Speakers: Phil Esposito and Henry Paul

When you talk about the Tampa Bay Lightning, you think about three Stanley Cup championship teams, a perennial playoff contender and constant sellout crowds in downtown Tampa.

Were you there for the beginning?

On Wednesday, Sept. 10 at the Palma Ceia Country Club, during the Sports Club of Tampa Bay’s monthly meeting, Lightning founder Phil Esposito and former vice president Henry Paul will regale us with tales of how the franchise came to be and how it navigated the inaugural National Hockey League season of 1992-93.

The first season was played at the Florida State Fairgrounds’ Expo Hall at a rink that wasn’t even NHL-regulation size (Phil, wink-wink, will undoubtedly tell us more). It was a madcap introduction to the sport that soon became a Tampa Bay sports love affair.

If you like excellent food and a great time, this night is for you. The buffet dinner ($29) will be served at 6 p.m., followed by the Esposito/Paul memories, then a question-and-answer session.

We encourage you to attend. And if you’re not a Sports Club member, we’d love you to join our ranks of sports-loving, civic-minded residents. We meet each month with a dinner and guest speaker.