Avco Cup 0 Big Things Happened. Forslund knows how fantastical this sounds, but he swears it's true. The area, aside from various minor league teams in New Haven, had been largely bereft of pro hockey until the team’s arrival. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! However game scheduling at Boston Garden owned by the rival NHL Bruins became increasingly difficult, and the owners decided to relocate the team to Hartford, Connecticut beginning with the 1974 – 1975 season. He had friends in Hartford, raised his kids there.

While waiting for their new arena in Hartford, the Whalers played the first part of the 1974 – 1975 season at The Big E Coliseum in West Springfield, MA.

I knew it was going to be a significant sports moment.". This reciprocation of gratitude was, more than anything else, what the fans came for that day, so it makes sense this was what drove so many to tears. He also has a Whalers tattoo on the underside of his forearm, which he says gets him compliments all the time. As a result, the New England Whalers played the first half of the season “at home” in Springfield, Massachusetts before making their debut appearance at their new permanent home at the Hartford Civic Center on January 11, 1975. This was the first time I saw my mother cry. He thought about how he would never be able to watch the Whalers with his son, a bond he always imagined they'd share. "The atmosphere was as jubilant as it could be possibly be," Tomford, the soon-to-be-10-year-old recalled. Sean Burke, too. The team won only one playoff series in its NHL existence-defeating the Quebec Nordiques in 1986-while its nearest rivals experienced varying, but always greater, degrees of success (the Islanders were a powerhouse in the 1980s, the Rangers won the Cup in 1994, the Devils won it in 1995, and the Bruins made the finals in 1988 and 1990). It was the type of song that made you hate yourself for loving it so much. Mere minutes away from losing something that brought them untold joy for decades, we were looking for something, anything, to cling to.

With the boy in his grandmother's hands, the couple donned their Whalers paraphernalia-Matthew picked his newer blue Whalers road jersey over his classic white home sweater, a decision that he regrets to this day-and took the 30 minute trip from Middletown, Connecticut to Hartford. January 10: Legendary Arms Maker Samuel Colt Dies at 47, January 12: Mary Townsend Seymour, Civil Rights Champion, https://todayincthistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/TICTH-0111-WEB-Whalers-First-Game.mp3. It seemed like everyone had a sign demonstrating the various stages of their grief. Stu Grimson's fists colliding with the hapless faces of opponents. On this day in 1975, Hartford became home to a professional hockey team for the first time in its history as the New England Whalers played their first home game at the brand-new Hartford Civic Center. As a child in Guilford, he proclaimed his love for the team the day they were accepted into the NHL from the WHA. Whalers gear sells very well; although exact figures are tough to come by, the Whalers are prominently featured on the NHL Vintage home page. Championship Being a fan was also a lifelong commitment to losing. "As much as some guys didn't like the song and other teams thought it was corny and goofy, it was part of [the Whalers]," six-year Whaler veteran Andrew Cassels recounted. appeal for even the most casual hockey fans. Perhaps nothing demonstrates this more than the team's unofficial theme song, "Brass Bonanza," an upbeat jazzy tune more appropriate for a cheesy used car commercial than a pro sports anthem. Seventeen years later, with the tickets framed above my bed and original Whalers gear stashed throughout my house, I'm trying to figure out why something I can barely remember matters so much. The car ride back was as silent as the drive in, but Jennifer held Matthew's hand the whole way home. 1994 – 2017 / Peter Karmanos, Jr.

More than an hour before game time, the chant of "Let's Go Whalers" reverberated through the streets of downtown Hartford. 1975 – 1978, 1980 – 1997 / Hartford Civic Center, 1972 – 1993 / Howard Baldwin, John Coburn, W. Godfrey Wood and William Edward Barnes. The fans applauded the players. "That's Connecticut for you," he says. The team went as far as distributing first-round playoff tickets to season ticket holders.

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