Western Hockey League (1952β1974)
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1952 |
| Founder | Al Leader |
| Ceased | 1974 |
| Countries |  United States Canada |
| Last champion(s) |
Phoenix Roadrunners |
| Most titles | Vancouver Canucks (4) |
The Western Hockey League (WHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league based in Western Canada that operated from 1952 to 1974. The league was managed for most of its history by Al Leader, and had roots in the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League. The championship trophy of the WHL was the Lester Patrick Cup.
History
The league was founded in 1948 as the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL). In 1951, it absorbed three teams from the Western Canada Senior Hockey League. In 1952, it adopted the WHL name.[1] In the late 1950s, Ron Butlin and Arthur Ryan Smith hosted a hot stove league on radio broadcasts of the league.[2]
The Western Hockey League was managed for most of its history by Al Leader.
During the 1960s, the WHL moved into a number of large west coast markets including Los Angeles and San Francisco. There was speculation that the WHL could grow into a major league capable of rivalling even the long-entrenched National Hockey League.[3]
In the 1965β66 and 1967β68 seasons, the WHL played an interlocking schedule with the American Hockey League. Fears that the WHL (or a WHL/AHL merger) could become a rival major league was among the factors that finally convinced the National Hockey League to expand for the 1967β68 season.[4]
Several factors led to the WHL's decision to cease operations after the 1973β74 season. The NHL and World Hockey Association had moved into many of its traditional markets, and the talent pool had become strained by the fast growth in the number of professional teams. When the NHL announced in June 1974 that the owners of both the Denver Spurs and Seattle Totems had been granted "conditional" NHL franchises (neither of which came to fruition), the WHL announced the same day that it was folding. A few of its surviving teams were absorbed into the Central Hockey League (CHL), though the Phoenix Roadrunners franchise did join the WHA for the 1974β75 season, and the Denver Spurs would jump from the CHL to the WHA for the 1975β76 season (but folded mid-season).
The championship trophy of the WHL was the Lester Patrick Cup, which is currently on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Teams
- Brandon Regals (1955β1957)
- Calgary Stampeders (1952β1963)
- California Seals (1966β1967)
- Denver Invaders (1963β1964)
- Denver Spurs (1968β1974)
- Edmonton Flyers (1952β1963)
- Los Angeles Blades (1961β1967)
- New Westminster Royals (1952β1959)
- Phoenix Roadrunners (1967β1974)
- Portland Buckaroos (1960β1974)
- Salt Lake Golden Eagles (1969β1974)
- San Diego Gulls (1966β1974)
- San Francisco Seals (1961β1966)
- Saskatoon Quakers (1952β1959)
- Seattle Americans (1955β1958)
- Seattle Bombers (1952β1954)
- Seattle Totems (1958β1975)
- Spokane Comets (1959β1963)
- Spokane Spokes (1958-1959)
- Tacoma Rockets (1952β1953)
- Vancouver Canucks (1952β1970)
- Victoria Cougars (1952β1961)
- Victoria Maple Leafs (1964β1967)
- Winnipeg Warriors (1955β1961)
Timeline
List of champions
| Season | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1952β53 | Edmonton Flyers | Saskatoon Quakers |
| 1953β54 | Calgary Stampeders | Edmonton Flyers |
| 1954β55 | Edmonton Flyers | Calgary Stampeders |
| 1955β56 | Winnipeg Warriors | Vancouver Canucks |
| 1956β57 | Brandon Regals | New Westminster Royals |
| 1957β58 | Vancouver Canucks | Calgary Stampeders |
| 1958β59 | Seattle Totems | Calgary Stampeders |
| 1959β60 | Vancouver Canucks | Victoria Cougars |
| 1960β61 | Portland Buckaroos | Seattle Totems |
| 1961β62 | Edmonton Flyers | Spokane Comets |
| 1962β63 | San Francisco Seals | Seattle Totems |
| 1963β64 | San Francisco Seals | Los Angeles Blades |
| 1964β65 | Portland Buckaroos | Victoria Maple Leafs |
| 1965β66 | Victoria Maple Leafs | Portland Buckaroos |
| 1966β67 | Seattle Totems | Vancouver Canucks |
| 1967β68 | Seattle Totems | Portland Buckaroos |
| 1968β69 | Vancouver Canucks | Portland Buckaroos |
| 1969β70 | Vancouver Canucks | Portland Buckaroos |
| 1970β71 | Portland Buckaroos | Phoenix Roadrunners |
| 1971β72 | Denver Spurs | Portland Buckaroos |
| 1972β73 | Phoenix Roadrunners | Salt Lake Golden Eagles |
| 1973β74 | Phoenix Roadrunners | Portland Buckaroos |
Championships by team
| Team | Championships | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver Canucks | 4 | 2 |
| Seattle Totems | 3 | 2 |
| Portland Buckaroos | 3 | 6 |
| Edmonton Flyers | 3 | 1 |
| Phoenix Roadrunners | 2 | 1 |
| San Francisco Seals | 2 | 0 |
| Brandon Regals | 1 | 0 |
| Calgary Stampeders | 1 | 3 |
| Denver Spurs | 1 | 0 |
| Victoria Maple Leafs | 1 | 1 |
| Winnipeg Warriors | 1 | 0 |
| Saskatoon Quakers | 0 | 1 |
| New Westminster Royals | 0 | 1 |
| Victoria Cougars | 0 | 1 |
| Spokane Comets | 0 | 1 |
| Los Angeles Blades | 0 | 1 |
| Salt Lake Golden Eagles | 0 | 1 |
References
- ^ Stott, Jon C. (2008). Ice Warriors: The Pacific Coast/Western Hockey League 1948β1974. Surrey, British Columbia: Heritage House Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-894974-54-7.
- ^ Slade, Daryl (2014-06-26). "Calgary sporting pioneer dies in B.C. at age 89". Calgary Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ Los Angeles Times, 27 March 1959, p.C1: Official Says Hockey Would Go Big Here
- ^ David Cruise; Alison Griffiths (1991). Net Worth: Exploding the Myths of Pro Hockey. Stoddart Publishing.
External links
Copyright
- This page is based on the Wikipedia article Western Hockey League (1952β1974); it is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA). You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the CC-BY-SA.