World Hockey Association

The World Hockey Association (WHA) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926. Although the WHA was not the first league since that time to attempt to challenge the NHL's supremacy, it was by far the most successful in the modern era.

The formation of the WHA was announced on June 25, 1971.

The two leagues merged in 1979, which resulted in four WHA clubs joining the NHL. The WHA officially folded on June 22 and the remaining franchises that did not join the NHL folded as well.

Teams

Franchise	Locations	Venues	Founded	Ended	Fate
Alberta / Edmonton Oilers	Edmonton, Alberta	Edmonton Gardens Northlands Coliseum	October 30, 1971	1972-74 1974-79	Joined the NHL in 1979.
Chicago Cougars	Chicago, Illinois	International Amphitheatre	October 30, 1971	1972-75	Folded in 1975.
Cincinnati Stingers	Cincinnati, Ohio	Riverfront Coliseum	1975-79	Folded in 1979.
Cleveland Crusaders / Minnesota Fighting Saints	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Arena Richfield Coliseum	1972-76	Folded in 1977.
	Saint Paul, Minnesota	St. Paul Civic Center	1976-77
Denver Spurs Ottawa Civics	Denver, Colorado Ottawa, Ontario	Denver Coliseum Ottawa Civic Centre	1968-75 1976	Folded in 1976.
Houston Aeros	Houston, Texas	Sam Houston Coliseum The Summit	October 30, 1971	July 9, 1978	Folded
Indianapolis Racers	Indianapolis, Indiana	Market Square Arena	1974-78	Folded in 1978.
Los Angeles Sharks / Michigan Stags / Baltimore Blades	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Long Beach Arena	October 30, 1971	1972-74	Folded in 1975.
	Detroit, Michigan	Cobo Arena		1974-75
	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Civic Center		1975
Minnesota Fighting Saints	Saint Paul, Minnesota	St. Paul Auditorium St. Paul Civic Center	October 30, 1971	1972-76	Folded in 1976.
New England Whalers	Boston, Massachusetts	Boston Arena Boston Garden	1972-73 1973-74	Joined the NHL in 1979.
	West Springfield, Massachusetts	Big E Coliseum	1974-75
	Hartford, Connecticut	Hartford Civic Center	1975-78
	Springfield, Massachusetts	Springfield Civic Center	1978-79
New York Raiders New York Golden Blades/Jersey Knights San Diego Mariners	New York City, New York	Madison Square Garden	October 30, 1971	1972-73	Folded in 1977.
	New York City, New York Cherry Hill, New Jersey	Madison Square Garden Cherry Hill Arena		1973-74
	San Diego, California	San Diego Sports Arena		1974-76
Philadelphia Blazers Vancouver Blazers Calgary Cowboys	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Philadelphia Convention Hall	1972-73	Folded in 1977.
	Vancouver, British Columbia	Pacific Coliseum	1973-75
	Calgary, Alberta	Stampede Corral	1975-77
Phoenix Roadrunners	Phoenix, Arizona	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	1974-77	Folded in 1977.
Ottawa Nationals Toronto Toros Birmingham Bulls	Ottawa, Ontario	Ottawa Civic Centre	1972-73	Folded in 1979.
	Toronto, Ontario	Varsity Arena Maple Leaf Gardens	1973-76
	Birmingham, Alabama	BJCC Coliseum	1976-79
Quebec Nordiques	Quebec City, Quebec	Colisée de Québec	October 30, 1971	1972-79	Joined the NHL in 1979.
Winnipeg Jets	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Winnipeg Arena	October 30, 1971	1972-79	Joined the NHL in 1979.

See also

• WHA league publications
• WHA All-Star Games

Seasons

Leagues Portal