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Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
The Birmingham Bulls were a professional ice hockey team based in Birmingham, Alabama. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1976 to 1979 and the Central Hockey League from 1979 to 1981. The Bulls played their home games at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center. Prior to being in Birmingham, the team was known as the Ottawa Nationals and the Toronto Toros. The Birmingham Bulls' name has been used for other hockey teams such as the Birmingham Bulls of the East Coast Hockey League and the Birmingham Bulls of the Southern Professional Hockey League. History The Toros had been modestly successful on the ice since moving to Toronto before the start of the 1973–74 season and had drawn fairly well by WHA standards. However, onerous lease terms at Maple Leaf Gardens led owner John Bassett to move to Birmingham. After the move to Birmingham, general manager, Gilles Leger coached the team for a few games until Pat Kelly was brought in to coach the bulk of that fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% from the 2020 Census, making it Alabama's third-most populous city after Huntsville and Montgomery. The broader Birmingham metropolitan area had a 2020 population of 1,115,289, and is the largest metropolitan area in Alabama as well as the 50th-most populous in the United States. Birmingham serves as an important regional hub and is associated with the Deep South, Piedmont, and Appalachian regions of the nation. Birmingham was founded in 1871, during the post- Civil War Reconstruction period, through the merger of three pre-existing farm towns, notably, Elyton. It grew from there, annexing many more of its smaller neighbors, into an industrial and railroad transportation center with a focus on mining, the iron and steel industry, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glen Sonmor
Glen Robert Sonmor (April 22, 1929 – December 14, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, scout and coach. He played 28 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1953 to 1955, though most of his career was spent in the minor American Hockey League. After his playing career, Sonmor turned to coaching. He led the University of Minnesota from 1966 to 1972, then went to the World Hockey Association, where he was the general manager, and occasional coach, of the Minnesota Fighting Saints and Birmingham Bulls between 1972 and 1978. He then moved to the NHL to coach the Minnesota North Stars from 1978 to 1987. Later in his career, Sonmor became a scout for the Minnesota Wild of the NHL. Early life Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Sonmor's family moved to Hamilton, Ontario, where he played on multiple school teams, playing point guard in basketball, quarterback in football and left wing in hockey, as well as pitching in semi-pro baseball. Sonmor f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pat Riggin
Patrick Michael Riggin (born May 26, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Playing career Birmingham Bulls Riggin began his professional career while still a teenager with the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association. Riggin beat out veteran Ernie Wakely for the Bulls starting job, posting a 16-20-5 record. Atlanta/Calgary Flames Riggin was drafted 33rd overall by the Atlanta Flames in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Riggin spent his rookie season backing up Dan Bouchard, and became the Flames' starter after Bouchard was dealt to the Quebec Nordiques in January 1981. Riggin made his playoff debut in the 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, stopping 42 shots in the Flames' Game 2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Riggin and Ken Houston were traded to the Washington Capitals on June 9, 1982 in exchange for Howard Walker, George White, a 1982 sixth-round pick, a 1983 third-round pick and a 1984 second-round pick. Washington Capitals With Washington ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rob Ramage
George Robert Ramage (born January 11, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota North Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers. He also played one season in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Birmingham Bulls. Ramage was born in Byron, Ontario, but grew up in London, Ontario. Playing career Rob Ramage spent his junior career with the London Knights, playing three seasons as a defenseman, and was highly touted by many scouts. In his final season with the Knights, Ramage shared the OHL's Max Kaminsky Trophy as the league's most outstanding defenseman with his teammate Brad Marsh. His sweater number 5 was later retired by the team in his honour. Ramage's birthday fell 12 days too late to make him eligible for the NHL entry draft, though. Instead of returning to the Knights, Ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michel Goulet
Michel Bernard Goulet (born April 21, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Birmingham Bulls in the World Hockey Association and the Quebec Nordiques and Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998. Playing career WHA Goulet played his first professional season with the Birmingham Bulls of the WHA during the 1978–79 season in which he scored 28 goals and 58 points. Following the NHL-WHA merger, Goulet was declared eligible for the 1979 entry draft and was selected by the Quebec Nordiques. NHL Goulet was one of the NHL's most prolific scorers during the 1980s. He achieved 50 goals in a season in four consecutive years, starting with the 1982–83 season, and became one of the centrepieces of the team along with the Šťastný brothers. During the 1989–90 season, in which the Nordiques finished with a record of 12 wins, 61 losses and seven ties and failed to make the playof ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rick Vaive
Richard Claude "Rick" Vaive (; born May 14, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the final season of the World Hockey Association (WHA), before playing the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 1992. He is the first 50-goal scorer in Toronto Maple Leafs franchise history. Biography Vaive was born in Ottawa, Ontario to Claude (d. 2016) and Mary Vaive (d. 2010), but grew up in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island after he turned 11. Grandparents Lionel and Reina Vaive were from Gatineau, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1970 and 1971 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Amherst, Nova Scotia. His professional career began in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Birmingham Bulls, with whom he signed as an underage free agent before the 1978-79 season, after a stellar junior hockey career with the Sherbrooke Castors. He was part of a contingent of young players ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One", he has been called the greatest hockey player ever by many sportswriters, players, '' The Hockey News'', and by the NHL itself, based on extensive surveys of hockey writers, ex-players, general managers and coaches. Gretzky is the leading goal scorer, assist producer and point scorer in NHL history, and has more assists in his career than any other player scored total points. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season, a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, Gretzky tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records.For his titles, see * Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white. The North Stars played 2,062 regular season games and made the NHL playoffs 17 times, including two Stanley Cup Finals appearances, but were ultimately unable to win the Stanley Cup. After the 1992–93 season, the franchise moved to Dallas, and is now known as the Dallas Stars. History Beginnings On March 11, 1965, NHL President Clarence Campbell announced that the league would expand to twelve teams from six through the creation of a new six-team division for the 1967–68 season. In response to Campbell's announcement, a partnership of nine men, led by Walter Bush, Jr., Robert Ridder, and John Driscoll, was formed to seek a franchise for the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1978–79 WHA Season
The 1978–79 WHA season was the seventh and final season of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Prior to the start of the season, the Houston Aeros folded leaving seven teams to start the season. Only six would finish however, as the Indianapolis Racers folded after 25 games on December 15, 1978. The remaining six teams each played 80 games, including one game each per team against a Soviet All-Star squad and the Czechoslovak National Team, the second consecutive year for this arrangement. The Soviet team won four of their six games and tied another; the Czechoslovak team only won once and tied once against four losses. In addition, because the Racers had folded after playing an odd number of games, the Edmonton Oilers played the Finnish National Team (with future Oiler Jari Kurri) once at home so as to allow each of the six surviving WHA teams to play 80 regular season games. The Oilers won by a score of 8–4, a result which in itself made no difference by the end of the re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Brophy (ice Hockey)
John Duncan Brophy (January 20, 1933 – May 23, 2016) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and hockey player who spent most of his career in minor professional leagues, including 18 years as a player in the Eastern Hockey League and 13 seasons as a coach in the East Coast Hockey League. From 1986 to 1988 the native of Antigonish was head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. Playing career Brophy was a tough defenceman who played 18 seasons in the Eastern Hockey League, racking up nearly 4,000 career penalty minutes between 1955 and 1973—the most in EHL history playing parts of nine seasons with the Long Island Ducks and retiring at the age of 40. On August 5, 1967, Brophy was involved in a car crash. He survived but his passenger, Dorothea Schiavone, was killed. He had a part as a referee in a Schaefer Beer commercial which aired for about five years on various New York television stations. Early coaching career Brophy had briefly been player-co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are one of the Original Six teams of the league. Founded in 1926, the team was known as the Detroit Cougars until 1930. For the 1930–31 and 1931–32 seasons, the team was named the Detroit Falcons, before changing their name to the Red Wings in 1932. , the Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cup championships of any NHL franchise based in the United States (11), and are third overall in total Stanley Cup championships, behind the Montreal Canadiens (24) and Toronto Maple Leafs (13). The Wings played their home games at Joe Louis Arena from 1979 until 2017, after playing for 52 years at Olympia Stadium; they moved into the Little Caesars Arena beginning with the 2017–18 season. The Red Wings are one of the most popular and successfu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winnipeg Jets (1972–96)
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ... team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, playing its home games at Canada Life Centre. The Jets were established as the Atlanta Thrashers on June 25, 1997, and began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season. True North Sports & Entertainment then bought the team in May 2011, and List of defunct and relocated National Hockey League teams, relocated the franchise to Winnipeg prior to the 2011–12 NHL season, 2011–12 season, making them the first NHL franchise to relocate since the Hartford ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
