Vancouver Blazers WHA Programs

I found this fantastic cache of 1970s hockey goodness this past weekend. Picked up eight WHA Vancouver Blazers programs in Gibsons, BC for the grand total of five dollars. Pretty, pretty good score. They range from October 1973, the third game ever for the Blazers through to November 1974. Two Gordie Howe covers and two Bobby Hull covers, real beauties.
Oct 1973 - Feb 1974
Nov 22, 1974
Jan 26, 1974
April 4, 1974
Jan 9, 1974
On top of the fantastic covers of these things, the greatness inside these programs is just as good. Check out some of the gold pictured below.
Gordie Howe, for Capt. George's Restaurants
Nightmare fuel
Some of the all-time greats...well, one.
The collage was big in the 1970s
A police sketch of Gordie promoting his upcoming appearance
Little known fact; in his spare time Bobby Hull was a hobby electronics enthusiast
When you score 50 goals like Danny Lawson you get a red velvet chair in the locker room and a personal tailor
Your 1973 Vancouver Blazers


Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi there. My name is Anne Donnelly. My dad Pete was goalie for blazers in 73. Fun fact / her grew up in Detroit and Gordie is who got my dad a shot in the pros. Dad and his bro Pat grew up playing with mark and Marty. Pat was captain of their pre wee team that won the tournament in Quebec. Gordie was the unofficial coach of the rooster tails. Grandpa and Gordie would pour whisky in their coffee at the early morning skates. So it’s sorta funny that Gordie scored his 800th goal against dad (wha goal I think or maybe career goal at that time) and mark scored his first professional goal against dad. And the dates were exactly 27 yrs apart. Dad and mark and Marty and Gordie (posthumously)are being inducted into the Houston hockey hall of fame in March. I found the program from when Gordie scored his 800th against dad. I’m donating it that night to the HOF. After mark signs it :) I’ve been trying to find the program from October of 73 when the Aeros played the blazers. I’d like to round out the HOF collection with program of mark scoring his first goal and Gordie scoring his 800th. I was googling and came across your post. Not sure if you have the October 73 program of blazers v Aeros - and if you do if you have interest in selling. I’d be donating it to the Houston hockey HOF at the induction ceremony next month. Also - your captions made me laugh lol. Total shot in the dark - but either way I enjoyed seeing your programs and captions. :) I don’t have an acct on here - please text 713-732-9910 if interested but again not even sure if you have one much less willing to part with for a price. Either way - enjoyed the photos!
February 3, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ron Hextall and the stolen Conn Smythe Trophy

Image
Ron Hextall did not deserve the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1987....there, I said it. I recently caught game seven of the '87 finals on ESPN Classic, where the Oilers beat the Flyers 3-1. Hextall was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy to the disdain and boos of the Northlands Coliseum. Hextall was (and remains) the fourth player to win the trophy in a losing cause. Even as a teenager following these playoffs as they happened, I thought this was an injustice. Upon further inspection, I believe he only won because he was a rookie, and was the "sexy" pick as opposed to the proper pick. When looking at his numbers, it's hard to figure why he won. Hextall finished with 15 wins, 11 losses and a GAA of 2.77. Oilers, Grant Fuhr went 14 and 5 with an average of 2.46. I realize that stats cannot tell the whole story, but even if we dig further the award doesn't seem justified. His .908 Save Pct was the same as Fuhr's and tied for third behind Ken Wregget and Kelly Hrudey. Also,...
Read more

WHA Ottawa Civics, The Two Week Franchise

Image
Tom Earl, Daryl Maggs, Mark Lomenda, Gary MacGregor, Garry Swain "Please let the fans make up their own minds," Henry Feller told a press gathering. "Let them decide if they want pro hockey here. We have to average 7,000 or 8,000 in the remaining 19 home games for a break-even point." Feller was a director of the Founders Club who had interest in buying the WHA's Denver Spurs club. Ivan Mullinex, owner of the Spurs had brought his team to Ottawa in an attempt to drum up interest and save his investment. The date was January 2, 1976 and Mullinex was in debt to a Denver bank to the tune of $1 million dollars. This same day, the newly christened Civics lost their first game under the new moniker by a score of 2-1 at Cincinnati. Star of the team, Ralph Backstrom said after the game, "Our first official notice of the move hit us when we entered the Cincinnati rink and the names on the big scoreboard read: Stingers and Civics. Until that moment we were un...
Read more

Team Canada 1972, What Might have Been

Image
Guy Lafleur, if he had played in the 72 Summit Series "No way. Can you imagine what our fans would say if we allowed Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito to play for Canada in that series and either...suffered an injury that might prevent them from playing with us for a year or more?" This was the concern of Weston Adams Jr, president of the Boston Bruins as quoted on April 20, 1972. After being speculated and discussed since February 1972 at the Olympics in Sapporo Japan, the series was set to go. Early on however, controversy stirred as to who exactly would be representing Canada. Bruins GM, Milt Schmidt agreed with his boss saying, "My only interest would be to see the Russians play the Bruins for the world championship...or whatever team wins the Stanley Cup." In the Vancouver Sun a few days later, the legendary Jim Coleman responds to the American naysayers suggesting that Team Canada should be made up strictly of players from Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal ...
Read more