Denver Spurs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Denver Spurs were a short-lived hockey team based out of Denver that played in the World Hockey Association in the 1975-76 season. Their home ice was McNichols Sports Arena. The WHA elected to expand to Denver following the NHL's cancellation of a proposed 1976 expansion to Denver and Seattle.
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 before the franchise ceased operations for good.
The hastily-arranged move is hockey legend, as the players, who were on the road, only learned of the move to Ottawa when they stood on the ice (in their Denver colors) and suddenly heard the Canadian national anthem play at their next game.
[edit] Before the WHA
The original Denver Spurs began play in the WHL (Western Hockey League) in 1968. After the WHL folded in 1974, the team jumped to the former Central Hockey League. The Spurs were admitted into the WHA in 1975. The first professional sports team in Colorado to win a championship was the 1971-72 Denver Spurs.
