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Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics Statistics and History

The Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics were a Major League hockey team playing in the World Hockey Association from 1975 to 1976. The team started the season as the Denver Spurs, continuing the name of the team that had previously played in both the Western and Central Hockey League, and also continuing play in the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver.

In May 1974, Ivan Mullenix was awarded a NHL franchise in Denver for the 1976-77 season as part of a planned expansion that also included a team in Seattle. As a condition of the award, Mullenix was required to purchase the WHL's Denver Spurs from their current owner, the NHL's St. Louis Blues. Mullenix operated the Spurs in the CHL for 1974-75, but to speed things up he attempted to purchase the California Seals of the NHL following the season so that he could enter the NHL a year earlier. His offer was rejected. He also tried to move up his expansion franchise schedule by a year, but this was also rejected. Mullenix abandoned the NHL and instead opted to purchase a franchise in the WHA; the speculation at the time was that the NHL only awarded the Denver Seattle franchises to force the Western Hockey League to cease operations, and were not really serious about expanding into those cities.

Although technically an expansion franchise, the WHA allowed the Spurs to exclusively select players from the Chicago Cougars franchise which had just folded a week earlier. On May 29, 1975, the Spurs selected 14 ex-Cougars, including Gary MacGregor and Ralph Backstrom. Meanwhile, Mullenix filed an anti-trust suit against the NHL.

The Spurs, coached by Jean-Guy Talbot (who had coached the CHL team the previous year), opened its season on October 10, 1975, with a 7-1 loss to Indianapolis. They spent most of the season in the basement of the WHA's Western Division. The Spurs were also the lowest averaging team in the league, drawing an average of 3,741 fans per game (this may not be exact since their last reported attendance of 3,500 appears to be an approximation). In November, rumors surfaced that the team would fold. In December, Mullenix put out a plea to other Denver businesses, looking for support to help stem his losses.

On December 31, 1975, the city of Denver filed a lien against the Spurs for $47,334 in taxes, representing monies collected by the team from ticket sales, but not remitted to the city. The very next day, the team and league announced that the Spurs would immediately move to Ottawa and would be known as the Civics.

The Ottawa Civics played their first game on January 2, an away game at Cincinnati. They lost 2-1. They played their first home game at the Ottawa Civic Center on January 7, losing to the New England Whalers 3-2 in front of 8,467 fans. Their next home game, a 5-4 OT loss to Houston on January 15, was a sellout at 9,375. However, despite these two strong showings at home, the Civics folded two days later, because they could not meet their payroll. All of Ottawa's players, with the exception of a handful who were traded at the last minute, were declared to be free agents.

Team Information

Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics
(Ottawa,ONT)
World Hockey Association
[Major League]
1975-1976

Denver Spurs
(Denver,CO)
World Hockey Association
[Major League]
1975-1976

Ottawa Civics
(Ottawa,ONT)
World Hockey Association
[Major League]
1975-1976

Record
1 Seasons
(GP-W-L-T-OTL-SOL)
41-14-26-1-0-0
0.354
Franchise History
» Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics « (1975-1976)
Minor League Affiliates
Tucson Mavericks (1975-1976) [CHL]
Erie Blades (1975-1976) [NAHL]

Logos

Yearly Standings

Season Team League Division GP W L T OTL SOL Pts Pct GF GA PIM Atten. Coach Result
1975-76Denver Spurs/Ottawa CivicsWHAWestern411426100290.3541341725364321Jean-Guy TalbotOut of Playoffs

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Game Programs
Ottawa Civics 1975-76 program cover
1975-1976