Calgary Cowboys—Those Brawlin’ Broncos

By the mid-1970s, the World Hockey Association (WHA) was in trouble. Filled with franchises that had relocated several times in an effort to find a home, the league often saw teams finally give up and fold. The franchise that became the Calgary Cowboys for two short seasons was a prime example.

The story of Calgary’s entry into the World Hockey Association began in Miami. The WHA awarded Florida’s first-ever major-league hockey franchise to the city and the Screaming Eagles came into existence. However, before the season even began, the Eagles ran into financial problems, and the league re-awarded the franchise to Philadelphia before the league’s inaugural season. The Philadelphia Blazers became one of the league’s charter franchises, and to create fan interest for the new league, the team convinced Boston Bruins superstar Derek Sanderson to defect to the new team for $2.35-million. Sanderson played just eight games for the Blazers before deciding to return to the Bruins.

The Blazers soon ran into financial difficulties based on attendance and honouring $1-million of Sanderson’s contract. The team was so cash-strapped by the end of the season that a move to Vancouver was made in time for the WHA’s opening day in 1973. More financial losses piled up in British Columbia, as the Blazers could not wrest fans away from the NHL’s Canucks.

By 1975, owner Jim Pattison moved the team to Calgary, where the team would play home games at the Stampede Corral. Calgary had originally planned to be a WHA city in 1972, but the Calgary Broncos franchise moved before the proposed first game.

Despite having no real star players, the Cowboys surprised the experts in the standings. Coach Joe Crozier’s team compiled an impressive 41-35-4 record and made the WHA playoffs. Danny Lawso scored 44 goals that season, while future Edmonton Oiler Ron Chipperfield scored 42 times.

The Cowboys’ first-ever playoff series contained one of the ugliest incidents in hockey history. In a game at Quebec City’s Le Colisée, Cowboy Rick Jodzio jumped Nordiques’ star forward Marc Tardif; it was a premeditated attack that saw Tardif suffer brain injuries. An ugly brawl followed, and eventually Jodzio was convicted of assault.

The Cowboys took that series, but lost in the second round of the playoffs by the powerful Winnipeg Jets. Even though the Cowboys were a winning team, fan interest in the team waned. In that first season at the Corral, the team averaged less than 5,000 people per game .

In the 1976-77 season, things only got worse. Attendance plummeted to an average of less than 4,500 fans a game, and the team missed the playoffs. Before the 1977-78 season, the team organized a season-ticket drive in an effort to save the team. The Cowboys did not sell enough tickets, and after just two seasons in Calgary, the Blazers/Cowboys franchise was forced to fold.

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