May 6, 1973: The World Hockey Association completes its 1st season, with the awarding of the Avco World Trophy, named for its sponsor, a now-defunct defense contractor.
Danny Lawson of the Philadelphia Blazers led the league with 61 goals. The following season, with the Blazers having moved to Vancouver, he scored 50. In the rest of his career, in the NHL and the WHA combined, he scored only 137.
His Blazer teammate, Andre Lacroix, was the leading point-scorer: 50 goals and a league-leading 74 assists made for 124 points. He turned out to be one of the top players in the WHA's history, but did little in the NHL.
The rebel league started with 12 teams, 6 in an Eastern Division and 6 in a Western Division. The top 4 teams in each Division made the Playoffs. In the East, the New York Raiders and the Quebec Nordiques were out; in the West, it was the Chicago Cougars and the Alberta Oilers, who changed their name to the Edmonton Oilers for the following season.
Bobby Hull of the Winnipeg Jets was given the Gary Davidson Award, named for the league's founder, as Most Valuable Player. The next season, another NHL legend joined the WHA, Gordie Howe with the Houston Aeros. Despite being 45 years old, Howe would win the Davidson Award. From then on, it was named the Gordie Howe Award. Gerry Cheevers of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the once and future goaltender of the Boston Bruins, won the Ben Hatskin Trophy, named for the Jets' founder, as the league's top goalie.
In the Quarterfinals, the Boston-based New England Whalers beat the Ottawa Nationals, the Crusaders beat the Blazers, the Jets beat the Minnesota Fighting Saints, and the Aeros beat the Los Angeles Sharks. In the Semifinals, the Whalers beat the Crusaders, and the Jets beat the Aeros.
The Whalers were coached by Jack Kelley, longtime coach at Boston University, and father of TV show creator and producer David E. Kelley, who has set many of his shows in Boston. Their Captain was former Bruin defenseman Ted Green, and their roster also included former Toronto Maple Leaf defenseman Rick Ley, former Montreal Canadien center Larry Pleau, former Detroit Red Wing right wing Tom Webster, and Al Smith, a goalie for the Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
They had to share the Boston Garden with both the Bruins and the NBA's Celtics, making it hard to get favorable playing dates. Many of their games, including all of their Playoff games, were moved to the Boston Arena, now named the Matthews Arena, home ice of Northeastern University.
That's where on May 6, they played Hull's Jets in Game 5 of the Finals on May 6, looking to clinch. With Pleau scoring a hat trick, the Whalers won, 4-1, and also won the series by that margin. Typical of how disorganized the WHA was, the Avco World Trophy wasn't ready. So Green led his team around the ice, holding the trophy they'd won as regular-season champions of the Eastern Conference. Since no fans had yet seen the Avco World Trophy, there was no way for them to know the difference.
The Whalers never got so close to a league title again. They reached the WHA Finals again in 1978, but the Jets got revenge. Along with the Jets, the Oilers and the Nordiques, the renamed Hartford Whalers were the 4 teams that the NHL accepted from the WHA for the 1979-80 season. Except for the 1986 season, they never won a Playoff series in the NHL, before moving in 1997, becoming the Carolina Hurricanes.
The team that had been the Whalers reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2002. Finally, in 2006, they won the Stanley Cup. The Oilers have won 5, between 1984 and 1990. The Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995, becoming the Colorado Avalanche, and have won the Cup in 1996 and 2001. The Jets moved to Phoenix in 1996, becoming the Arizona Coyotes. But in 2011, the Atlanta Thrashers became the new Winnipeg Jets. Through the 2020-21 season, neither the Jets/Coyotes nor the Thrashers/Jets have yet reached the Stanley Cup Finals.
(UPDATE: In 2022, the Avalanche won another Cup. In 2024, the Coyotes moved to Salt Lake City, becoming the Utah Hockey Club.)
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May 6, 1973 was a Sunday. The NHL was running the Stanley Cup Finals at the time, and Game 4 was played at Chicago Stadium that night. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-0. The Canadiens won the series in 6 games.
Game 3 of the NBA Finals was played at Madison Square Garden. The New York Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 87-83. The Knicks went on to win the series in 5 games. The American Basketball Association was between Games 4 and 5 of its Finals, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Kentucky Colonels in 7 games.
Football was out of season. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 11-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Bobby Murcer, Felipe Alou and Roy White each got 2 hits, to no avail.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Montreal Expos, 6-1 at Jarry Park in Montreal. Pete Rose went 0-for-5. Johnny Bench hit a home run.
* The New York Mets lost to the Houston Astros, 12-8 at Shea Stadium. Willie Mays grounded into a double play in the 1st inning. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 3rd inning.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Hank Aaron struck out as a pinch-hitter.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the California Angels, 5-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Jim Plamer pitched a 5-hit shutout, outpitching Nolan Ryan. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3, but reached base by being hit with a pitch.
* The Oakland Athletics swept a doubleheader from the Cleveland Indians, 12-0 and 7-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Ken Holtzman pitched a 5-hit shutout in the opener. Over the 2 games, Reggie Jackson went 3-for-7 with a walk and 2 RBIs.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline went 1-for-3 with a walk.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew and Carl Yastrzemski both went 2-for-4 with a walk. Rod Carew went 3-for-5 with an RBI.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-0 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Mike Caldwell pitched a 2-hit shutout. Willie Stargell did not play.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Al Downing pitched a 2-hit shutout.
* And the San Francisco Giants swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs, 11-9 and 4-3. Bobby Bonds won the 1st game with a home run in the bottom of the 12th inning.
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