World Hockey Association (1972-1973)
Ottawa Civics
Tombstone
Born: January 2, 1976 (Denver Spurs relocate)1Denver Spurs move to Ottawa, AP via The St. Petersburg Times, Jan. 3, 1976
Folded: January 17, 19762Civics (nee Spurs) Cease Operations, CP via The Windsor Star, Jan. 19 1976
First Game: January 2, 1976 (L 2-1 @ Cincinnati Stingers)
Last Game: January 15, 1976 (L 5-4 OT @ Houston Aeros)
AVCO Cup Championships: None
Arenas
1972-1973: Ottawa Civic Centre
Opened: December 29, 19673Junior Habs Win At Arena Opening, CP via The Montreal Gazette, Dec. 30, 1967
Marketing
Team Colors: Orange, black, white
Ownership
Owner: Ivan Mullenix
Background
The Ottawa Civics were members of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1976 for exactly 16 days. The club was established when the financially troubled, and rarely watched, Denver Spurs relocated to the Canadian capital in the middle of the 1975-76 season. Before joining the WHA at the start of the season, the Spurs had been a successful organization, having started in the Western Hockey League in1968, before joining the Central Hockey league for one season in 1974. They had been promised a spot in the NHL, but when the older league reneged, Spurs owner Ivan Mullenix opted to join the WHA. The team promptly lost $2 million while only managing to draw 3,500 fans a game, 1,000 of which, Mullenix noted, were non-paying. City leaders tried to keep the team in Colorado but to no avail. The move to Ottawa was seen as the only way to keep the franchise afloat.
Denver Spurs become Ottawa Civics
It was the second time the Ottawa had hosted a WHA franchise. The Ottawa Nationals were charter members of the WHA just four years earlier in 1972 but moved to Toronto for the post-season. They became the Toronto Toros for the league’s second campaign. They moved again in 1976 and became the Birmingham Bulls.
The Spurs move happened while the team was on the road. On January 2, 1976, they played their first game as the Ottawa Civics, a 2-1 loss to the Cincinnati Stingers. Indeed, the players didn’t know until shortly before gametime that the franchise had relocated. From Ohio the team visited the Houston Aeros. They fell 9-4 to their hosts before heading north to take on, and defeat, the Minnesota Fighting Saints 5-2.
Ottawa’s new hockey team arrived in the city on January 7 to take on the New England Whalers at the Civic Centre. The home side lost 3-2 and were back on the road three days later for games against the Phoenix Roadrunners and the Winnipeg Jets, losing 8-5 and 6-5, respectively.
They returned home to face the Houston Aeros on January 15. They lost 6-5 in overtime, and two days later, owner Ivan Mullenix folded the team, telling the press he gave it his best shot.
Somewhat ironically, six months later, the Kansas City Scouts announced they were moving to Denver. They became the Colorado Rockies for the 1976-77 season.4Denver to get NHL franchise, AP via The Star-Phoenix, Jul. 27, 1976 The team struggled in the Mile High State, though, and eventually looked to relocate again. In another twist of irony, Rockies owner Peter Gilbert met with officials in Ottawa in January of 1982 about the possibility of moving the team there.5NHL into Ottawa may be rocky road, CP via The Windsor Star, Jan. 26, 1982
The team instead, wound up becoming the New Jersey Devils, while Ottawa finally received another pro hockey team in 1990 when the NHL awarded the city an expansion franchise that started play in 1992.6NHL expands to Tampa, Ottawa for 1992-93 season, AP via The Observer-Reporter, Dec. 7, 1990
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One Response
I was shocked to read that the players heard the Canadian National Anthem and that was how some of them learned that the franchise moved. I also like that their they went with one uniform for the rest of the season because they couldn’t wear a uniform that said “Denver” on it in Ottawa.Taylor W