The Phoenix Roadrunners were 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 hock ...
team 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) ...
(WHA) from
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
to
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
. They played at
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a 14,870-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Phoenix, Arizona, located at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. It hosted the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association from 1968 to 1992, as well as indoor ...
in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
. The organization folded for financial reasons before the remaining teams in the WHA
merged with the NHL in 1979. The colors of the team were blue and gold.
In 1996 the Winnipeg Jets, a former WHA franchise, moved to Phoenix and became the Phoenix Coyotes (now the
Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...
). In 2016, the Coyotes purchased their AHL affiliate (the
Springfield Falcons
The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center.
In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ar ...
), and moved them to Tucson. The Tucson Roadrunners use a logo very similar to the WHA Roadrunners.
History
The franchise originally competed in the Western Hockey League (minor pro), Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1967 to 1974 after being moved from Victoria, British Columbia, where they had played for the three previous seasons as the Victoria Maple Leafs, Maple Leafs.
In 1974, the Roadrunners joined the WHA with their roster mostly intact when the WHL ceased operations. The Roadrunners achieved relative success during their first two WHA seasons, but lack of financial success resulted in the removal of local favorite Sandy Hucul as coach and his replacement with Al Rollins, who was disliked by Phoenix hockey fans. Rollins did not succeed in improving the team's fortunes. At one point, the team was forced to sell players just to pay the bills. The Roadrunners finally gave up and folded at the end of its third season.
The last active WHA Roadrunner in major professional hockey was the team's star player, Robbie Ftorek, who retired from the NHL after the 1984-85 NHL season, 1984–85 season.
Notable players
*Robbie Ftorek – (WHA MVP 1977)
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''
See also
* List of Phoenix Roadrunners (WHA) players
External links
Phoenix Roadrunners 1974–1977Team History at Hockeydb.com
{{WHA
Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States
Phoenix Roadrunners (WHA),
Sports in Phoenix, Arizona
World Hockey Association teams
Ice hockey clubs established in 1974
Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1977
Ice hockey teams in Arizona
1974 establishments in Arizona
1977 disestablishments in Arizona