September 15, 1976: The 1st Canada Cup

Left to right: Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, Bobby Clarke

September 15, 1976: Canada defeats Czechoslovakia, 5-4 at the Montreal Forum, and wins the 1st Canada Cup, taking the Final 2 games to none. Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs scores the winning goal in overtime. Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins, who wanted to sit it out because of his injured knees, but was talked into it with an appeal to patriotism, was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Unless you count the 1972 "Summit Series" between Canada and the Soviet Union -- in which Orr was too injured to play -- this was the 1st time hockey had had something resembling soccer's World Cup, with the best available players, both professional and amateur, eligible, something that Hockey Canada had been insisting upon.

Hockey Canada also put aside its pro-NHL bias, which led to WHA players like Bobby Hull, Gerry Cheevers and Bernie Parent being kept out of the '72 Summit Series and nearly blowing it for Canada, and included players signed to both leagues. That was the theory, anyway. In reality, while Cheevers and Parent had both been welcomed back into the NHL, only Cheevers was selected, despite Parent having helped the Philadelphia Flyers win back-to-back Stanley Cups. And the only player actually with a WHA team at the time was Hull, of the Winnipeg Jets.

In the round-robin games, Canada went 4-1, Czechoslovakia 3-1-1, the Soviet Union and Sweden both 2-2-1, the U.S. 1-3-1, and Finland 1-4. In addition to Montreal, games were played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the Ottawa Civic Centre, the Winnipeg Arena; and one American arena, The Spectrum in Philadelphia (naturally tying in with the U.S. Bicentennial), hosted 2 games, both of them matches of the U.S. team.

The tournament is now called the World Cup of Hockey. Canada won the tournament in 1976, 1984, 1987, 1991, 2004 and 2016. The Soviet Union won it in 1981. The U.S. won it in 1996, after losing the Final in 1991. With 2016, it was set to be held every 4 years, in September, right before the start of the new season. The 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID epidemic.

UPDATE: A bid to merely postpone the 2020 WCOH to 2021, rather than cancel it outright, failed. The 2024 edition was not held, either. Instead, a "4 Nations Face-Off" was held, with Canada beating the U.S. in the Final in Boston on February 20, 2025, after Sweden and Finland had been eliminated. An agreement has been reached to stage a WCOH in 2028.

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September 15, 1976 was a Wednesday. Dutch actress Carice van Houten, known for her role on Game of Thrones, was born on this day. And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Doyle Alexander pitched a 4-hit shutout. Thurman Munson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Indians manager Frank Robinson, did not put himself into the game. He played his last game 3 days later.

* The New York Mets were swept in a doubleheader by the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-0 and 4-1 at Shea Stadium. John Denny pitched a 4-hit shutout in the opener, outpitching a washed-up Mickey Lolich.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 2-0 at Jarry Park in Montreal. Ray Burris pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Dave Parker went 4-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Willie Stargell went 1-for-4 with a walk. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Baltimore Orioles were leading the Detroit Tigers, 1-0 after 6 innings at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, when the game was called due to rain. Andrés Mora had hit a home run. Reggie Jackson, in his only season in Baltimore, went 0-for-3. Wayne Garland had allowed 2 hits, on his way to a 20-win season, and a big free-agent contract with Cleveland. Sadly, he hurt his shoulder in Spring Training, and was never the same pitcher.

* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 4-for-5. Johnny Bench went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Butch Hobson hit a home run. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Hank Aaron, in his last month as an active player, went 0-for-3 with a walk. Robin Yount, on the way up, did the same.

* The California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 2-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Nolan Ryan went the distance for the win, allowing 6 hits and striking out 9. George Brett went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. The A's scored all 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. Rod Carew went 1-for-3.