National Brewers

After the completion of the previous season, it became very obvious that the CHL could not survive. Northwest declined to ice a team for a second season in the league. The Columbia Flyers were down several players and doubted that they could operate. The Tuborg Brewers were in even worse shape. The club was still without a sponsor despite efforts from George Bachrach and the roster again suffered from multiple player losses. There was no reason to continue to play as Tuborg, without any brewery money. Discussions began about a combined Brewers and Flyers team. The Orchard Mercurys disbanded and several of their remaining players joined the Baltimore Blazers. Without enough teams to take the ice, the Chesapeake Hockey League folded during the late summer of 1979. The Brewers and Flyers merged operations, but the new team was still without a sponsor, a team name or opponents to play games against. Within this turmoil, the stage was set for the Brewers bleakest season.

At the beginning of September, Brewers coach / manager George Bachrach approached Winner Distributing of Baltimore in an attempt to find a new sponsor. There were other Budweiser distributors in New England backing hockey teams including one known as the Budweiser Kings. This appeal for a Budweiser sponsorship did not provide positive results. On September 6, 1979, Hurricane David did major flooding damage to Northwest Ice Rink. The damage was severe enough that the rink could not open for months which eliminated the game and practice ice time that the team had purchased for many years. With this backdrop, on October 18, George Bachrach signed an agreement with the Colombia Ice Rink. The Brewers team would practice Thursday night at 9:45 to 11:15 PM. This would put the per player cost at $225 for the season. The rink would provide the team with a new set of white jerseys to replace the heavy black Tuborg Gold uniforms. The team names 'Tuborg Brewers' and 'Columbia Flyers' were retired. The new independent team would be named the Columbia Brewers and the jerseys would have 'Columbia' on the front.

The Columbia Brewers really never got a proper start on the season due to multiple distractions. There was enough talent to ice a good hockey team, but the merged team never jelled properly. Former Flyers who were now new Brewers included: Tim O'Neil, Mike Roy, Kevin Owens, Steve Hartman, John Lyons, Rich Kelly, Ed Joeckel, Dick Lean, Dave Henn, Mike Wallace, Brian Kirkwood and Mike O'Neil. Mike Hineline, Terry Bittinger and Hank Phillips joined the club from other CHL teams. Steve Wirth also returned home to the Brewers. John Cotter retired after 10 seasons with the club. Due to the lack of a league and the sponsorship and ice rink problems, it was impossible to schedule the necessary number of games to be competitive. The late practices in Columbia were not always well attended. Additionally, the new white Columbia jerseys did not arrive until December, resulting in the team continuing to wear the black Tuborg shirts until then.

The Brewers opened with a 7-6 win versus Navy, followed by 3 losses to Navy, the Baltimore Blazers and the Bristol Badgers, a team from northeast Philadelphia. During the season, other games were scheduled against Wissahickon, the Wilmington Wheels and Tendler's Eagles. Three northern trips were made and the team finished a short 13 game independent schedule with a 5-8 record, with only 5 real home games, all at Orchard Ice Rink. It was determined as the season progressed that the club needed to play more games to increase the level of player interest. Major changes needed to be made to insure the survival of the Columbia Brewers.