life, legacy, and impressive professional hockey career that spanned over 27 years. KeKe Mortson, a former Houston Aeros hockey player, led the Whoopees as a player, head coach, and general manager. He was the Whoopee’s leading scorer, with 24 goals and 51 assists in 59 games. The Whoopee’s on-ice battle cry at the time was “KeKe, KeKe, KeKe — Whoopee!” KeKe was known for being the first professional hockey player to wear No. 99, a number later made famous by the legend Wayne Gretzky.
5. The Macon Whoopee’s home stadium, the Macon Coliseum, was raided by the IRS in 1974.
The first edition of the Whoopees ran from the team’s entrance into the league on July 4. 1973, until Feb. 14, 1974. On that Valentine’s Day, the Macon Whoopee team was shut down by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for failure to pay taxes. Agents from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) swarmed the Macon Coliseum, busting in through the locker rooms and seizing everything from hockey sticks and pucks to aspirin. It felt somewhat appropriate and ironic that the IRS chose to raid the Macon Whoopee’s home stadium on the day of love. The IRS was among the many entities that the Whoopees owed money. Unfortunately, the Whoopees were severely underfunded, as the team’s owner, Jerry Pinkerton, had bought the franchise with borrowed money.
