The Racers' demise came under the stewardship of Nelson Skalbania, a flamboyant Canadian real estate businessman.
While the Racers continued to attract strong fan support for awhile, this turned out to be the beginning of the end for the team. Nevertheless, to the surprise of many sports fans and pundits of the time the Pacers were ultimately included in the merger, so that starting in 1976, the WHA would have to compete with the established NBA in Indiana. For this reason among others, the Pacers were seen for a long time to have a slim chance to be included in the eventual ABA-NBA merger. Both the NBA and the NHL believed Indianapolis was far too small to support teams in both sports in the long term, and were reluctant to risk the embarrassment of placing a failed franchise there. As merger and expansion discussions heated up in both established leagues, the question of Indianapolis' inclusion proved a complicated one. The Racers' best-known coach, Jacques Demers, later led the Montreal Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup in 1992-93.Īt the time of the Racers' founding, the only other major league competitor was the Indiana Pacers of the similarly-upstart American Basketball Association. Notable players for the Racers include Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Pat Stapleton, Dave Keon, Michel Dion and Kim Clackson. The Racers won the 1975-76 WHA Eastern Division championship and swept the rival Cincinnati Stingers in the 1977 WHA playoffs. The franchise led the WHA in attendance for the 1976-77 season. The Racers were known in the WHA for their sometimes-fanatical fans.
They are often best known for being the first professional team to secure the services of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. They competed in four full seasons before folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. Teams Indiana Indianapolis Racers The Indianapolis Racers were a major league hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1974 to 1978.
0 kommentar(er)
