World Hockey Association (1972-1979)
National Hockey League (1979-1997)
Tombstone
Born: November 21, 1971 – WHA founding franchise11975-76 World Hockey Association Media Guide
Moved: May 6, 1997 (Carolina Hurricanes)
First Game: October 12, 1972 (W 4-3 vs. Philadelphia Blazers)
Last Game: April 13, 1997 (W 2-1 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning)
WHA Champions: 1973
Stanley Cup Championships: None
Arenas
1972-1974: Boston Garden
1974-1975: Springfield Civic Center
1975-1978: Hartford Civic Center
1978-1980: Springfield Civic Center (7,625)
1980-1997: Hartford Civic Center
Marketing
Team Colors:
- 1975-76: Green, Gold & White21975-76 World Hockey Association Media Guide
Television:
- 1974-75: WFSB (TV 3) – Selected Games
Television Broadcasters:
- 1974-1975: John Carlson
Radio:
- 1974-75: WTIC (1080 AM – Hartford); WSPR (Springfield, MA); WARE (Ware, MA)
- 1977-78: WTIC (1080 AM)
Radio Broadcasters:
- 1974-75: Bill Rasmussen
- 1977-78: Bill Rasmussen (play-by-play) & Garry Swain (color)
Ownership
Owners:
- 1972-: Howard Baldwin, John Colburn, Godfrey Wood & William Barnes
- 1988-1989: Donald Conrad, Richard Gordon, et al.
- 1994-1997: Peter Karmanos, Thomas Thewes & Jim Rutherford
Our Favorite Gear
New England Whalers
Replica Jersey
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Hartford Whalers Shop
Editor's Pick
The Rebel League
The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association
By Ed Willes
The Rebel League celebrates the good, the bad, and the ugly of the fabled WHA. It is filled with hilarious anecdotes, behind the scenes dealing, and simply great hockey. The upstart WHA introduced to the world 27 new hockey franchises, a trail of bounced cheques, fractious lawsuits, and folded teams. It introduced the crackpots, goons, and crazies that are so well remembered as the league’s bizarre legacy.
But the hit-and-miss league was much more than a travelling circus of the weird and wonderful. It was the vanguard that drove hockey into the modern age. It ended the NHL’s monopoly, freed players from the reserve clause, ushered in the 18-year-old draft, moved the game into the Sun Belt, and put European players on the ice in numbers previously unimagined..
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New England Whalers Video
New England Whalers upset the Soviet Red Army team at the Hartford Civic Center. December 27, 1976.
In Memoriam
Defenseman Brad McCrimmon (Whalers ’93-’96) died on September 7, 2011 in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air disaster in Russia.
Left wing Paul Cyr (Whalers ’90-’92) passed away from a heart attack on May 12, 2012 at age 48.
Right wing Gordie Howe (Whalers ’77-’80) passed at the age of 88 on June 10, 2016. New York Times obituary.
Links
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One Response
“Harpoon” is definitely one of the all-time great team program names.