WHA Hockey.TV: A Tribute to the Legends of the World Hockey Association by Mark Willand

WHA Profile: "Cowboy" Bill Flett

Cowboy Bill Flett took the WHA by storm with 34 goals in 48 games in 1976-77.  He follwed that with a 41-goal campaign a year later.  Flett began his career with the Melville Millionaires of the SJHL. He was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs. From 1963 through 1967, he played for various minor league teams. Finally, in 1967, the NHL expanded from six to twelve teams and Flett was drafted by the expansion Los Angeles Kings. In his rookie season, playing on right wing, he scored 26 goals and was named The Sporting News NHL West Division rookie of the year.

Flett was nicknamed "Cowboy" because in addition to being a hockey player, he was also a rodeo performer. Flett's rodeo career ended when the Los Angeles King's Kings owner Jack Kent Cooke threatened to fine him $1000 for every rodeo he appeared in. He was well known throughout his career for being one of the few hockey players at the time to sport a large beard, and for being one of the last players to play without a helmet.

Flett scored 24 goals in his sophomore season. His goal production declined significantly in his next two seasons. Fed up with his dwindling production, the Kings traded Flett, along with Eddie Joyal and Ross Lonsberry to the Philadelphia Flyers where he had his best season in 1972–73 with 43 goals. Flett was a member of the Flyers 1974 Stanley Cup champion team. After the season ended, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he reverted to his indifferent play, and as a result, the Leafs put him on waivers. The Atlanta Flames picked him from waivers, and Flett had one last productive year in the NHL when he scored 23 goals in 1975–76. In 1976–77, the Flames sold him to the Edmonton Oilers of the WHA where he contributed nicely to the Oilers offence. When Edmonton joined the NHL, he found he had little left and retired after 20 games. He scouted for the Oilers after that.

In May 1999, Flett entered the hospital due to a gall bladder condition which eventually contributed to liver failure. Flett received a liver transplant; however, his body rejected the transplant. Flett died on July 13, 1999 due to liver failure.

WHA Profile: Tim Sheehy

Talented and classy Tim Sheehy is now a successful player agent. His scoring prowess was a key factor in the Whalers success from 1972-74. Sheehy, who was born in September 3rd, 1948 in Fort Frances, Ontario, was an American citizen by the time his career got underway. Sheehy was a major star as a high school player leading his team to 59-straight victories and three consecutive Minnesota State Championships. He then moved on to a University career.

After three decorated years with Boston College, Sheehy joined the United States National Team where he participated in two World Championships and the 1972 Winter Olympics. He served as the captain of the U.S. club was a major part of the team that surprised many by winning a silver medal.

His professional career began in 1972 when he signed on with the World Hockey Association's New England Whalers where he soon earned a reputation as a steady scoring winger. During his third season with the Whalers Sheehy was traded to the Edmonton Oilers where he spent parts of three seasons. After a very solid 1976-77 campaign where Sheehy scored 41 goals with Birmingham he caught the attention of the NHL and was acquired via trade by the Detroit Red Wings.

According to Sheehy: "Being a parent and coach of young hockey players at this stage of my life, I certainly understand the demeanor of a younger Jack Kelley and his climb to the top of his profession. Helping young players attain their goals by winning championships and helping in their development along the way, is a passion that I share today as a hockey agent.

Never will I forget the trade engineered by Jack Kelley that sent me to the Edmonton Oilers on Valentine’s Day 1975, while being the team’s second leading scorer. Jack would later say that I was supposed to “warm things up for the Great Wayne Gretzky.” After spending two years in Edmonton, I was traded to the Birmingham Bulls of the WHA and got to play with the likes of Frank Mahovlich and Paul Henderson. With Birmingham experiencing financial problems, Vaclav Nedomansky and I were traded to the Detroit Red Wings in the first inter-league trade. Later, on Valentine’s Day 1978, Jack Kelley would tell me “it was time to come home” and play on a line with “Mr. Hockey,” Gordie Howe and his son Mark Howe, along with his defenseman brother Marty Howe. All three Howes’ had been so well represented by the family matriarch agent in contract negotiations, that being the wonderful and classy Colleen Howe. " Tim Sheehy

17-Year old Wayne Gretzky Joins the WHA

From Joe Pelletier's Greatest Hockey Legends Ed Mio profile:

After a year in the minors Mio made his major league debut in 1977-78 when he joined the Indianapolis Racers for his first year in the World Hockey Association.

During the 1978-79 campaign is when Mio first met Gretzky. They were teammates on the Racers for a brief period of time before one of the most historic trades in hockey history took place in November of that season as Mio and Peter Driscoll were dealt along with Gretzky to the Edmonton Oilers for cash.

Mio loves to tell the story of the day they were traded.

Eight games into the season, financially troubled Racers owner Nelson Skalbania decided to fold the team. However since Gretzky was on a personal services contract, he first had to trade the teenage phenom.

Skalbania had two deals going, one with the Winnipeg Jets and one with the Edmonton Oilers. Both deals also involved Mio and Peter Driscoll. things were moving so quickly that all three were put on a private jet and headed to western Canada, though they didn't know where the plane was going to land.

Needless to say the pilots were as confused as the passengers. They wanted to know who was paying for the flight.

"Who's paying for this flight?" they asked.

They looked at one another. Gretzky had lots of money in the bank, but was too young to have a credit card. The other two were broke.

So Eddie Mio reached into his pocket, pulled out his VISA card with the $300 limit, and signed for a $10,000 trip on a Learjet.

Somewhere in midair, the pilot got the word: They were Oilers. They landed in Edmonton. Mio of course was more concerned about his credit card

"Hey," he demanded. "Who's gonna cover this credit card?"

Mio finished the season in the WHA with Edmonton and remained an Oiler in 1979-80 when the club joined the NHL.

Wayne Gretzky on MyHockeyTV.com

Wayne Greztky - three 1978-79 Goals

From Oilers Heritage

Before NHL scouts could follow Wayne Gretzky’s second season of Ontario Junior hockey, Nelson Skalbania—the new owner of the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association—intervened. As a former partner in the Edmonton Oilers, Skalbania had made a name for himself as a wheeler and dealer in the sports world; a man who would trade sports teams as if they were stocks. In the Racers, Skalbania thought he had found a team that could quickly mushroom in value if it could employ a star. Skalbania signed Gretzky and a shockwave went through the world of pro hockey. NHL teams believed that Skalbania acted immorally by signing a 17-year-old, flying in the face of established rules. WHA supporters noted the league had already broken the NHL’s repressive reserve clause and upped wages for players. The signing of Gretzky would only serve to correct more of the NHL’s wrongs. Gretzky skated in just eight games for the Racers.

The people of Indianapolis did not take to the young star the way Skalbania had expected, and the team teetered on the brink of bankruptcy less than a month into the 1978-79 WHA season. Skalbania looked to his old partner, Peter Pocklington, to help him. The two agreed to a deal that would reshape Edmonton hockey forever. Pocklington paid the Racers $850,000, providing the cash-strapped Nelson Skalbania with the much-needed funds to keep his Racers alive. In return, Pocklington assumed Gretzky’s contract along with forward Peter Driscoll and goaltender Eddie Mio.

When Wayne Gretzky made his first appearance as an Edmonton Oiler on November 3, 1978, he wore sweater number 20. After acquiring the teenage sensation from the Racers, the Oilers’ outfitters did not have the time to prepare a jersey with the number 99 on the back. A namebar was applied to a #20 jersey that was in the equipment room, and the Oilers promised that a #99 sweater would be ready in time for Gretzky’s second game. Gretzky was not hampered by the number change, as he scored in a 4-3 Oilers win over the Winnipeg Jets. Gretzky would go on to have a sensational rookie season in the WHA. He played 72 games as an Oiler, scoring 43 times and adding 61 assists, and was the key reason the team finally made it to the Avco World Championship Trophy series that year. During that season, the city of Edmonton fell in love with the Great One, and Skalbania’s vision of a star player attracting crowds was realized in a different city with a different owner. Pocklington gave Gretzky a new $1-million per season 21-year contract on January 26, 1979, Gretzky’s 18th birthday, and the deal was signed at the centre ice of Northlands Coliseum. While Gretzky and the Oilers failed in their bid to win the last-ever Avco trophy before the World Hockey Association folded, the Oilers were prepared for their 1979 debut in the National Hockey League. Due to the millions spent on securing his rights, Gretzky’s nickname was "Brinks". Despite the moniker, Gretzky proved the investment was the right decision, as he led the league with 10 playoff goals that final season of the WHA