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What if…: Pittsburgh had not been awarded a team in 1967
FACTS: With the folding of the New York Americans in 1942, the era of the “Original Six” began in the NHL. Viewed by many as the “true” starting point of the league (although the league existed with as many as 10 teams in the 1920s), this was the foundation upon which the enthusiasm for, and reputation of, the league was built. It was a select membership, comprised of the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs.
It remained this way for close to the next 20 years with no qualms from league owners happy to collect the profits from their exclusive association of teams, while also keen on preventing other teams from joining the membership and subsequently having to divide the cash flow any further. History has proven on numerous occasions, however, that as much as we would like to maintain the status quo, our hands often times get forced on these issues causing us to make decisions we don’t necessarily want to. Such was the case with the six owners of the NHL franchises when in the 1960s various factors applied pressure to grow their membership. One direction from which this pressure was exerted was from the TV networks. In 1965, having already gone without a TV contract from 1960-63, and on the verge of their most recent 2-year deal about to expire, the networks made it known to the NHL that it did not look kindly on its refusal to modify start times to meet network requests, and that it was strongly considering offering their TV hockey time to the Western Hockey League (WHL) which had teams in large-market west coast markets. In fact, the networks were so bold as to suggest that unless the league were to expand, and very soon, they would not be welcome on their airwaves. Under this scenario, the second major factor emerged: the WHL. With a major TV contract under its belt, the WHL would become a viable alternative to the NHL and siphon money away from the owners.
The culmination of these threats ultimately swayed the owners, albeit with reluctance, to bite the bullet and face the inevitable: The days of the six team NHL were over and the dawn of expansion was upon them. The plan, devised in 1965, was made to initiate the expansion in 1967, and to open membership to six more teams, doubling the size of the league. The new teams would form a West Division, with two teams coming from the west coast, two from the midwest and two from the east. Applications were submitted from 14 potential ownership groups. Of these 14 applications submitted to the league in early 1966, five came from Los Angeles, two from Pittsburgh, and one from Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Philadelphia, San Francisco-Oakland, St. Louis, Baltimore, Buffalo and Vancouver.
As the process progressed a better idea began to arise as to who was going to be awarded franchises. The “heard it through the grapevine” consensus appeared to be that in the west, franchises were going to be awarded to Los Angeles (Kings) and Oakland (Golden Seals, to become Cleveland Barons in ’76, to cease operations and merge with Minnesota North Stars in ’79), in the midwest St. Louis (Blues) and Minneapolis (North Stars, to become Dallas Stars in ’93), while in the east a team was to be awarded to Philidelphia (Flyers) while the second team was as yet undecided. Don’t mistake undecided for not leaning in a certain direction, however, as the Norris brothers, Bruce and Jim, owners of the Red Wings and Blackhawks, respectively, were definitely favouring Buffalo over Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
The group lobbying for a team in Pittsburgh (more accurately the return of a franchise following the loss of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1930), including Pennsylvania State Senator Jack McGregor and his law school classmate Peter Block, were panicked, not knowing how much sway the Norris brothers might have with the remaining four owners. Enter Senator McGregor’s political connections in the form of a prominent Pittsburgh sports figure, and significant financial contributor to Senator McGregor’s campaigns, Art Rooney. Mr. Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, was sympathetic to Senator MmcGregor’s concerns and agreed to intervene on behalf of the campaign to award a franchise to Pittsburgh. Mr. Rooney had connections with the Norris brothers via mutual friends in the horse racing business, and rallied the brothers to change their minds. According to Senator McGregor, who was present as Mr. Rooney spoke to each of the Norris brothers, Art made the following statement to each of them:
“You owe this to me. You cannot put Buffalo ahead of Pittsburgh. It would be personally embarrassing to me if you did.”
Was it a case of fraternity between owners? Who knows! What we do know though is that Art Rooney was successful in persuading both brothers to change their votes. In addition to both Norris brothers, Bill Jennings of the Rangers and David Molson of the Canadiens voted in favour of Pittsburgh being awarded the sixth and final expansion franchise. Did Buffalo lose out completely? Well, more than losing it was a wait for the Sabres who along with Vancouver (also denied a team in the ’67 expansion) were awarded franchises for the 1970-71 season.
This is definitely a case of using your connections whereby the relationship between Senator McGregor and Art Rooney was utilized to swing votes and award Pittsburgh their franchise. Let’s not lose sight of the fact, however, that there was a legitimate concern on the part of all involved that this was not going to happen prior to Rooney’s intervention. For me this begs the question:
WHAT IF #6: Pittsburgh had not been awarded a team in 1967?
Let’s face it: Even with Rooney’s intervention the Norris brothers might have been wary about changing their minds. Even if they did, what if the other four teams vote unanimous Buffalo or Baltimore? If Pittsburgh did lose out in ’67 are they awarded a franchise in ’70-’71 as Buffalo and Vancouver were, or does Baltimore get it? Or are they potentially awarded a team in the expansion of the mid 70s? Under any of these scenarios where a franchise is awarded does the direction of the franchise change significantly over the years such that the players defining the team, and the championships that come along with them, become absent? What other possibilities am I overlooking as someone who is not invested in the franchise as a fan? You tell me...
Cheers!
Shawn Gates
[email protected]
Twitter: ShawnHockeybuzz
Facebook: Shawn Gates
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