WHA Franchise Moves to Ottawa by Bob Mellor The Ottawa Citizen January 2, 1976 It was an extra-special kind of New Year's Eve for the Sparlings, but it wasn't what they'd planned. Laurie was all dressed up for a party, but she never got there. Her husband Ron spent the evening on the telephone. By the time the clock had chimed the begitining of 1976 though, they had more than the start of a new year to celebrate — the Denver Spurs were en route from Colorado to become the Ottawa entry in the World Hockey Association. The New Year's Eve phone calls were the culmination of a year-long campaign by Ron Sparling, a 35-year-old musician and entertainment agency operator, and Henry Feller, a 54-year-old retailer. The two men have been trying to bring pro hockey back to Ottawa ever since the the Ottawa Nationals left to become the Toronto Toros. They set up the Founders' Ciub last spring to generate local interest and kept in touch with the WHA, hoping for an opportunity to acquire a team. The Spurs — a new team this year made up of players from the extinct Chicago Cougars and the Baltimore Blades, including Ralph Backstrom — hadn't been drawing. A campaign began to persuade Denver owner Ivan Mullenix to give Ottawa a try. On New Year's Eve, Mullenix called to ask if they were still interested, and that set off a round of telephone conversations between Sparling, the WHA, Mullenix, Feller and Ottawa Civic Centre officials. By midnight, Mullenix had agreed to move the team into the Civic Centre for its remaining 19 games of the season. The first game is against the New England Whalers next Wednesday night. Feller and Sparling got together New Year's Day to drink a toast to the new team, which will be temporarily renamed the Ottawa Civics. "We've told Mullenix that through the Founders, we'd try to buy the team for next year, and keep it here permanently," Sparling said. Sparling, still a little shaken by it all, said Thursday: "I must be nuts. I've got three businesses going into the ground while I run around on this thing, and I'm in trouble with my wife. I'll tell you, you've got to love hockey."

Game Here Wednesday by Jack Koffman The Ottawa Citizen January 2, 1976 The World Hockey Association is returning to Ottawa but its future here appears to be hanging by a thread. Denver Spurs, in a move born of desperation, are moving their franchise to Ottawa for a game against New England Whalers next Wednesday evening at the Civic Centre. It could prove a one-night stand or a marriage of lasting duration. The outcome rests entirely on the number of people the Spurs can draw for the meeting with the Whalers. Spurs' owner Ivan Mullenix, on the phone with Ottawa Founders Club director Ron Sparling on New Year's Eve, accepted the invitation to give the capital a second shot at the WHA. He's making the transfer here against Whalers on the understanding that the Founders Club will support him in every possible way including the promotion of the sale of season tickets and finding a sufficient number of people willing to invest a few thousand towards the purchase of the club. The argument for purchasing the club by Ottawa interests is being advocated on the grounds that if the venture falls through this time, pro hockey will be far beyond the city's reach for many, many years. The Spurs have 19 home games remaining this year and they could all be played here, along with complete schedules in future years, if the fans in Ottawa show they're interested in supporting a WHA franchise. The plan of owner Mullenix is to sell the club to Ottawa interests eventually but he may be "whistling in the dark." In the Western Division cellar with 13 wins in 34 starts and with an average Denver turnout of no more than 3,000, the Spurs' boss has little alternative. He's not taking much of a gamble in switching the franchise here because it can hardly be any worse than what he has encountered in Denver — a complete lack of interest on the part of the customers. The Spurs originally were the Chicago Cougars, who were forced to vacate the Windy City after the 1974-75 campaign despite a desperate bid by players like Ralph Backstrom, Whitey Stapleton, goaler Dave Dryden and a legal friend who took over the franchise in lieu of some of the big salaries they had signed for. Denver has proven no better than Chicago and, if the Spurs fail to draw sufficient fans here, owner Mullenix could be $100 ahead if he got that much for the club rather than folding completely. fnstead, there's talk that he wants $1.2 million but might settle for a shade under the million. Nevertheless, the Spurs — with old friend Backstrom as the chief drawing card — must catch Ottawa fans hungry for pro hockey and willing to support the club handsomely, the story goes, before Mulfenix would think of settling the franchise here. Wayne Carleton, former center and wingman with the old Ottawa Nationals, is one of the performers with the Whalers here next Wednesday. More important, though, Mullenix and Founders Club people appear to be basing their chief hopes on the fact that the Spurs' second home game at the Civic Cemtre — if they're still here — would bring Gordie Howe, his sons Marty and Mark and Houston Aeros into Ottawa on Jan. 15. If Spurs should stay beyond the two games, there would undoubtedly be some schedule reshuffing. It would not be logical to carry on with the club's western division schedule operating from this city. In addition to Carleton, the Whalers will have Terry Caffery, formerly of national team fame, and Bob Charlebois and Ron Climie, a couple of ex-Nationals, on their roster. Tom Webster, long a prominent scorer in pro hockey, is also in the New England lineup. What could prove the big hope for Mullenix, the Spurs and those Ottawa fans who want to see pro hockey back here, is the fact that the Spurs — who'll become the Ottawa Civics for the moment — have a chance to succeed in an all-Canadian division. Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques and Calgary Cowboys have drawn favorably and a Canadian Division — even a Canadian League with a break away from the WHA as such — might succeed. But the club and the WHA as a whole may get little or no chance to make a go of it in Ottawa if something like 2,000 or so show up next Wednesday. Owner Mullenix must be convinced in a hurry that he's got a chance to pick up some fans and a future here. A crowd of 5,000 or so would give him ideas that it would be wise to remain in this neck of the woods. The WHA itself is in worse trouble than the National Hockey League and even the old established circuit is loaded down with financial grief. The World Hockey Association — in addition to the Spurs — has to worry about San Diego, Minnesota Fighting Saints (whose players have no guarantee they'll get a dime for their trouble) and Toronto Toros.

Okay, Ottawa, It's All Up To You by Bob Mellor The Ottawa Citizen January 2, 1976 Give them credit. By sheer persistence, and without anybody having to put up a quarter, Ron Sparling and Henry Feller did what most people thought was impossible, in bringing WHA hockey back to Ottawa. The rest is up to the people of this city. The move here by the Denver Spurs, who will become the Ottawa Civics, represents a second chance for Ottawa to take its place with other major centers in Canada as the home of a professional team. It may well be the last chance. What happened the last time around, of course, is an old story. Both the league and the Ottawa Nationals were bucking a wide credibility gap. By the time hockey fans came around to recognizing that the product was good and had begun to adopt the team, the owners already had made plans for the move to Toronto. A disagreement with civic officials over rental of the arena was the last straw, and sent them off in a storm of controversy. Ottawa fans have felt cheated ever since. No doubt it would be better if Sparling and Feller had negotiated an outright purchase from Ivan Mullenix, the team owner. It would certainly dispell any doubts about the permansace of the franchise, which was among the major problems of the old Nats. But Sparling and Feller have pledged that their objective was not merely to bring a team here, but to keep it here as well. It was their promise to Mullemx of an all-out effort by the Founders' Club to sell as many tickets as possible, and a pledge that they'd follow up with a campaign to buy it that convinced him to move the team here. From the beginnings of the Founders' Club last spring, the objective has always been to make Ottawa's next team part and parcel of the communny by involving as many people as possible. The idea has moved on to the sort of community ownership that exists in Winnipeg for thye Jets and Regina for the Roughriders. There are a lot of nuts and bolts to that, and they've sought the advice of one of the best corporate lawyers in the country to help them work it out. But all of that's a little down the road. In the meantime, what will decide the team's future is the kind of support it gets in Ottawa. There are a number of things going for the team, not the least of which is Ralph Backstrom, well-known and well-liked here, where he played his junior hockey and his early pro years, and is the kind of ambassador every team needs. There's another connection to the area in Gary MacGregor, a center who came out of Cornwall a couple of years ago as a high-priced draft choice, and was a 40-goal scorer as a rookie with Chicago. They've been playing in front of small crowds in Denver, and the lack of encouragement hasn't helped, but as of today, they're in reach of respectibility in their diviston, nine points out of second place. What also may help them here is that their schedule includes some of the league's best teams, opening with New England next Wednesday, and followed by Houston — who will be here three times in their remaining 19 home games. While they must finish out the year with the schedule they've got as a Western Division team, they'll be transferred next season to the Canadian Division, which is the strongest and healthiest part of the league, the Toronto Toros notwithstanding. ... But it's another chance for Ottawa, if the people of this city want it. This time around, attitudes have changed. It should be said, too, that Mayor Larry Greenberg was among the persuaders in conversations with the WHA's Ben Hatskin, so there's support down at City Hall. The rest is up to you.

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