World Hockey Association (1973-1974)
Tombstone
Born: November 20, 1973 – (New York Golden Blades become the Jersey Knights)1WHA’s Golden Blades become Knighted, AP via The Star Phoenix, Saskatoon, SK, Nov. 21, 1973
Moved: February 28, 1974 (relocation to San Diego for 1974-75 season announced)2Knights Move to San Diego, AP via The Gazette, Montreal, QC, March 1, 1974
First Game: November 25, 1973 (W 3-1 vs Quebec Nordiques)
Last Game: April 4, 1974 (L 6-4 @ Los Angeles Sharks)
AVCO World Trophy Championships: None
Arena
Cherry Hill Arena, Cherry Hill, NJ
Opened: 1959
Closed: 1979
Demolished: 19843Cherry Hill: A Brief History, Mike Mathis & Lisa Mangiafico, The History Press, 2010
Marketing
Team Colors: Orange, blue, and white4TruColor.net
Ownership
Owner(s):
- WHA (1973)
- Joe Schwartz (1974-1976)
Background
The Jersey Knights were The Garden State’s first pro hockey team. They were established when the New York Golden Blades of the World Hockey Association (WHA) moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, across the river not from the Big Apple, but Philadelphia. The latter had been home to the Philadelphia Blazers for the 1972-73 season but moved to Vancouver at the end of that campaign.
If you can make it there
The Knights started as the New York Raiders, a charter member of the WHA in 1972. The new league had hoped to place the team in the brand-new Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale on Long Island. However, arena operators balked as they hoped to land a National Hockey League (NHL) team. Before the WHA could drop its first puck, the older league awarded an expansion franchise to New York on November 9, 19715Hockey Expands Again, AP, via The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA, November 10, 1971. Atlanta was awarded a team on the same day.
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Jersey Knights apparel
The first pro hockey team in the Garden State was the Jersey Knights. They only lasted about four months before loading up the truck and moving to Southern California. Celebrate the Knights in apparel from Royal Retros. Get high-quality replica jerseys and T-shirts online today!
The NHL’s New York expansion team, later named the Islanders, took up residence in the Nassau Coliseum, forcing the WHA’s Raiders to find another arena. They wound up in Madison Square Garden as tenants of the NHL’s other New York team, the Rangers. As such, the Raiders were third in line for dates at the venerable Midtown venue, behind the Rangers and the NBA Knicks.
On second thought
The Raiders played barely a dozen games before the owners bailed, which forced the league to take over the team. In May 1973, real estate mogul Ralf Brent bought the team and renamed them the Golden Blades. He didn’t have much more luck than the previous owners, though, and like his predecessors, walked away after only a few games.
The league once again stepped in. This time, though, the WHA opted to transfer the team out of New York City to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where the team moved into the Cherry Hill Arena. For their Garden State debut, 4,061 fans greeted the newly christened Knights as they hosted the Quebec Nordiques. The visitors were forced to dress across the street at the Cherry Hill Lodge.63-1 Triumph in Jersey, The New York Times, November 26, 1973
How green is your Garden State?
There was no glass to protect the goal judges. They sat behind chicken wire like The Blues Brothers at Bob’s Country Bunker. The lights were barely adequate to illuminate the ice, and the sound system emitted squawks before the national anthems could be sung. Still, the mayor of Cherry Hill dropped the first puck under a scoreboard that simply read “home” and “visitor,” and the “New” Jersey Knights proceeded to defeat their guests 3-1.
Though tickets were half what they were in New York, working-class Cherry Hill was not ready for the Knights. To make matters worse, the NHL Flyers were literally 12 miles away in a state-of-the-art building. Still, the Raiders/Golden Blades/Knights franchise finally had an arena they didn’t have to share with another pro sports team. There was even talk of making improvements to the venue to bring it up to pro standards, but such notions were quickly dismissed.
Moving on
Originally, the move was just going to be a temporary solution until new owners in New York could be found. None were. In January 1974, Baltimore businessman Joe Schwartz bought the team. Less than two months later, he announced he was moving the team to Southern California. There, they became the San Diego Mariners.
As late as December 1975, the WHA was looking at returning to New York, either through expansion or relocation of an existing franchise.7WHA making moves for return to New York, AP, via The Ledger-Post, Regina, SKHowever, the league was in such dire straits, neither scenario came to fruition. Pro hockey returned to the Garden State in 1982 when the Colorado Rockies relocated to East Rutherford to become the New Jersey Devils.
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