Miami Screaming Eagles 1971-72 (never played)
Philadelphia Blazers 1972-73
Vancouver Blazers 1973-74 to 1974-75
Calgary Cowboys 1975-76 to 1976-77

Owners

Bernard Brown

James Cooper

Jim Pattison

Bill Sleiman

Bill Hay

Rinks

Philadelphia Civic Center 1972 to 1973

Pacific Coliseum 1973 to 1975

Calgary Stampede Corral 1975 to 1977

Seasons & Leaders

1972-73 Philadelphia Record 38-40-0, 76 pts Coach Phil Watson John McKenzie Goals 61, Danny Lawson 50, Andre Lacroix Assists 74, Andre Lacroix 50, John McKenzie Points 124, Andre Lacroix 106, Danny Lawson Penalty Min. 185, Jim Cardiff 157, John McKenzie Wins 33, Bernie Parent Goals Against 3.61, Bernie Parent Shutouts 2, Bernie Parent

1973-74 Vancouver Record 27-50-1, 55 pts Coach Phil Watson John McKenzie Andy Bathgate Goals 50, Danny Lawson 38, Claude St. Sauveur Assists 62, Bryan Campbell 38, Danny Lawson 38, John McKenzie Points 89, Bryan Campbell 88, Danny Lawson Penalty Min. 191, Colin Campbell 188, Jim Cardiff Wins 22, Pete Donnelly Goals Against 3.80, Pete Donnelly Shutouts 3, Pete Donnelly

1974-75 Vancouver Record 37-39-2, 76 pts Coach Joe Crozier Goals 33, Danny Lawson 29, Bryan Campbell Assists 43, Danny Lawson 37, John McKenzie Points 76, Danny Lawson 63, Bryan Campbell Penalty Min. 159, Rick Jodzio 128, Butch Deadmarsh Wins 33, Don McLeod Goals Against 3.34, Don McLeod Shutouts 1, Don McLeod

1975-76 Calgary Record 41-35-4, 86 pts Coach Joe Crozier Harry Howell Goals 44, Danny Lawson 42, Ron Chipperfield Assists 52, Danny Lawson 41, Ron Chipperfield Points 96, Danny Lawson 83, Ron Chipperfield Penalty Min. 196, Butch Deadmarsh 137, Rick Jodzio Wins 30, Don McLeod Goals Against 3.07, Wayne Wood Shutouts 1, Don McLeod 1, Wayne Wood

1976-77 Calgary Record 31-43-7, 69 pts Coach Joe Crozier Goals 30, Lynn Powis 27, Ron Chipperfield Assists 32, Warren Miller 30, Lynn Powis Points 60, Lynn Powis 55, Warren Miller Penalty Min. 120, Peter Driscoll 61, Rick Jodzio Wins 25, Don McLeod Goals Against 3.40, Don McLeod Shutouts 3, Don McLeod

Complete Roster & Regular Season Scoring Totals

Player (G: Goaltender)	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	Penalty Min.
Lawson, Danny	378	212	197	409	140
Campbell, Bryan	229	81	144	225	159
McKenzie, John	179	65	125	190	312
Chipperfield, Ron	234	88	88	176	94
Burgess, Don	214	61	76	137	42
Lacroix, Andre	78	50	74	124	83
St. Sauveur, Claude	165	63	56	119	89
Deadmarsh, Butch	155	46	53	99	401
Driscoll, Peter	172	42	49	91	287
Plumb, Ron	156	16	73	89	106
Morrison, George	142	36	51	87	23
Tannahill, Don	155	35	46	81	14
Walton, Rob	105	32	48	80	30
Powis, Lynn	84	34	40	74	48
Sentes, Dick	101	35	38	73	41
Herriman, Don	78	24	48	72	63
Harris, Hugh	88	28	43	71	38
Migneault, John	143	35	36	71	77
Evans, Chris	156	10	47	57	110
Terbenche, Paul	198	14	42	56	62
Miller, Warren	83	23	32	55	51
Israelson, Larry	105	22	31	53	36
O'Donoghue, Don	137	24	29	53	63
Miszuk, John	148	4	47	51	123
Cardiff, Jim	200	4	47	51	398
Rupp, Duane	114	3	42	45	78
Myers, Murray	93	23	21	44	32
Pelyk, Mike	75	14	26	40	121
Leiter, Bob	51	17	17	34	8
Price, Pat	68	5	29	34	15
Kryskow, Dave	45	16	17	33	47
Lacombe, Francois	71	3	28	31	62
Jodzio, Rick	137	15	16	31	357
Spencer, Irv	73	2	28	30	49
Plante, Michel	92	16	14	30	37
McLeod, Don (G)	202	0	30	30	20
Adair, Jim	70	12	17	29	10
Hull, Steve	60	11	17	28	6
Ford, Mike	54	5	20	25	14
Campbell, Colin	78	3	20	23	191
Jones, Jimmy	81	14	9	23	62
Chernoff, Mike	39	11	10	21	4
Meloche, Denis	45	7	14	21	18
Delorenzi, Ray	42	8	12	20	4
MacSweyn, Ralph	56	2	18	20	52
Campeau, Rychard	82	1	18	19	74
Caffery, Terry	21	5	13	18	4
Keogan, Murray	38	7	11	18	19
Lapierre, Camille	33	5	12	17	2
Lemieux, Richard	33	6	11	17	9
Arbour, John	37	1	15	16	38
Kirk, Gavin	15	7	8	15	14
Boudreau, Michel	36	8	7	15	4
Hatoum, Ed	37	3	12	15	8
Hutchison, Dave	97	0	15	15	185
Haas, Derek	30	5	9	14	6
Ward, Ron	16	5	7	12	2
Beaudoin, Serge	30	1	11	12	39
Connelly, Wayne	25	5	6	11	4
Gellard, Sam	28	7	4	11	15
Ketola, Veli-Pekka	17	4	6	10	2
Bennett, John	34	4	6	10	18
McCulloch, Don	51	1	9	10	42
Lukowich, Bernie	21	5	3	8	18
Bathgate, Andy	11	1	6	7	2
Locas, Jacques	22	3	4	7	2
Sanderson, Derek	8	3	3	6	69
Micheletti, Joe	14	3	3	6	10
Hurley, Paul	34	0	6	6	32
Shmyr, John	39	1	5	6	43
Henry, Pierre	19	2	3	5	13
Mayer, James	21	2	3	5	0
Harker, Derek	27	0	5	5	46
Olds, Wally	28	0	5	5	6
Reed, Bill	29	0	5	5	14
Gravel, John	8	1	3	4	0
Serviss, Tom	8	2	1	3	2
Deschamps, Andre	9	1	2	3	19
McNamee, Pete	14	2	1	3	15
Polano, Nick	17	0	3	3	24
Howell, Harry	31	0	3	3	6
Walsh, Brian	5	0	2	2	12
Tetreault, Jean	6	1	1	2	0
Greig, Bruce	7	1	1	2	10
Westrum, Pat	9	0	2	2	23
Boyd, Jim	13	0	2	2	6
Morin, Wayne	13	2	0	2	25
Pesut, George	17	2	0	2	2
Gruen, Danny	1	1	0	1	0
Gulka, Bud	5	1	0	1	10
Gratton, Bill	6	0	1	1	2
Rouleau, Michel	6	0	1	1	15
Paiement, Pierre	8	1	0	1	18
Mosdell, Wayne	9	0	1	1	12
Brown, Arnie	10	0	1	1	13
Archambault, Yves (G)	11	0	1	1	0
Donnelly, Pete (G)	49	0	1	1	9
Parent, Bernie (G)	63	0	1	1	36
Desjardine, Ken	1	0	0	0	0
Gilmour, Dave	1	0	0	0	0
Given, David	1	0	0	0	0
Mott, Darwin	1	0	0	0	0
Cottringer, Tom (G)	2	0	0	0	0
Lindskog, Doug	2	0	0	0	2
Sullivan, Danny (G)	2	0	0	0	0
Chipchase, Jack	3	0	0	0	2
Mercredi, Victor	3	0	0	0	29
Bilodeau, Yvon	4	0	0	0	2
Brown, Bob	4	0	0	0	2
Mavety, Larry	4	0	0	0	14
Jordan, Ric	5	0	0	0	4
McCrimmon, Jim	5	0	0	0	2
Baird, Ken	7	0	0	0	2
Golembrosky, Frank	8	0	0	0	0
Humphreys, Ed (G)	8	0	0	0	0
Paille, Marcel (G)	15	0	0	0	0
Bromley, Gary (G)	28	0	0	0	2
Gardner, George (G)	28	0	0	0	0
Wood, Wayne (G)	30	0	0	0	4

Complete Playoff Scoring Totals

Player (G: Goaltender)	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	Penalty Min.
Evans, Chris	10	5	5	10	4
Kirk, Gavin	10	4	6	10	19
Chipperfield, Ron	10	5	4	9	6
Powis, Lynn	10	5	4	9	12
Lawson, Danny	13	4	5	9	19
Driscoll, Peter	10	2	5	7	41
Tannahill, Don	10	2	5	7	8
Lukowich, Bernie	10	4	3	7	8
Terbenche, Paul	10	0	6	6	6
Morrison, George	10	3	2	5	0
McKenzie, John	4	3	1	4	8
Leiter, Bob	3	2	0	2	0
Lacroix, Andre	4	0	2	2	18
Plumb, Ron	4	0	2	2	13
Lapierre, Camille	4	0	2	2	0
Rupp, Duane	7	0	2	2	8
Olds, Wally	9	0	2	2	4
Campbell, Bryan	3	0	1	1	8
Burgess, Don	4	1	0	1	0
Herriman, Don	4	1	0	1	14
O'Donoghue, Don	4	0	1	1	0
Campeau, Rychard	4	1	0	1	17
Westrum, Pat	6	0	1	1	19
Deadmarsh, Butch	8	0	1	1	14
Sentes, Dick	8	0	1	1	8
Miller, Warren	10	1	0	1	28
Miszuk, John	10	0	1	1	10
McLeod, Don (G)	10	0	1	1	4
Haas, Derek	1	0	0	0	0
Parent, Bernie (G)	1	0	0	0	0
Humphreys, Ed (G)	1	0	0	0	0
Paille, Marcel (G)	1	0	0	0	0
Jodzio, Rick	2	0	0	0	14
Boudreau, Michel	2	0	0	0	0
Howell, Harry	2	0	0	0	2
Israelson, Larry	3	0	0	0	0
Hutchison, Dave	3	0	0	0	2
Archambault, Yves (G)	3	0	0	0	0
Migneault, John	4	0	0	0	0
Cardiff, Jim	4	0	0	0	11
Spencer, Irv	4	0	0	0	4
Plante, Michel	4	0	0	0	2
Lacombe, Francois	8	0	0	0	2

Complete Regular Season Goaltending

Goaltender	Games	Minutes	Goals	Shutouts	Record	Average
McLeod, Don	202	11419	649	5	88-96-10	3.41
Parent, Bernie	63	3653	220	2	33-28-0	3.61
Donnelly, Peter	49	2824	179	3	22-24-0	3.80
Wood, Wayne	30	1312	75	1	13-7-1	3.43
Bromley, Gary	28	1237	79	0	6-9-2	3.83
Gardner, George	28	1590	125	0	4-21-1	4.72
Archambault, Yves	11	523	44	0	2-7-0	5.05
Humphreys, Ed	8	441	27	0	2-5-0	3.67
Paille, Marcel	15	611	49	0	2-8-0	4.81
Cottringer, Tom	2	122	8	0	1-1-0	3.93
Sullivan, Danny	2	120	10	0	1-1-0	5.00

Complete Playoff Goaltending

Goaltender	Games	Minutes	Goals	Shutouts	Record	Average
McLeod, Don	10	579	37	0	5-5	3.83
Archambault, Yves	3	153	11	0	0-2	4.31
Humphreys, Ed	1	20	0	0	0-0	0.00
Paille, Marcel	1	26	5	0	0-1	11.54
Parent, Bernie	1	70	3	0	0-1	2.57

History

Miami was to be one of the original twelve teams in the new World Hockey Association. Dennis Murphy had co-owned and managed the Miami Floridians of the American Basketball Association in the early 1970s. Miami was a vibrant sports city with one glaring weakness: no major-league quality arena to house a hockey team (or a basketball team for that matter, as the Floridians went defunct in 1972). Nevertheless, through Murphy's influence and connections, real-estate developer Herb Martin was granted the rights to a Miami team in 1971, primarily because of Martin's promise to build a modern arena, to be called the Executive Square Garden. Should Martin pull off the arena, the WHA would play its inaugural game in Miami. The new team was named the Screaming Eagles and they were the first to sign a star player, goaltender Bernie Parent, most recently of the Toronto Maple Leafs, while also pursuing Boston Bruin forward Derek Sanderson. These moves, along with the flashy nickname, garnered the league some press during this time. However, Martin could not complete the arena. This became clear in early 1972, and the Miami team went quiet, losing its charter in April 1972 after failing to post a required bond to the league. A little over six weeks later, Bernard Brown and James Cooper assumed control of the Miami operation and relocated the team to Philadelphia, to go up against the NHL's Flyers. The new owners honored the contract signed by Parent and continued in the pursuit of Sanderson. The new Blazers would play in the antiquated Philadelphia Civic Center, which was never designed for a hockey rink. That detail did not stop the Brown and Cooper from inking Sanderson to a $2.65-million contract, the biggest ever at the time. John McKenzie, a teammate of Sanderson's with Boston, also signed, to both play and coach. Nothing went right for the Blazers. The team's first home game had to be postponed when the newly-installed ice plant malfunctioned, creating an ice sheet too brittle for hockey. The surfacer tore up chunks of the ice, forcing the cancellation of the game and prompting the fans in attendance to throw their commemmorative orange pucks onto the rink and toward unlucky players in protest. Meanhwile, McKenzie and Parent suffered injuries during the first weeks of the season, McKenzie a fractured arm and Parent a fractured leg. McKenzie would act as coach, rotating with Phil Watson. The rest of the team, a collection of fringe NHLers, minor-leaguers and newly-graduated amateurs, stumbled out of the gate, losing 16 of their first 20 games. Derek Sanderson was an entirely different matter. A capable forward with the Bruins, he was not the star-caliber player that he was touted to be. He was an effective defensive forward who excelled within a system, which suited him perfectly while with the Bruins. He was famous (notorious) primarily for his outspoken and often-controversial nature. If he could have backed his statements with effective play and solid numbers, he may have got away with his behavior. But he too was hurt early in the season, injuring his back in late October. He played in 8 games, sat out while he healed, came back too quickly and re-injured his back. Already an easy person to dislike, Sanderson came to be seen, fairly or not, as the primary fault of the team. He and the Blazers would part ways in early 1973, allowing Sanderson to return to Boston. Amid all this, the Blazers began to win regularly. McKenzie gave up on his dual player and coaching role, turning over the coaching to Watson full time. Watson, a hockey lifer with experience coaching in the NHL, knew how to get results. On the ice, Andre Lacroix, formerly of the Flyers, and Danny Lawson, formerly of the Buffalo Sabres, formed one of the most potent duos in the league. Lawson would lead all goal scorers with 61 for the season, and Lacroix would win the scoring crown, with 124 points. After November 25th of 1972, the Blazers would finish the season with a 34-24-0 record. McKenzie returned and contributed 28 goals and 78 points. Parent would play in the team's final 57 games. Former NHLer Bryan Campbell scored 25 goals and 73 points. Former Eastern Leaguer Don Herriman, playing on the Lacroix-Lawson line, had 24 goals and 72 points. Remarkably, at season's end, the Blazers had secured third place and a playoff berth. But the magic ended fast. Parent left the team one game into the team's playoff series with Cleveland, claiming the team defaulted on his contract. The Blazers lost the series and effectively quashed any support the team had in Philadelphia. It was almost certain they would relocate elsewhere. Parent absolved himself of the Blazers and the WHA and returned to Philadelphia as a member of the Flyers. He would backstop the Flyers to two consecutive Stanley Cups in both the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, registering an amazing 24 regular-season shutouts during this span. Meanwhile, the woebegone Blazers were heading west, to Vancouver. The team was purchased by Jim Pattison, who planted the team in Vancouver, to play out of the Pacific Coliseum and go up against the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. There was still the belief that a strong WHA team could outdraw a weak NHL team in the same city. The Canucks, just in their fourth year at this time, had done little to distinguish themselves. The Vancouver team retained the Blazer nickname, but lost Andre Lacroix, who refused to move with the team to Vancouver. He landed in New York and later, New Jersey, for the 1973-74 season. Danny Lawson stayed with the team and put up another fine season, with 50 goals. Bryan Campbell led the team with 89 points. New forwards Don Burgess (30 goals) and Claude St. Sauveur (38 goals) rounded out the attack. But the Blazers regressed as a unit, winning just 27 games and losing 50. The team drew respectably, but had not clearly established themselves to the Vancouver fans, who still preferred the Canucks. The Blazers would play another season in Vancouver, now under the guidance of Joe Crozier. The 1974-75 team improved, winning 37 games, but the offense regressed. Lawson led the team with a mere 33 goals, Bryan Campbell was second with 29. In nets, Don McLeod came over from Houston and played in nearly every game. Despite the team's improvement, the Canucks had improved even more and it was clear Vancouver wasn't big enough for two teams. The Blazers were again on the move. Pattison looked one province over and took a gamble with Calgary. Calgary was one of Canada's bigger cities and had been courted by the WHA in 1971-72. They would be a natural rival to the Edmonton Oilers and they were a city with a strong hockey tradition ... but a city with no major-league arena. The new Cowboys, as the team was rebranded, would play in the 5,000-seat Corral. Pattison (by this time including co-owners Bill Sleiman and Bill Hay) made no secret that placing the team in Calgary was a two-year deal. While there were no concrete plans to have a new arena built in Calgary as of 1975, there was much discussion about it. Perhaps the new Cowboys could be leverage to get the arena built. In the meantime, the team would play in the Corral and lose money. The team itself was forming into a solid squad. Crozier ran the entire operation, scouting and signing players, and coaching the team during the games. Danny Lawson continued to be one of the league's top goal scorers, potting 44 during 1975-76. Goalie Don McLeod played in 63 games and contributed 13 assists, as well as almost scoring a goal on one occasion. Venerable Harry Howell skated in 31 games and served as an assistant coach. George Morrison and Don Tannahill came over from the Fighting Saints and contributed 25 goals each, and the team had its first winning record, 41-35-4, and third place in the Canadian Division, good enough for a playoff berth. In the 1976 playoffs, the Cowboys squared off against the Quebec Nordiques. The two teams were diametric opposites. The Nordiques were a goal-scoring machine with five players collecting 100 or more points, while the Cowboys had no choice but to play a forechecking game to have a chance to win. The two teams had played one another 16 times during the season, including five games in March alone. There was very little affection between the two teams. In the March games, brawls broke out often. The Nordiques had stocked up on fighters as well, including Gord Gallant, Curt Brackenbury and Pierre Roy. In the second game, Rick Jodzio, a yound forward assigned to shadow Marc Tardif, leveled the Nordqiue center with a vicious check. Tardif fell to the ice and cracked his skull. He was out for the playoffs and his life was in danger in the immediate time being. This incited a brawl that had a true viciousness to it. Players were fighting to hurt one another. The fight lasted a half hour and was quelled only by police presence. Ten players received match penalties. The Cowboys won this game and the series. The Nordiques were broken and dispirited. Fans were angry. This brawl was seen as an inevitable outcome during an era when goon hockey was promoted and all-out fights were common. The league would institute stricter rules regarding fighting. Tardif, fortunately, would recover sufficiently to play another seven seasons but not without suffering lifetime physical after-effects of the hit. The team's second season in Calgary was not as successful. It was a streaky team. The Cowboys started the season 0-6-1, then won seven in a row. They could win at home but not at all on the road (5 road wins all season). A ten-game losing streak in March sealed the team's fate, the Cowboys finishing fifth in their division and out of the playoffs. The two-year trial was now over. There was still no definitive plans to build a suitable arena in Calgary. There was no way the team could persist at the Corral. But by summer 1977, the WHA-NHL merger negotiations were taking place. The Calgary operation stayed intact to see how this would play out. In its current state, the Cowboys were not going to be admitted into the NHL should the two leagues merge. Two other teams, the Phoenix Roadrunners and San Diego Mariners, were already defunct (Phoenix) or soon-to-be (San Diego). Indianapolis and Birmingham would not be admitted should merger happen, but they remained viable should the WHA convene to play in 1977-78. The Cowboys essentially faded. They made some effort to sell season tickets for 1977-78 but failed to meet a self-imposed deadline. There was consideration to move the team or go silent for a year. They were still alive in the barest sense of the word when the merger vote took place in early August 1977. When it failed, the Cowboys simply disappeared. Three years later, the two leagues now having merged, former WHA team-owner Nelson Skalbania bought control of the Atlanta Flames franchise and moved it to Calgary, to play at the Corral. But by this time, plans were in place for the new Saddledome to be built. Calgary was to be host of the 1988 Winter Olympics. The Flames could manage in the Corral with the knowledge that they'd have an actual home in a few years, a luxury the Cowboys never had. Cowboys Corralled (May 8, 1975) Cowboys, Nordiques Brawl Gives Hockey Black Eye (April 12, 1976) Corral Cause for Exclusion from NHL (June 25, 1977)   At Best, Status Is Questionable • by George Bilych • Calgary Herald • August 12, 1977 The World Hockey Association, apparently, is still alive. Questionable, however, is the status of the Calgary Cowboys. A communique from the Cowboys Thursday revealed they plan to be represented at the WHA's annual meeting, set for Montreal next week. It's assumed their position will finally be clarified at that time. That the Cowboys are on their way out, however, appears to be a mere formality. All reports from other WHA centres since merger became nothing but a bad dream are unanimous in that none mention Calgary as a potential candidate for the 1977-78 season. And, there has been nothing viable forthcoming from the Cowboys' staff itself. President Billy Hay has been away from the city vacationing the past week. There's been no official reaction from the Neonex tandem of Jim Pattison and Bill Sleeman. Joe Crozier maintains he's completely in the dark and is asking the same basic questions as is every other fan in the city. But, the writing on the wall appears to be fairly legible. With the prospect of losing another million dollars should they operate and no apparent compensation in sight, they appear to be left with three options -- sell, fold or seek a leave of absence. A WHA offical admitted Thursday that, while eight or nine different schedules have already been drawn up for the forthcoming season, none of them include Calgary. To be considered, too, is the fact that the Cowboys don't have the pick of the dates at the Corral any more. Stampede general manager Bill Pratt admits most of the prize dates have been claimed by the junior Wranglers. "We have enough dates to accommodate them," admitted Pratt, "but, I wouldn't consider many of them ideal. I've been in contact with the Neonex people throughout the summer, and, when the junior situation came up, was advised by them that we should continue negotiations with the Wranglers. Mind you, at that time, they (Cowboys) appeared very confident that merger would be accomplished. I haven't had any contact with them since merger talks fell apart." Pratt indicated the Stampede Board was still anxiously awaiting the report from the Stanford research group regarding Corral expansion. That is due to arrive on his desk on October 1. We recognize that a prime tenant such as a pro hockey team becomes a requisite when considering expansion of such a facility," added Pratt. "It's the familiar chicken or the egg bit again." It will be interesting to see what route the WHA decides to steer when it meets next week. There have been suggestions that it forget completely about the NHL and try instead to attract the lucrative international market. A closer relationship with teams from Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Finland and the Soviet Union is one direction it'll be investigating. While Alan Eagleson says it can't happen, rumor has it that the WHA is close to tying up as many as 16 games against this competition next winter. Expected to be announced soon, too, is a tour of Japan involving the Winnipeg Jets and the Soviet National Team. While interesting times they may be, it's unlikely that Calgary will be a part of it.

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• Article: Color of Hockey: Alton White (The Hockey News), by William Douglas — March 8, 2020
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