The Philadelphia Wings was one of six teams from the original

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...

. This team mimicked Philadelphia's NHL counterpart, the Flyers with its "Broad Street Bullies" style of play. The Wings played at the home of the Flyers, the

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

, and played their first game in that arena on May 19, 1974, mere hours after the Flyers won the Stanley Cup. The Wings were one of three teams that did not go bankrupt prior to the 1976 season cancellation. The league only lasted two seasons. The regular season was played during the off-season of the NHL and consisted of 40 games in 1974 and 48 in 1975. Both seasons consisted of a two-round playoff with four of the six teams making the playoffs. Each round was a best-of-seven series. The Wings were regular season champions in the first season (1974). After defeating the Maryland Arrows in the first round, they were eliminated in the final round by the Rochester Griffins four games to two in the first season. They failed to make the playoffs with a disappointing fifth-place finish (they missed the playoffs by one win). The 1974–75 NLL is unrelated to the modern-day

, which also has included two unrelated teams called the Philadelphia Wings (

Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014) The Philadelphia Wings were a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America starting in 1987. They played at the Spectrum (1987–96) and then at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

and Philadelphia Wings (2018–)). This was the only original league logo resurrected in the rebirth of pro indoor lacrosse. The current NLL league and franchise makes no references to the original incarnation although in 2004 there was a "retro" night in Philadelphia where the Wings wore the original orange jersey and the

Rochester Knighthawks The Rochester Knighthawks (also known as the K-Hawks) are a professional box lacrosse team in the North Division of the National Lacrosse League. They play in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Knighthawks are ow ...

donned the Rochester Griffins jersey. Members of the original Wings were honored at a ceremony at half-time. The players included

Doug Favell Douglas Robert Favell (born April 5, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and former box lacrosse player. Favell played in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Rockies. ...

(

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

goalie), John Grant Sr., the only player to play for the first two versions of the NLL Wings and father of

John Grant Jr. John Christopher Grant Jr. (born November 7, 1974) is a Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player who has played in Major League Lacrosse, the National Lacrosse League, and the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Grant Jr. was named men's lacrosse Offen ...

, Jimmy Wasson,

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Wayne Platt and Zeny Lipinski. Longtime Flyer television announcer

Gene Hart Eugene Charles "Gene" Hart (June 28, 1931 – July 14, 1999) was an American sports announcer for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League and the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League. Biography Hart was born in New Y ...

called the games for the Wings.

1974 Players

1975 Players

KEY:
GP = Games Played
G = Goals Scored
A = Assists
Pts = Points
PIM = Penalties In Minutes

External links

1974-1975 National Lacrosse League film page on Lax-TV.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia Wings (1974-75) Sports in Philadelphia Lacrosse clubs established in 1974 Lacrosse teams in Pennsylvania 1974 establishments in Pennsylvania 1975 disestablishments in Pennsylvania 1974 in sports in Pennsylvania 1975 in sports in Pennsylvania Lacrosse clubs disestablished in 1975

1974 Players

1975 Players

See also

External links