A little over 50 years ago, the World Hockey Association caused a major ripple effect within the game as it posed a major challenge to the established National Hockey League. Over the course of seven seasons, the two parties went to war with players signing huge contracts – but there was also a heavy cost for teams as some simply could not survive – including the franchise which hit the ice as the Los Angeles Sharks.
Initially called the Los Angeles Aces, the Sharks were a club hoping to capture the hearts of southern California fans as the NHL’s Kings struggled and could not make the playoffs in the early 1970s. Owned by WHA founder Dennis Murphy, the Sharks name was initially meant for a San Francisco club that was abandoned and ultimately became the Quebec Nordiques well before the 1972-73 campaign was to start.
Decked out in red, black, and white, the Sharks did not go out of their way to sign superstars at the start. Instead, they built a solid core of talent which also had a bit of a physical edge that would go through a wall for coach Terry Slater. Some names that were a bit familiar to NHL fans included Gary Veneruzzo, Bart Crashley, Joe Szura, Gerry Odrowski, Mike Byers, Earl Heiskala, and Ralph MacSweyn. Additionally, they also had Jim Watson on the blue line – but not the player of the same name that won two Stanley Cups with the Philadelphia Flyers.
In net, the Los Angeles Sharks primarily relied on the quirky George Gardner, who had played for the first-year Vancouver Canucks in 1970-71. His tandemmate was the relatively unknown Ross Gillow, a minor league veteran who was finally getting a real shot at age 32.
After dropping their opener to the Houston Aeros, the Sharks were roughly a .500 team throughout their first season. Offensively speaking, they weren’t great as a whole, but their defense and penalty killing we among the best in the fledgling league.
Kids in Canada were a bit shocked or even disappointed to see WHA players in third series packs of 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee and a few Los Angeles Sharks made the cut. With more of the photos being taken during training camp by Graphic Artists, we find Crashley, Veneruzzo, Szura, and Odrowski on the checklist in sharp white jerseys.
Also coming out of packs was a push-out team logo which could be moistened a stuck on a flat surface. The Sharks logo is one of the more plentiful from that year, but it still commands a nice price when available for sale.
The Sharks finished third in the West Division with a 37-35-6 record and Veneruzzo paced them 43 goals and 73 points. Rookie J.P. LeBlanc turned some heads with 50 assists and 69 points while early-season acquisition Alton White lit the lamp 20 times after coming over in a trade. White has historical significance as he is the second player of African-Canadian heritage to make it to the highest level in hockey, roughly 15 years after Willie O’Ree debuted with the Boston Bruins. The Sharks also issued a small set of black and white team photos which give collectors a good look at their early roster.
In the playoffs, the Sharks met Houston and despite having a 2-1 lead after three outings, fell to the Aeros in six – with two of those losses decided by a single goal.
Year Two Letdown
Hopes were high for the Los Angeles Sharks heading into their second season thanks to the signing of Marc Tardif, who had just won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens. The second overall pick in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft, he was held back a bit due to a well-established lineup of Hall of Fame talent and jumped at the chance to be a star.
With no other major additions to the roster other than goalie Paul Hoganson, the Sharks had a rough start in 1973-74. Slater was let go after going 5-14-0. Replacing him was tough Ted McCaskill, who baseball fans will recognize as being the father of pitcher Kirk McCaskill. He did not have much luck, either, as the team went 20-39-0 the rest of the way to finish last in the West.
Tardif was by far their best offensive contributor, but 30 skaters ended up wearing their jersey that year. In net, five goalies were used as Gardner was quickly sent over to the Vancouver Blazers and left Gillow, Hoganson, Ian Wilkie, and Jim McLeod to face a ton of rubber.
During this season, though, there were a handful of options for young collectors. The 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee Posters set included Tardif while Quaker Oats had both Veneruzzo and LeBlanc in its unique set which was released in five-card panels.
Stag Party Poopers
With the Kings becoming contenders again, the writing was on the wall for the Los Angeles Sharks and they were put up for sale. Finding a buyer, they were relocated to Detroit and became the Michigan Stags in 1974.
Playing out of the Cobo Arena, they did not have a local television deal in place and had to contend with a rabid Detroit Red Wings fan base which was loyal despite its fall from grace in this era. New to the club was goalie Gerry DesJardins, who had previously played for the Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, and New York Islanders. A few more obscure talents were welcomed, such as NHL vets like John Miszuk and Paul Curtis, but there was no realistic hope that this team was a contender. Even the presence of new coach (and former Red Wing) Johnny Wilson, promising draft pick Barry Legge and minor league scoring machine Steve West, created little optimism.
Attendance for Stags games was poor and they opened on the road with a 4-2 win against another new WHA club, the Indianapolis Racers. From that moment forward, the wins were scarce and they were a dismal 5-15-0 after 20 games. The team’s main star, Tardif, was shipped off to the Nordiques on Dec. 7, and later that month, there were talks about moving the Stags to Calgary, Alberta as the WHA was paying the team’s bills. Attendance was dipping to around 1,200 a game and change was imminent.
The last game ever played by the Michigan Stags was a memorable one – even if few people were there to see it. On Jan. 9, 1975, Bobby Hull and the Winnipeg Jets came to town and the home team was ready for them – coming ahead with a 5-4 overtime victory. Afterward, the team went on a seven-game road trip which was interrupted with the news that they were officially on the move. As the Stags, their record was a disappointing 13-27-3.
Becoming the Blades
The Baltimore Blades were officially welcomed to the WHA on Jan. 23, 1975 and debuted two days later with a 2-1 loss to the Cleveland Crusaders. A week earlier, they had actually played their last game as the Stags against the same club with a similar result.
Coming to Baltimore was certainly a risky move since the nearby Washington Capitals had made their NHL debut a few months earlier – and were drawing despite terrible performances. Still operated by WHA trustees, the search was on for local ownership – and it did not look promising. Desjardins left the team and signed on with the Buffalo Sabres. It was a smart move, as he helped take the team to its first Stanley Cup Final that year.
It was also around this time that hockey cards featuring three Stags players were part of the 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee WHA set. Here, we got a rookie card for LeBlanc and we see him, along with Veneruzzo, in a Stags jersey.
Tardif was also included, but is in a Sharks jersey due to unavailable photography. Interestingly, the Tardif card does mention the trade to the Nordiques, where he quickly began to fulfill his potential as a scorer. This information does help potential place its design phase into December or January, since the other cards do not mention the team’s relocation.
For the rest of 1974-75, the Blades were playing on borrowed time. Debuting at home on Feb. 2, they dropped a 5-2 decision to Gordie Howe and the Aeros. Their arrival also had a negative impact on the troubled Baltimore Clippers of the AHL, who promptly folded. A neat addition to the lineup here was enforcer Bill Goldthorpe, who was also the inspiration for the character of Ogie Oglethorpe in the film, Slap Shot.
At the end of the season, Veneruzzo and LeBlanc were their top offensive performers, and the Blades ultimately put together an 8-26-1 record to show that new surroundings do note equate success. In their final game on April 7, 1975, Baltimore did manage to earn a victory over the Aeros. One Blades player that eventually surfaced in the NHL was Eddie Johnstone, who had much more success with the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings.
Attendance was slightly better in the Charm City, but speculation arose that they were eventually heading west to Seattle. Since that sale never materialized, the franchise was abandoned and the remaining players dispersed to any interested WHA clubs via a draft.
Few Modern Options for Collectors
Since the Baltimore Blades bid us farewell, there has been very little to collect from this ill-fated franchise. The only trading card manufacturer to bring back the Sharks or Stags was In The Game over the course of three releases over a decade ago.
The first to surface came in 2008-09 Between The Pipes as part of The Rival League subset which featured WHA goalies. Here, we get an on-ice shot of Desjardins in a white Stags jersey and it was followed up the next year’s edition with a Sharks photo of George Gardner.
Where we get the rest of them is in 2009-10 In The Game 1972: The Year In Hockey. A fun release which served as a throwback in terms of design and with all the modern aspects of card collecting the hobby has come to expect, it was a big hit at the time.
With a distinct focus on the first group of players to skate in the WHA, we are treated to a quartet of Sharks in Veneruzzo, Crashley, Odrowski, and White. This is the first major issue card for White, who is actually wearing a New York Raiders jersey. It’s a nice little throwback to how cards were often created in the early 70s when photos weren’t instantly available to card makers.
Each of the base cards has a rarer blank-backed version which was limited to 72 copies. Additionally, all four of them also have autograph cards that could be pulled from packs. At the time, your humble author was heavily involved in the development of this product as a consultant and signed all four of them to contracts to appear in the product (and wrote the backs, too!). White seemed a bit surprised by the request to be involved, but I felt it was important to pay tribute to his place in the game’s history and he thankfully agreed.
Since then, though, it has been radio silence for cards of Sharks, Stags, or Blades. Occasionally, a game-used jersey may surface at auction, but it seems they have been largely forgotten by most hobbyists. At this point, we may never see a WHA-related release come to light, but it’s important to remember the legacy of this franchise. Collecting its cards won’t set you back a lot at this point, with the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee base cards and Team Logo being the most expensive. The blank backs from In The Game are tough in terms of their limited nature, but they are certainly attainable. All told, it truly is a fun side project for WHA fans that enjoy some of the more obscure franchises that played within it.
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