The Cincinnati Stingers were an

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 hock ...

team based in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

that played in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

from

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

to 1979 and in the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

during the 1979–80 season. Their home arena was

Riverfront Coliseum Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cincinnati, next to the Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the fac ...

. They are the only major league hockey team to have played in Cincinnati.

History

The Stingers franchise was awarded in 1974 as part of the WHA's ill-conceived attempt at expansion. They entered the league for the

1975–76 WHA season The 1975–76 WHA season was the fourth season of the World Hockey Association. After the Baltimore Blades and Chicago Cougars folded, the league stayed at 14 teams by adding the Cincinnati Stingers and Denver Spurs. In addition, the Vancouver Bl ...

along with the

Denver Spurs The Denver Spurs were a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Spurs began play in the Western Hockey League in 1968, and played at the Denver Coliseum. The Spurs became the first professional sports team in Colorado to win a champions ...

. Most of the league's existing teams were not financially stable, and franchise relocations were commonplace. The Stingers achieved enough stability that they were the only one of the WHA's five expansion teams that lasted through to the end of the league, but they were left out of the

NHL–WHA merger The 1979 NHL expansion was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA) that resulted in the WHA and its six surviving franchises folding in return for the owners ...

in the summer of 1979. The WHA insisted on including all three of its surviving Canadian teams, though below-average attendance made it unlikely that the Stingers would have made the cut. The Stingers, along with the Birmingham Bulls, were paid to disband when the WHA ceased operations. The Stingers were the first professional team of long-time NHL stars

Mike Gartner Michael Alfred Gartner (born October 29, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leaf ...

and

Mike Liut Michael Dennis Liut (born January 7, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Liut played for the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1977 to 1979 and for the St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, ...

, and the second pro team for

Mark Messier Mark John Douglas Messier (; born January 18, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League (NHL). His playing career in the NHL lasted 25 years ( 1979– 2004) with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rang ...

, who scored one goal on a line with

Robbie Ftorek Robert Brian Ftorek (born January 2, 1952) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was enshrined as member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. Playing career Ftorek played in the 1962, 1963 and 1964 Queb ...

, one of the league's top scorers.The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association, p.237, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, ON, After the WHA shut down, a minor professional version of the Cincinnati Stingers began the 1979–80 season in the

(CHL). The CHL team included only three players from the 1978–79 WHA Stingers;

Dave Debol David C. Debol (born 27 March 1956) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Debol played 92 games for the NHL Hartford Whalers and 68 games for the WHA Cincinnati Stingers between 1978 and 1981. He was also a member of the Universi ...

, Byron Shutt and Paul Stewart, but disbanded 33 games into the season. The last Cincinnati Stingers player active in North American major professional hockey was Mark Messier, who retired in 2004.

Hockey Hall of Fame members

*Mike Gartner *Mark Messier

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes'' ;World Hockey Association ;Central Hockey League

References

External links

Cincinnati Stingers
{{WHA Defunct ice hockey teams in Ohio Ice hockey clubs established in 1975 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1979 World Hockey Association teams Sports teams in Cincinnati Central Professional Hockey League teams 1975 establishments in Ohio 1979 disestablishments in Ohio

History

Hockey Hall of Fame members

Season-by-season record

See also

References

External links