Club History

In the early 1960's a program of amateur youth ice hockey began to take shape under the leadership and inspiration of Messrs. Charlie Plitt and Mike Martin. These early efforts centered around the outdoor ice rink at Baltimore' s Memorial Stadium and evolved into the Baltimore Boys' Hockey Program (BBHP). The program shifted its place of operations to the newly constructed Orchard Ice Rink in Towson, Maryland in 1964. In these earlier years, the BBHP constituted the only amateur youth ice hockey organization in the State of Maryland. 

Through the late 1960's, the Baltimore Boys' Hockey Program grew and prospered at the Orchard Rink. House leagues, consisting of four teams each, for the Squirt through Midget/Juvenile Divisions, were operated on an annual basis. In addition, the BBHP sponsored competitive "All-Star" teams selected from the players in the various house divisions. These teams competed on a very successful basis throughout the East Coast and as far away as Canada. 

By 1973 the construction of new ice rinks and the rise of new hockey programs in the Maryland area caused a temporary decline in the number of skaters participating in the BBHP and in the overall quality of the program itself. 

As a result, the program was reorganized and rechristened with a new name in the spring of 1977. A corporate charter and by-laws were filed with the State of Maryland creating the Orchard Youth Hockey Club, Inc. Program colors and a new program logo were adopted. Finally, the Orchard Youth Hockey Club sought and was granted admission to the Capital Beltway Hockey League (CBHL) . 

The program thrived and grew in numbers. The four-team house leagues remained as the bedrock of our organization. In addition, our competitive travel teams, the Orchard Mercurys, competed very successfully in the CBHL and have traveled for tournament competition in several adjoining states. A well developed instructional clinic for Atoms (ages 3-6) and Mites (ages 7-8) was added to the program and attracted large numbers of new skaters each year. 

With the conversion of the Orchard Rink to roller skating in 1983 the club faced the struggle of not having a home rink but was able to overcome it with aid from Baltimore City and a newly built ice rink, Mt. Pleasant Ice Arena. Again, the club reorganized to reflect the changing times as the Baltimore Youth Hockey Club (BYHC) and changed the name of its flagship teams to the Baltimore Stars.

The non-profit Baltimore Stars Girls program has been a cornerstone of girl's hockey in central Maryland since 2003. Early in its history, the Stars joined with other local clubs to recruit more girls into the elite Susquehanna Rapids program. The Rapids enjoyed success with both Tier I and Tier II teams, as well as developmental squads. The program later returned to its roots as the Baltimore Stars, and committed itself to offering excellent coaching to girls of all levels of skill, while still seeking to build elite teams. The program fosters solid skills development, a supportive and competitive environment, and a welcoming culture for girls ages 6 to 19. 

In 2004 BYHC founded the post-season Ponytail Tournament, the first of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic. Now in its 23rd year, the Ponytail has drawn girls and women’s teams from all over the United States.