It was the spring of 1966 and my hockey team, the Oklahoma City Blazers, had won the championship of the Central Hockey League, the Adams Cup. No, the Blazers were not the Stanly Cup winners and the Central Professional Hockey League was not the National Hockey League. But don’t forget, the NHL had six teams at the time, Toronto, Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, New York and Boston were the major league hockey teams playing in 1966.. Only six, not the 30 something the League has today. The top 120 players in the world played on those six teams. The players of those Blazers teams would have played at the major league level if the era of the sixties had that number of teams. I was witness to “big time” world class hockey at the time in Oklahoma City.
Lord Stanley’s Cup was fought over by those one hundred twenty men, and the winning players on the team that won the Cup, as is still today, were members of the best hockey team on earth. But unlike today, most of the great players that were young, say 18, or 20, or 21, played in the CPHL, not the NHL.
Oklahoma City’s new hockey team of the 1965-66 season was franchised to our city by the Boston Bruins organization through the oversite of the NHL. Boston’s Baby Bears were to be named Blazers, not Bruins when they relocated their team of future NHL stars from Minneapolis. The Blazers woulld wear the same uiforms as the Boston Bruins, with the large B on the hockey jersey standing for both Blazers and Bruins. At the time of 1965 this new reorganized of the Central Professional Hockey League, 2nd season would have teams in St. Louis, Tulsa, St. Paul, Memphis, Houston, and Oklahoma City. The CPHL had rules that kept the best young professional players that didn’t make the NHL on the rosters of one of the six teams in the CPHL. Older veteran hockey players at the highest minor league level were assigned to the American Hockey League, which also had six teams. Because the new CPHL (which was owned by the NHL and started one year earlier for the 1964-65 season) had the cream of the youngest players in professional hockey, the league allowed a sprinkling of a few older experienced players on each team. All most all of these older players had NHL or AHL experience. The CPHL became the best minor league in the world along with the youngest talent in pro hockey not playing in the NHL. The league would be known as the fastest hockey on earth. The skill and play of the teams in the CPHL was outstanding.
With expansion and the coming of the World Hockey League a few years later, hockey became watered down at every level, including the CPHL. We didn’t know it in 1965 but Oklahoma City in truth had a real taste of ice hockey at the highest level with future greats of the NHL adorning the rosters of the six teams. The many of the young guns of the original Blazers moved up a few years later to the parent club and as the Boston Bruins claimed Lord Stanley’s Cup in the 1970 and 1972 seasons. Even the Blazers Head Coach Harry Sinden, moved up with his talented players and coached both NHL title teams for Beantown. The only regrets is that the greatest Bruin ever, Bobby Orr, didn’t get to play on one of the OKC Blazer teams. We all know why Mr. Orr didn’t come to OKC but without the Blazers who reached Boston through OKC , he wouldn’t have his name on the Cup. Those Blazers of 1965-66 were the backbone of the Boston Bruins great teams of the 1970’s.
The memories of those teams will never be forgotten. Like when Glenn Sather skated along the boards and without warning punched a opposing team fan in the face for mouthing him with obscenities during the game. Mr. Sather busted the fan and blood spilled in the stands. Or when Blazer goalie Gerry Cheevers went after a Tulsa winger with his stick and tremendous fight followeded, where in Mr. Cheavers beat the crap out of the Oiler hockey player.
Even though some of the players were just eighteen, twenty , or twenty-one, they were the future of the NHL. They cut their professional teeth in the new league, and the fans who attended Blazer games watched great hockey.
My Blazers that won the Stanley Cup with Boston included: John Arbour, Garnet Bailey, Nick Beverly, Wayne Cashman, Gerry Cheevers, Gary Doak, Jim Harrison, Bill Lesuk, Jim Lorentz, Don Marcotte, Derrick Sanderson, Dallas Smith, Rick Smith, Frank Spring, Tom Webster, Barry Wilkins, and Bob Stewart. Harry Sinden was the player coach for the Blazers during the 65-66 season. This list doesn’t include other Blazers who made their mark with other NHL or WHL teams of the time.
Fred, great article, those named players were my hero’s, absolutely loved going to the games at the State Fair Arena. A great memory, during the 67-68 season, I entered two contest that were in the programs that could be purchased before the game, “Guess the time of the first Blazer goal”, and “Guess the attendance”, damn if I didn’t win both of them on the same night, pretty impressive stuff for a 12 year old, I won a six pack of Coke and some free movie passes, but the big part was having my name announced twice during the game, I still crack a grin thinking about that. One correction to your story, The CPHL actually started a year earlier than indicated, the first season was 1963-64, and I still find it ironic that The Minneapolis Bruins relocated to OKC since The OKC Warriors left OKC for Minneapolis in the early 1930’s, “what goes around, comes around”. I continued to be an avid supporter of ice hockey in OKC up to The Barons, however, the rule changes and the arrival of The Thunder have resulted in a severe drop in interest, and I’m proud to say that one of my closest friends is Alf Handrahan, in my opinion, pound for pound, the most skilled and certainly the toughest player to ever wear the name OKC on their uniform, he’s “quite the character” and a hell of a competitive golfer…
Thank your for your comments. Yes, I know the league started a year before with Minn. as the team the OKC Blazers became. Appreciate your interest. (I need to make that change.)
Hello, Fred Pahlke! Thanks bunches for sharing such wonderful information about the “original Blazers” from 1965 onward! I also attended, and began completely “embracing” the team, and entertaining sport, in 1968 with my father, who was kind enough to “try something new” with his young son. IMMEDIATE AWESOME, which he soon regretted. My question for you is: do you know of ANY entities, local media personnel (retired or otherwise), or fans like ourselves, that might have a video copy (copy-able) of the then first sellout, and locally televised/broadcasted home Blazers’ game (KWTV-9, I believe, OR KOCO-5, not certain which, sorry) from the Norick State Fair Arena some season between 1965-1967, with sellout crowd of 9,305? That attendance record held until 1993, when the “new, second incarnation” of Blazers’ Hockey sold out the former Myriad several times at 13,399, according to many sources, including myself (!), and “league commissioner” then, Monty/Monte Miron ?. I believe the first ever Blazers’ live broadcast WAS KOCO-5, upon further reflection. I, for one of likely hundreds of deep-rooted Blazers’ beloved fans, would be priveledged to purchase a copy of said telecast! Can you, as guru, offer any advice or assistance, PLEASE? Thank you! David Peterson
Thanks for your comments. As for the film of that first sellout I would suspect that one of the TV outlets in OKC would have some film of that night. Otherwise I would not have a clue. I too would like to see a broadcast of any game of the initial great Blazers that were associated with the Boston Bruins. Those were great days and because I was so impressed with the play, when the Blazers of the “double A or A teams” played in the 90s and 2000s I did not attend. I would head to Dallas to watch the NHL. People that don’t know, those early Blazer teams had the best young hockey players in North America, except for one or two that went straight to the NHL out of juniors, such as Bobby Orr.
I recall Gerry Cheevers AND Bernie Parent in goal for our young new Blazers, as well as watching Wayne Cashman, Glen Sather, Tiger Williams, Ace Bailey (lost on one of the “9/11” sabotaged jetliners), Jim Lorentz, J.P. Parise, Doug Favell, Derek Sanderson, Eddie Shack, Ross Lonsberry, and Harry Sinden BEHIND THE BENCH COACHING! There were others later when Toronto became our parent team in 1973. Do you know of any other long-time fans like ourselves that may possibly recall the correct local television station that televised those few games locally? Thank you for your courtesy!
I’m very appreciative of OKC having the Thunder. If up to me we’d have an NHL Team. When I lived in St. Louis I attended more Blues games than any other Pro games.
As I have been a season ticket holder with the Thunder since the first game of the first season….same seats….Loud City, Row D Seat 16, brother-in-law Seat 17…..I love the games and the NBA, win or lose. I will have my seat until death. With that, as I am a big time basketball fan, I also grew up a hockey fan, abet minor league, from the time Okla.City had their first Blazer teams in the middle 60s. I would have supported a NHL franchise here in OKC if that would have come and not the NBA, and I know I would have loved it as much as I do the Thunder. As much as I love the NHL, I do not care to view minor league pro hockey, here in OKC or anywhere.
Hello, I just stumbled onto your site. Not even for sure how it happened. Loved working my way through the thread. My first hockey game had Cheevers in goal, 1965 I think. I announced my first Blazer’s game in 1969 when their announcer quit with 28 games left in the season. I retired in what turned out to be the Baron’s final year. I’d love to read some of your old Blazer stuff. Really great memories.
I enjoyed your announcing at the Blazer games. You put excitement into the contests as we fans sat and watched the action. Thank you for reading my stuff.