The team was founded when the Troy Bruins of the International Hockey League were relocated by owner Ken Wilson and admitted to the EHL, to play in the recently built Greensboro Coliseum.

[2] The Generals debut game at the coliseum was a 4–1 victory versus Washington, played on November 11, 1959, in front of a crowd of 3,014.

In the spring of 1971, Bain and his partners sold the Generals to Tedd Munchak, owner of the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association.

[2] At the end of the season, the Generals along with three other teams, announced that they would leave the EHL to form the Southern Hockey League.

[5] The Generals moved to the smaller Piedmont Arena in 1975 due to financial difficulty,[3] and Ronnie Spong returned as head coach.