WHA Teams: Denver Spurs

By Wikipedia

The Denver Spurs (later known as the Ottawa Civics) were a short-lived World Hockey Association (WHA) in the 1975-76 season.

At a glance... Franchise Facts Established May 19, 1975 Disbanded January 17, 1976 Located Denver, Colorado Ottawa Purchase Price $2M (1974) Owner(s) Ivan Mullenix Postseason/Titles NONE   Nicknames Denver Spurs (1975-76) Ottawa Civics (1976) Arena McNichols Sports Arena (16,800, 1975) Ottawa Civic Centre (10,500, 1976)

Denver Spurs (the minor league, pre-WHA version) owner Ivan Mullenix had tried unsuccessfully both to purchase an existing NHL franchise or to get an NHL expansion team finally began talking to the WHA and hammered out a deal in May of 1975. He decided to keep the name from his minor league team. The new WHA team took the ice for the 1975-1976 season.

Financial difficulties, combined with ongoing reports that an NHL team (either the Kansas City Scouts or California Golden Seals) was planning to relocate to Denver, resulted in a hasty mid-season move to Ottawa on January 2, 1976, where the team was renamed Ottawa Civics. The Civics would only survive for two weeks and eight games before the franchise ceased operations for good.

The original Denver Spurs began play in the minor WHL (Western Hockey League in 1968. After the WHL folded in 1974, the team jumped to the former Central Hockey League (CHL). The Spurs were admitted into the WHA in 1975.

After the team folded, all of the players were declared free agents and a dispersal draft was held. Because of the rushed nature of the move, and the Civics' short life, they did not officially adopt a logo or colors, and continued to wear the Spurs' uniforms. (We are displaying a logo that was being considered as the new Civics logo.)

WHA Bibliography
The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association by Ed Willes
The Complete Historical and Statistical Reference to the World Hockey Association by Scott Adam Surgent
WHA Pro Hockey '75 - '76 by Dan Proudfoot
WHA Media Guides (each team published one each year)

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