Birmingham Bulls (WHA)

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Birmingham Bulls
founding November 21, 1971
resolution 1981
history Ottawa Nationals
1972 - 1973
Toronto Toros
1973 - 1976
Birmingham Bulls
1976 - 1981
Stadion Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center
Location Birmingham , Alabama
Team colors red, white, blue
league World Hockey Association (1976–1979)
Central Hockey League (1979–1981)
Avco World Trophies no
Division title no

The Birmingham Bulls were an ice hockey team from Birmingham , Alabama , which was active in the North American World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1976 to 1979 and in the Central Hockey League from 1979 to 1981 . The franchise was originally founded in Ottawa in 1972 and was called Ottawa Nationals . After a year the team moved to Toronto and played there for three years as the Toronto Toros .

history

The owner, John F. Bassett , chose a location in Birmingham that had never had anything to do with ice hockey in the past. Almost 8,500 spectators on average showed that the right location had been selected. The team played at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center , which had 16,753 spectators. After the bull, which the Toros had as their heraldic animal, was also used by the Bulls, the old jerseys from Toronto were used.

In the team were Frank Mahovlich and Václav Nedomanský, the two top stars of the preseason from Toronto. The best scorer was Mark Napier who had also moved with the Toros. The team, which had badly disappointed in the preseason in Toronto, played better in the first season in Alabama, which was not enough for a playoff participation.

In the second season 1977/78 you could almost keep the average attendance and reached the playoffs for the first time. The team was nicknamed Baby Bulls , because they increasingly relied on young talented players who were not yet eligible to play in the NHL. Among them were Ken Linseman and Rod Langway , who would later develop into one of the strongest NHL defenders. You had to cope with the departure of Václav Nedomanský early in the season, who moved to the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL. The Bulls were leading in the penalty time statistics. Four Bulls players took first place there, each with over 240 penalty minutes. Including Dave Hanson , who played one of the Hanson brothers in the film Slap Shot . Another disappointment for the Bulls was the fact that in the negotiations with the NHL it was never an issue to include the Birmingham team in the NHL. After the Atlanta Flames did not develop as hoped, another team in the Southeast never played a role in the deliberations.

The uncertainty about the continued existence in the summer of 1978 forced those responsible to continue the trend towards very young players in the 1978/79 season . Goalkeeper Pat Riggin , defenders Rob Ramage and Craig Hartsburg , and attackers Michel Goulet and Rick Vaive were among the Baby Bulls of the last WHA season. The team did not reach the playoffs and the WHA was disbanded after the season ended. Even if the team had to move twice in the history of the franchise, they managed to survive the entire time of the WHA. With Rob Ramage and Michel Goulet, two former players played in the NHL until the mid-1990s.

After the WHA was dissolved in 1979, the Birmingham Bulls moved to the Central Hockey League , in which they spent two years before finally ceasing to play after the 1980/81 season . The void the team left in the city was filled by the Birmingham South Stars , who also played in the CHL. In the 1983/84 season , a team of the same name took part in the game operations of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League .

Known players