Cincinnati Stingers

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Cincinnati Stingers
Cincinnati Stingers Logo.svg
CityCincinnati, Ohio
LeagueWorld Hockey Association
Operated1975–1979
Home arenaRiverfront Coliseum
ColorsBlack, yellow
   
MediaWXIX-TV
WKRC

The Cincinnati Stingers were an ice hockey team based in Cincinnati that played in the World Hockey Association from 1975 to 1979 and in the Central Hockey League during the 1979–80 season. Their home arena was Riverfront Coliseum, and they are the only major league hockey team to have played out of Cincinnati.

History[]

The Stingers franchise was awarded in 1974 as part of the WHA's ill-conceived attempt at expansion. They entered the league for the 1975-76 season along with the Denver Spurs. Most of the league's existing teams were not financially stable, and franchise relocations were commonplace. The Stingers achieved enough stability that they were the only one of the WHA's five expansion teams that lasted through to the end of the league, but they were left out of the NHL–WHA merger in the summer of 1979. The WHA insisted on including all three of its surviving Canadian teams,[1] though below-average attendance made it unlikely that the Stingers would have made the cut. The Stingers, along with the Birmingham Bulls, were paid to disband when the WHA ceased operations.

The Stingers were the first professional team of long-time NHL stars Mike Gartner and Mike Liut, and the second pro team for Mark Messier, who scored one goal on a line with Robbie Ftorek, one of the league's top scorers.[2]

After the WHA shut down, a minor professional version of the Cincinnati Stingers began the 1979–80 season in the Central Hockey League (CHL). The CHL team included only three players from the 1978–79 WHA Stingers; Dave Debol, Byron Shutt and Paul Stewart, but disbanded 33 games into the season.

Stingers's attendance records were set three months apart in 1978. The record smallest crowd of 4,048 watched the home team beat the Houston Aeros, 5-3, on January 4th, and the record largest crowd of 13,951 saw a 2-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers on March 11.

In a 1978 episode of WKRP in Cincinnati, a Stingers sticker can be seen on the wall of Les Nessman's "office" (actually an open area with black masking tape on the floor, signifying where the office's walls would be), as well as a Stingers pennant hanging on the wall regularly.

The last active Cincinnati Stingers player in North American major professional hockey was Mark Messier who retired in 2004. Also he was the last player to have played in the WHA.

Hockey Hall of Fame members[]

Season-by-season record[]

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

World Hockey Association
Season GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
1975–76 80 35 44 1 71 285 340 1344 4th, Eastern Did not qualify
1976–77 81 39 37 5 83 354 303 970 2nd, Eastern Lost quarterfinals (Racers)
1977–78 80 35 42 3 73 298 332 1701 7th, WHA Did not qualify
1978–79 80 33 41 6 72 274 284 1651 5th, WHA Lost quarterfinals (Whalers)
Totals 321 142 164 15 299 1211 1259 5666
Central Hockey League
Season GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
1979–80 33 11 21 1 23 108 151 591 n/a Incomplete season

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Hunter, Douglas (1997). Champions: The Illustrated History of Hockey's Greatest Dynasties. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-213-6.
  2. ^ The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association, p.237, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, ON, ISBN 0-7710-8947-3

External links[]

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