Ottawa Civics
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The Ottawa Civics were a professional
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team based out of
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
that played in the
World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...
. The team, which hastily adopted its identity in midseason when 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 ...
announced plans to sell the team and relocate to Ottawa, existed for approximately two weeks, folding after only seven games.


Move to Ottawa

The Denver Spurs began play in the
Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...
in 1968, and had been modestly successful in the minors before moving to the WHA in 1975. However, fans in Denver had been expecting a
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
team after Spurs owner Ivan Mullenix won a conditional NHL expansion franchise to begin play in 1976-77, only to see those plans fizzle out. The Spurs were plagued by financial difficulties and poor attendance (fewer than 3,000 per game), widely attributed to the Denver fanbase rejecting the WHA as a major league.WHAhockey.com - Denver Spurs
/ref> However, they were also dogged by rumours that the NHL was planning to move either the
Kansas City Scouts The Kansas City Scouts were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1974 to 1976. In 1976–77 NHL season, 1976, the franchise relocated to Denver and became the Colorado Rockies (NHL), Colorado Rockies. In 1982– ...
or the league-owned
California Golden Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967–68 NHL season, 1967 to 1975–76 NHL season, 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oa ...
to Denver; the Scouts would indeed eventually move to Denver as the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
in the 1976 offseason. Mullenix knew that he could not possibly compete with an NHL team. The team unofficially folded in December when Mullenix wanted out, and the league stepped in to broker a deal with an Ottawa group called the Founders Club. In an unusual move, the Founders Club insisted that Mullenix move the Spurs to Ottawa immediately as a condition of beginning negotiations. While the Spurs were on a road trip in January 1976, the team was quietly moved to Ottawa without even a press release and renamed the Civics. The players had heard talk a move out of Denver was imminent, but only learned of move at their next road game that night in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, when they took the ice in their Denver jerseys, saw the name "Civics" on the scoreboard at Riverfront Coliseum, and heard ''
O Canada "O Canada" () is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French- ...
'' being played before a game they believed was still between two American teams. They lost that night and again the following night in
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, then knocked off the
Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 1976 ...
(another squad headed for oblivion before the season was over) in Minnesota, 5-2, on January 4. It would be the only victory in the Civics' short life. With the move to Ottawa, the league moved the team from the Western Division to the Canadian Division. The Civics played two home games at the
Ottawa Civic Centre TD Place Arena, originally the Ottawa Civic Centre, is an indoor arena located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Opened in December 1967, it is used primarily for sports, including curling, figure skating, ice hockey, and lacrosse. The arena has hos ...
in front of sellout crowds–against the
New England Whalers New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
on January 7, and against
Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...
's Aeros on January 15. However, the Founders Club was not willing to meet Mullenix' asking price for the team, and Mullenix was not interested in operating a team in Ottawa. After the first home game, he gave the Founders Club an ultimatum–come up with $1.5 million within 10 days, or he would fold the team. When the Founders Club only offered $1 million, the Civics folded on January 17, 1976 after only playing 7 games as Ottawa. Because of the rushed nature of the move, the Civics did not adopt a logo or colours, and continued to wear the Spurs' orange road uniforms for all 7 of their games including their two home games. However, the NHL's first foray in Colorado did not fare much better. An ownership group in Ottawa made a serious bid to move the Colorado Rockies to the Canadian capital, however the Rockies eventually moved to New Jersey and became the
New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
. Major league hockey would ultimately return to Ottawa when the reborn Senators joined the NHL as an expansion team in the 1992-93 season. The last active Spurs/Civics player in the NHL was Ron Delorme, who retired after the 1984-85 season. The Civics' 7-game, two-week existence made them easily the shortest-lived team in the WHA's seven-year history, and one of the shortest-lived teams in North American major league history. Only the
Tonawanda Kardex Lumbermen The Tonawanda Kardex (also known as the Tonawanda Lumbermen and during its first season, the All-Tonawanda Lumberjacks) was an American football team active between 1916 and 1921. It played its games in Tonawanda (city), New York, Tonawanda, New ...
, who played only one week in the American Professional Football Association, forerunner of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
, in 1921, are known to have a shorter existence. Combined with the 34 games played as the Spurs, the Spurs/Civics were also easily the shortest-lived franchise in WHA history.


Season-by-season record

''This listing includes 34 games played as the Denver Spurs.'' ''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes''


See also

* Ice hockey in Ottawa * List of ice hockey teams in Ontario * Ottawa Nationals


External links


WHA Ottawa Civics, The Two Week Franchise
- Detailed write up on the team's brief existence as well as rare photos from their two home games.


References

{{WHA Civ Ice hockey clubs established in 1976 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1976 World Hockey Association teams 1976 establishments in Ontario 1976 disestablishments in Ontario