1974-75 Michigan Stags WHA Media Guide Yearbook Only Year Lasted 1/2 Season

Description

1974-75 Michigan Stags WHA Media Guide Yearbook Only Year Lasted 1/2 Season
The
Michigan Stags
were a professional
ice hockey
team based in
Detroit
,
Michigan
that played a portion of the
1974–75
season in the
World Hockey Association
. On January 18, 1975, the team folded, but the league immediately took over operation and moved the franchise to
Baltimore
,
Maryland
where it was known as the
Baltimore Blades
. The Stags originated as the Los Angeles Aces, but were renamed the
Los Angeles Sharks
before their first game, one of the WHA's original twelve teams. The Stags played at
Cobo Arena
, and the Blades at the
Baltimore Civic Center
.
Having made their fortunes in industrial chemicals, Detroiters Charles Nolton and Peter Shagena bought the
Los Angeles Sharks
from
Dennis Murphy
and relocated the club to Detroit as the Michigan Stags. Coached by former Red Wing player and coach
Johnny Wilson
, the Stags began play in the
1974–75 season
. The owners believed the Stags could be an alternative to the
NHL
's
Detroit Red Wings
, who had not been a factor in the league for most of the decade.
Unfortunately, the Stags were even more of a disaster than the Red Wings. The team was composed of journeymen at best, with the exceptions of star left winger
Marc Tardif
, veteran
Western Hockey League
star
Gary Veneruzzo
and beleaguered ex-NHL goaltender
Gerry Desjardins
(who found his way back to the NHL in mid-season and helped lead the Buffalo Sabres to the
Stanley Cup
finals). The only notable Stags
draft pick
to actually sign with Michigan was
Ed Johnstone
, a future 30-goal scorer with the
New York Rangers
(he would score four times in 23 games for the Stags, including the first regular-season goal in club history). The club also had problems drawing crowds; despite playing over .500 (12-8-2) at Cobo Arena, attendance was not nearly enough to break even. Only 2,522 were at their first home game (it didn't help that Michigan had to play their first five games on the road, as the circus was in town), and subsequent gates weren't much better; the club would average an anemic 2,959 for its 22 home games. Additionally, the Stags were unable to secure a television deal (except for a one-off broadcast; see below), rendering them practically invisible. Bleeding money, Michigan was eventually forced to trade Tardif to Quebec for
Pierre Guite
,
Michel Rouleau
and famed minor league sniper
Alain Caron
.
The Stags hoped they could at least draw fans for the highly anticipated return of
Gordie Howe
to Detroit, but Howe's
Houston Aeros
weren't scheduled to play at Cobo until February 2. The Aeros did come to town to play two exhibition games: the first, across the river in
Windsor
on October 8; the other, two days later at Cobo Arena. (Howe and his sons missed the first game, as they were in
Czechoslovakia
with
Team Canada
; Gordie scored twice in the second contest, before a crowd of 5,536.)
[1]
As it turned out, Howe and company would never meet Michigan in regular-season contest in Detroit, as the Stags had folded before then.
The WHA club were one of three new pro franchises that burst upon the Detroit sports scene in 1974, along with the
Detroit Loves
of
World Team Tennis
(who also played at Cobo) and the
Detroit Wheels
of the newly-minted
World Football League
(who played in distant
Ypsilanti, Michigan
). Within a three-month span, though, they were all gone: the hapless (1-13) Wheels folded October 10; the Loves (after drawing just 2,213 fans per match and losing 0,000) shifted to
Indianapolis
on November 18; and, just into 1975, the Stags would disappear as well. Their 5-4, overtime win over
Winnipeg
on January 9 in front of 3,125 fans at Cobo would turn out to be their last game in Detroit. Two weeks later on January 23, the WHA finally announced that the club was shifting to Baltimore.
Excellent complete undamaged condition
Collected in a Smoke and Pet Free home