History
Incorporated in June of 1971 by Garry L. Davidson and Dennis A. Murphy, the World Hockey Association began play in the 1972-73 season.
Its original teams were the Cleveland Crusaders, New England Whalers, New York Raiders, Ottawa Nationals, Philadelphia Blazers and Quebec Nordiques in the Eastern Division and the Alberta Oilers, Chicago Cougars, Houston Aeros, Los Angeles Sharks, Minnesota Fighting Saints and Winnipeg Jets in the Western Division.
A handful of National Hockey League stars signed with WHA teams, most notably Bobby Hull, who left the Chicago Black Hawks to play for the Winnipeg Jets. In the WHA's second season, the Houston Aeros signed 45-year-old Gordie Howe, who had retired from the NHL two years earlier. The Aeros teamed him with his two sons, Mark and Matt. Gordie won the league's MVP award, Mark was named rookie of the year, and the Aeros won the WHA championship.
To help fill rosters, WHA teams were allowed to sign junior league players younger than 18, which was against NHL rules. As a result, the great Wayne Gretzky began his professional career with the WHA's Indianapolis Racers when he was 17.
The league also pioneered in scouting and signing European players and in attracting corporate sponsorship: Avco Financial Services paid an annual fee to have the championship trophy named the Avco Cup, the first important naming rights agreement in North American professional sports.
An anti-trust suit against the NHL was settled out of court in 1974. Under the settlement, the leagues agreed to honor one another's player contracts and the NHL paid the new league an indemnity of $1.75 million.
Even with that bonus, though, the WHA went through considerable flux during its seven seasons, as franchises moved around, dropped out, or were replaced.
In 1972-73, the Ottawa Nationals became the Toronto Toros, the New York Raiders became the Jersey Knights, and the Philadelphia Blazers moved to Vancouver. In addition, the Alberta Oilers, who had played home games in both Calgary and Edmonton, became the Edmonton Oilers.
The WHA actually expanded in 1974-75, adding the Indianapolis Racers and Phoenix Roadrunners and reorganizing into three divisions, the Eastern, Western, and Canadian. The Jersey Knights became the San Diego Mariners and the Michigan Stags replaced the Los Angeles Sharks. Before the season ended, though, the Stags moved to Baltimore and were renamed the Blades.
The Blades and the Chicago Cougars folded before the 1975-76 season and were replaced by two new franchises, the Cincinnati Stingers and Denver Spurs, while the Vancouver Blazers moved to Calgary and became the Cowboys. During the season, the Denver team became the Ottawa Civics, but that team went out of business in January of 1976 and the Minnesota Fighting Saints also folded a month later.
Down to 12 teams again, the WHA went back to a two-division format in 1976-77, when the Toronto Toros became the Birmingham Bulls. The Cleveland Crusaders moved to Minneapolis as a new version of the Minnesota Fighting Saints, but that version also failed to finish the season.
The end was in sight when three franchises, the Calgary Cowboys, Phoenix Roadrunners, and San Diego Mariners, folded before the 1977-78 season, reducing the WHA to eight teams in one division. In a move to spur more interest, teams of Soviet and Czechoslovakian all-Stars played eight games against WHA teams that counted in the final standings.
Nevertheless, the Houston Aeros dropped out after the season, leaving just seven teams, and the Indianapolis Racers folded after playing only 25 games. After the 1978-79 season, the WHA merged into the NHL, but only four of its teams survived the merger: the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets.