Central Hockey League (1965-1972 & 1973-1977)
Tombstone
Born: May 3, 1965 – The Minneapolis Bruins relocate to Oklahoma City, OK1Wallis, Wally. “City Hockey Club to Have First-Class Home”. The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK). May 4, 1965
Folded: June 9, 1972
Re-Born: 1973
Folded: July 29, 19772STAFF REPORTS. “CHL, NHL Blamed For Blazer Demise.” The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK). July 30, 1977
Adams Cup Championships: 1966 & 1967
Arenas
1965-1972 & 1975-1976: State Fair Arena (8,300)31975-76 Central Hockey League Media Guide
1973-1977: Myriad Gardens (13,399)41975-76 Central Hockey League Media Guide
Marketing
Team Colors:
- 1975-76: Blue & White51975-76 Central Hockey League Media Guide
Ownership & Affiliations
Owners:
- 1973-1976: Toronto Maple Leafs
- 1976-1977: Murray Davison, Allen Coles, Jim Cox, Ron Norick, Jim Norick, Kim Kimberling, John Philbin, Melvin Hatley & Paul Day.
NHL & WHA Affiliations:6HockeyDB.com
- 1965-1972: Boston Bruins
- 1973-1976: Toronto Maple Leafs
- 1976-77: Colorado Rockies (NHL)
- 1976-77: Houston Aeros (WHA)
- 1976-77: Phoenix Roadrunners (WHA)
- 1976-77: San Diego Mariners (WHA)
Best Seller
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OKC Blazers Logo T from Vintage Ice Hockey
Background
The Oklahoma City Blazers was the name chosen by two separate minor league hockey franchises in the Central Hockey League of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Because the two teams used the same identity and were separated by only a single year’s lay-off, we’ve elected to consolidate them into a single FWiL entry.
Bruins Farm Club
The Blazers glory years came during their time as the top farm club of the NHL’s Boston Bruins from 1965 to 1971. 33-year old Harry Sinden guided the Blazers to the Adams Cup championship as player-coach during their first winter in OKC in 1965-66. Sinden departed to become Boston’s head coach the following year and guided the Bruins to a Stanley Cup victory in 1970. The long-time Bruins coach & GM was enshrined in the Hockey Hall-0f-Fame in the Builder category in 1983 at the young age of 51.
After Sinden’s departure, Murray Davison took over as player-coach for the 1966-67 season and led the Blazers to an Adams Cup repeat. Davison would go on to coach the Blazers for six seasons over two stints between 1966 and 1977.
The Blazers developed plenty of great players for Boston during this era (see below). But Oklahoma City arguably had an even bigger impact on the fortunes of another club: the Broad Street Bullies-era Philadelphia Flyers. Via the 1967 NHL expansion draft and a series of later trades, the Flyers acquired a remarkable stable of ex-Blazers prospects who starred for Philly’s 1974-1975 back-to-back Stanley Cup champion teams. The list includes Hall-of-Fame goaltender Bernie Parent (OKC ’65-’67), 50-goal scorers Reggie Leach and Rick MacLeish (both OKC ’70-’71), center Terry Crisp (OKC ’65-’67) winger Ross Lonsberry (OKC ’66-’69)
Other Notables
The team developed a bevy of future NHL stalwarts and Hall-of-Famers during the Bruins tie-up, including:
- Hall-of-Fame goaltender Gerry Cheevers (OKC ’65-’67) split time in net with fellow HOFer Bernie Parent during the Blazers’ first two seasons
- RW Bill Goldsworthy & LW J.P. Parise (both OKC ’65-’67) became mainstays of the Minnesota North Stars teams of the 1970’s
- Glen Sather (OKC ’65-’67) later won four Stanley Cups as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers
- Wayne Cashman (OKC ’66-’68) played parts of 17 seasons for Boston from 1964 to 1983
- Ross Lonsberry (OKC ’66-’69)
- Jean Provonost (OKC ’66-’68) notched a 50-goal season for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1976
- Right wing Tom Webster (OKC ’68-’70), who became a 50-goal scorer in the WHA
- Center Ivan Boldirev (OKC ’69-’71)
- Winger Reggie Leach (OKC ’70-’71) led the NHL in goal scoring (61) in 1976 with the Flyers
In the fall of 1971, the Boston Bruins placed a new farm team right in the Boston Garden that displaced the Blazers as their top affiliate. The Blazers received lower priority prospects in 1971-72 and this marked the beginning of the end of the original Oklahoma City franchise in the CHL.
2nd Blazers Franchise
The Bruins left town for good in the spring of 1972 and there was no pro hockey in OKC during the winter of 1972-73. But the $23 million, 13,000-seat Myriad Gardens opened during the interregnum, in November 1972, offering a powerful lure for CHL hockey to return to the city.
Sure enough, the Toronto Maple Leafs arrived in the fall of 1973, sponsoring a Blazers re-boot. The Blazers developed a handful of players during the Leafs era that went on to prominent NHL careers,including:
- Pat Boutette (Blazers ’73-’75) went on to score 171 NHL goals in stops with Toronto, the Hartford Whalers and the Pittsburgh Penguins
- Enforcer Tiger Williams (Blazers ’74-’75), who added a reliable scoring touch to his massive penalty minute totals during a 14-year NHL career.
- Right wing Blaine Stoughton (Blazers ’75-’76) became a 50-goal scorer in both the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League
- Goaltender Mike Palmateer (Blazers ’74-’76) became Toronto’s top netminder for several seasons during the late 1970’s
Demise & Aftermath
Toronto pulled out in 1976. The Blazers endured a rocky final season during the winter of 1976-77. The Blazers drew players variously from the NHL’s basket case Colorado Rockies franchise as well as three World Hockey Association clubs that were all on their last legs themselves.
Behind the scenes, the Blazers transitioned to local ownerships for the first time in 1976-77. The group of ten local investors included general manager/coach/player Murray Davison and several local business people who were part of the “Hockey Hounds”, a local booster group that
The Blazers spent the spring of 1977 looking for a new NHL sponsor. The final nail in the coffin was a failed flirtation with the Detroit Red Wings. When the Wings chose Kansas City over OKC to host their top farm club in July 1977, the Blazers folded.
The Central Hockey League came back to OKC a third time in the fall of 1978. The new club, the Oklahoma City Stars, skated from 1978 until 1982. The CHL went out of business in May 1984.
A third edition of the Blazers formed in 1992 in a new version of the Central Hockey League. The and enjoyed a lengthy 25-year run that ended in 2017.
Oklahoma City Blazers Shop
Oklahoma City Blazers Women’s Cut T from VintageIceHockey.com
In Memoriam
Right wing Bill Goldsworthy (OKC ’65-’67) died of complications for the AIDS virus on March 29, 1996 at age 51. New York Times obituary.
Murray Davison died of a heart attack on January 13, 2000. Davison skated for the Blazers in both their first season of 1965-66 and their final campaign in 1976-77. Along the way, he also coached the Blazers for six seasons, including the 1967 Adams Cup champion team, and was general manager and part-owner of the team in 1976-77. Davison was 61 when has passed away. Oklahoman obituary.
Left wing Garnet “Ace” Bailey (Blazers ’67-’68 and ’70’-’71) died aboard United Airlines Flight 175 during the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. Bailey, 53, was returning from a scouting trip for his employer, the Los Angeles Kings, at the time.
Left wing Ross Lonsberry died of cancer on May 4, 2014 at age 67. Los Angeles Times obituary.
Left wing J.P. Parise passed after a battle with lung cancer on January 7, 2015, age 73. New York Times obituary.
Left wing Rick MacLeish (OKC ’70-’71), who played a starring role on the Philadelphia Flyers back-to-back Stanley Cup champion teams of 1974-1975, passed away on May 30, 2016. New York Times obituary.
Links
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One Response
I saw some great CHL action in Omaha with the Knights and Blazers and became a true hockey fan. I moved to Florida near Tampa and watched the Lightening development into a Stanley Cup champ. I meet Phil Esposito at an exhibition game and mentioned the OKC team playing up there. He said what was the name of that coliseum. I said Aksarben. Nebraska spelled backwards. It’s a nice drive going down memory lane!