December 14, 1979: The Clash Release "London Calling"

December 14, 1979: The Clash release their album London Calling. It is considered the leading work in British rock's transition from punk rock to New Wave, and one of the greatest albums in rock and roll history.

Their fans called them "the only band that matters": Lead singer and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist Mick Jones (not to be confused with the man of the same stage name who was lead guitarist for the American band Foreigner), bass guitarist Paul Simonon, and drummer Nicky "Topper" Headon.

Left to right: Mick Jones, Paul Simonon,

Topper Headon and Joe Strummer

Mick Gallagher of The Blockheads was added for keyboards. Also playing on the album were The Irish Horns: Ray Bevis on tenor saxophone, John Earle on tenor and baritone saxophone, Chris Gower on Trombone, and Dick Hanson on trumpet and flugelhorn. The album was produced by Guy Stevens.

The cover showed Simonon, although a righthanded player, slamming his bass to the floor lefthanded. The word "LONDON" in vertical all-pink letters, and "CALLING" in horizontal all-green letters, was patterned after Elvis Presley's 1st album in 1956.

The Irish Horns were brought in because the bandmembers liked New Orleans-style rhythm & blues, and wanted to experiment with combining that style with their own. They also brought Caribbean influences in, reggae and ska.

They began recording in August 1979, 3 months after British voters elected the most conservative government the United Kingdom had seen since World War I. The new Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, had promised to tackle the longstanding problems of a stagnant economy -- which had been in place before the Labour Party last took over in 1974, so the last Conservative Party government wasn't blameless -- but the measures she took clobbered the labor unions, and made her, depending on whether you had money or not, either the most beloved or the most despised person in the country.

The Clash were no longer kids: Strummer was 27 years old, the other members 24. But they were still able to reach England's young people with songs about unemployment, urban decay, drugs, and racial strife. 

The title track was about fear of nuclear war, or some other nuclear disaster, written in the wake of the Three Mile Island near-disaster in Pennsylvania the previous March. The song seemed to have done some direct good: The line is, "London is drowning, and I live by the river!" In fact, the Thames Barrier, designed to prevent flooding of Central London and the East End, had been planned for some time. It was completed in 1982.

"Spanish Bombs" is also about war, specifically the Spanish Civil War of the late 1930s, and the memorials to the artists and musicians who commemorated it. "Lost in the Supermarket" was about runaway consumerism, at a time when most people the bandmembers had grown up with couldn't afford the rising prices. "Clampdown" was about Thatcher's crackdown on factory workers and their unions.

"Rudie Can't Fail" was sympathetic toward black Jamaican immigrants in Britain. So was "The Guns of Brixton," which predated the riots in that South London area in 1981 and 1985. The title of the album's last song, "Train in Vain (Stand By Me)" was confusing: It had nothing to do with the Ben E. King doo-wop standard "Stand By Me"; and, like many of Bob Dylan's songs, didn't include the title in the lyrics, as the words "train in vain" do not appear. Mick Jones said, "The track was like a train rhythm, and there was, once again, that feeling of being lost." This song became the only one on the album to be a hit in on the American charts.

The album sold over 5 million copies, 1 million of them in America. It is regarded as the band's greatest work, and perennially ranks in the Top 20 of all-time greatest albums lists.

*

December 14, 1979 was a Friday. Elsewhere in England, soccer star Michael Owen was born.

Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 8 games played in the NBA:

* The New Jersey Nets beat the New York Knicks, 118-105 at the Rutgers Athletic Center (now the Jersey Mike's Arena) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 103-98 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 97-94 at the Boston Garden.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Washington Bullets, 111-109 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Kansas City Kings beat the Utah Jazz, 103-87 at the Kemper Arena (now the Hy-Vee Arena) in Kansas City.

* The San Diego Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets, 112-108 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena). Lloyd Free, later to change his name to World B. Free, led all scorers on the night with 37 points.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons, 138-122 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Houston Rockets, 109-101 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

And there were 3 games in the NHL:

* The Atlanta Flames beat the Minnesota North Stars, 3-2 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-3 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Colorado Rockies, 5-3 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

November 15, 1986: The Beastie Boys release “Licensed to Ill”

November 15, 1986: The Beastie Boys release Licensed to Ill. It paved the way for white guys to rap, leading to Eminem -- but also, unfortunately, to Vanilla Ice and Snow.

The Boys were Adam Nathaniel Yauch, born August 5, 1964 in Brooklyn to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother; Michael Louis Diamond, born November 20, 1965 in Manhattan to a Jewish couple; and Adam Keefe Horovitz, born October 31, 1966 in Manhattan to a Jewish father and an Irish Catholic mother.

In 1979, Diamond, a.k.a. Mike D, founded a punk rock band, The Young Aborigines, becoming the drummer. In 1981, Yauch, a.k.a. MCA, became their bass guitarist. Their guitarist, John Berry, suggested the name be changed to The Beastie Boys. As an afterthought, they decided that "BEASTIE" was an acronym standing for "Boys Entering Anarchistic States Towards Inner Excellence." In 1983, Horovitz, a.k.a. Ad-Rock, replaced Berry. After that, they began shifting from punk to hip-hop.

In 1984, Rick Rubin was brought in as DJ. By 1985, they were big enough to open for Madonna's tour. In 1986, they were a part of a tour led by Queens natives Run-DMC and LL Cool J. All along, song by song, piece by piece, they recorded the album that became the album Licensed to Ill, a parody of the expression "licensed to kill," with "ill" being rap slang for being of high quality, and its verb form meaning to perform very well.

The 1st 3 singles failed to chart: "Hold It Now, Hit It," "Paul Revere" and "The New Style." "Brass Monkey" only got to Number 48. But (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" caught on at the end of 1986, and rose to Number 7 early in 1987.

The song was written by Yauch and band friend Tom "Tommy Triphammer" Cushman, who appeared in the video. The song was meant as an insignificant portrayal of "party" and "attitude"-themed songs, such as "Smokin' in the Boys Room" by Brownsville Station and "I Wanna Rock" by Twisted Sister. They meant it to be a joke, to make fun of these dopes.

Unfortunately, as with later songs like "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred and "Gangnam Style" by Psy, people didn't get the joke. They thought this was the Boys' intended public personality. And the dopes they were mocking took it especially seriously, making the song one of the biggest anthems of the 1980s... and went on to knock up their girlfriends and conceive the cast of Jersey Shore.

The Beasties released a total of 8 albums, none of them keeping the image they'd inadvertently created for themselves: Licensed to Ill was followed by Paul's Boutique in 1989, Check Your Head in 1992, Ill Communication in 1994, Hello Nasty in 1998, To the 5 Boroughs in 2004, The Mix-Up in 2007, and Hot Sauce Committee Part Two in 2011. Ill Communication included the other song for which the group is well known: "Sabotage," with its video showing them parodying 1970s cop shows.

The Beasties became icons for hip-hop fans, for New Yorkers, and for Jewish kids who wanted to rock. But despite releasing 8 albums in 25 years, it ended too soon. On May 4, 2012, Adam Yauch died from lymph node cancer. He was 47 years old. Adam Horovitz and Mike Diamond announced that, while they would still make music together, the Beastie Boys name would be retired.

*

November 15, 1986 was a Saturday. Actor Winston Duke was born.

Baseball was out of season. Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 University of Miami beat the University of Tulsa, 23-10 at the Orange Bowl stadium in Miami.

* Number 2 Michigan were shocked by Minnesota, 20-17 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, costing them the Little Brown Jug and a shot at the National Championship. It did not, however, cost the Wolverines the Big Ten Conference title, as, the next week, they beat Ohio State to clinch it. Michigan then went to the Rose Bowl.

* Number 3 Penn State beat Notre Dame, 24-19 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Penn State were probably going to be invited to the Fiesta Bowl regardless of what happened elsewhere, but Michigan's loss made them Number 2, setting up a de facto National Championship game and a "Game of the Century" with Number 1 Miami at the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State won.

* Number 4 Oklahoma beat Colorado, 28-0 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. Oklahoma won the Big 8 Conference title, and were invited to the Orange Bowl.

* Number 5 Arizona State beat Wichita State, 52-6 at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona. Arizona State won the Pacific-Ten Conference title, went to the Rose Bowl, and beat Michigan.

* Number 6 Nebraska beat Kansas, 70-0 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas. The next week, Nebraska lost to arch-rival Oklahoma, costing them the Big 8 title. Instead, they were invited to the Sugar Bowl.

* Number 7 Texas A&M were upset by Number 17 Arkansas, 14-10 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas. It didn't stop A&M from winning the Southwest Conference title, and receiving the accompanying bid to the Cotton Bowl. But Arkansas did get invited to the Orange Bowl, where they lost to Oklahoma.

* Number 8 Auburn were upset by Number 16 Georgia, 20-16 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. The game cost Auburn the Southeastern Conference title.

* Number 9 Ohio State beat Wisconsin, 30-17 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Ohio State were invited to the Cotton Bowl, where they beat Texas A&M.

* Number 10 Washington were held to a tie by Number 19 UCLA, 17-17 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

 and Air Force had the week off.

* Number 12 Louisiana State University beat Mississippi State, 47-0 at Mississippi Memorial Stadium in Jackson. LSU won the SEC title, and the accompanying bid to the Sugar Bowl, where they lost to Nebraska.

* And New Jersey's team, Rutgers, lost to the University of Pittsburgh, 20-6 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh.

There were 8 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Washington Bullets, 104-97 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Atlanta Hawks, 109-90 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons, 118-111 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan. Robert Parish scored 34 points. Despite the defeat, Adrian Dantley led all scorers on the day with 41 for the Pistons.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 111-96 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Phoenix Suns eat the San Antonio Spurs, 116-109 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 104-103 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets, 111-103 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Golden State Warriors, 127-121 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Tom Chambers scored 38.

And there were 8 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Minnesota North Stars, 7-3 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The New Jersey Devils and the Boston Bruins played to a tie, 5-5 at the Boston Garden.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Hartford Whalers beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-2 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Quebec Nordiques, 5-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The St. Louis Blues beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3 at the St. Louis Arena.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Calgary Flames, 4-1 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal go to Hampshire on the South Coast, and beat Southampton, 4-0 at The Dell.

October 28, 1977: Queen Don't Need God (Or the Sex Pistols) to Save Them

Left to right: Brian May, Freddie Mercury,

John Deacon and Roger Taylor.

For the record, Freddie didn't grow the mustache until 1980.

And, at first, Queen's fans didn't like it.

Now, it's hard to imagine him without it.

October 28, 1977: The Sex Pistols release what turns out to be their one and only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. In spite of efforts by American acts such as The Ramones, it is considered the height -- or, perhaps, the depth -- of punk rock.

The original Pistols were lead singer John Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, and bass guitarist Glen Matlock, both 21-year-old natives of North London; and a pair of West Londoners who had been in a previous band together, lead guitarist Steve Jones, 22, and drummer Paul Cook, 21.

The band was put together by Malcom McLaren, who the Pistols realized too late was robbing them blind. They were signed by EMI Records in 1976, and released their 1st single on November 26, "Anarchy in the U.K." Rotten set the tone from the first line: "I am an Antichrist! I am an anarchist!"

On December 1, they appeared on Thames Television's Today, hosted by Bill Grundy. They were replacements for Queen, who dropped out because Freddie Mercury had a dental emergency. The band members were drunk. So was Grundy.

Also a guest was another punk act, singer Siouxsie Sioux, who flirted with Grundy, who flirted back. Grundy was 53 years old, Sioux was 19. Jones called him "You dirty sod. You dirty old man." After every insult, Grundy egged Jones on, leading to "You dirty bastard," "You dirty fucker," and "What a fucking rotter." Grundy got no dirtier than, "What a clever boy!"

The controversy ruined Grundy's career, but it fit the profile that the Pistols were going for. EMI dropped them, but A&M Records signed them. They needed an album, and they had several songs written as they began recording in February 1977. But Matlock, who had written a lot of the lyrics, quit, saying he was "sick of the bullshit."

He was replaced on bass guitar by John Simon Ritchie, a 19-year-old South Londoner who called himself Sid Vicious, and could barely play the instrument at all, but embodied the punk persona (as the British saw it, not as Americans saw it) more than even Rotten did. If Rotten was an anarchist, Vicious was an out-and-out nihilist.

Left to right: Sid Vicious, Steve Jones,

Paul Cook and Johnny Rotten.

For years, until journalists cleared the facts up, there was a dispute among rock fans as to whether Matlock quit on his own or was fired because he didn't fit the punk image. Regardless of which was true, the fact that Vicious was hired because he fit the punk image despite not being any good at playing his instrument showed that McLaren was going for style over substance, which is the very antithesis of rock and roll, and especially of punk.

Only 2 songs on the album had Vicious on them: "Bodies" and "God Save the Queen," the latter written in connection with the Silver Jubilee (25th Anniversary) of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Rotten called the government "the fascist regime," even though the left-of-center Labour Party were in power; and said of Her Majesty, "She ain't no human bein'." Were they sincere about their anger at her? Rotten yelled/sang, "We mean it, man!" (After the Queen died, 45 years later, Rotten admitted that he'd always supported her, if not the government the ran Britain in her name.)

The album's title offended many people: "Bollocks" is slang for "testicles," but it can also mean "lies" or "bullshit." (But, like Americans can do with the profanity "shit," adding the definite article "the" makes it a good thing: "It's the bollocks" or even "It's the dog's bollocks.") Some British record stores put masking tape over the word on the cover. American stores, their owners not knowing the term, left it alone.

Despite the album's strong sales, the Pistols were doomed from the start. Their subsequent American tour did not do well. On January 14, 1978, they played the last show on that tour, at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. As with The Band in 1976, that venue would be the site of the last concert that Rotten, Vicious, Jones and Cook played together.

Vicious stayed in America, at the Chelsea Hotel in New York. In late 1978, his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, was murdered there. He was arrested as the only suspect. Early in 1979, he was sent to the City prison on Rikers Island to detox from drugs. He was released on February 1 -- and died of a heroin overdose the next day. He was 21.

Matlock built a separate musical career, and swallowed his differences with Rotten, Jones and Cook, joining them on tour in 1996, 2003 and 2007-08. As of October 28, 2022, the 4 original members are all still alive.

*

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols may have been the most influential album released that day, but it wasn't the best, or even the best album released that day by a British group: On the same day, Queen released News of the World.

It contains perhaps the last true double-sided hit record, which reached Number 4 on the U.S. pop charts: "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions." Lead guitarist Brian May wrote the former, wanting it to sound like a stadium chant -- which, of course, it became. Lead singer Freddie Mercury wrote the latter, and when he sang about paying his dues, and about thanking the audience for "fame, and fortune, and everything that goes with it," he was completely sincere both times.

Neither song was written about the newly-crowned World Champion New York Yankees, although the confluence of events meant that any confusion was understandable.

UPDATE: It took me until 2024 to think of this, but the 1970s were Schrödinger's Decade. There was too much overwrought music, and, at the same time, not enough of it.

*

October 28, 1977 was a Friday. Baseball season ended 9 days earlier, with the New York Yankees beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Football was in midweek.

There were 6 NBA games that night:

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Boston Celtics, 116-109 at the brand-new Rutgers Athletic Center (now the Jersey Mike's Arena) in Piscataway, New Jersey. Bernard King scored 30 points.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 102-95 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The New Orleans Jazz beat the Phoenix Suns, 114-107 at the Superdome in New Orleans. Truck Robinson scored 37 points and grabbed 25 rebounds.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Washington Bullets, 136-127 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Larry Wright of the Bullets led all scorers on the night with 43 points, to no avail.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Buffalo Braves, 104-97 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Rick Barry scored 37 points.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 98-94 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. This was a rematch of the previous season's NBA Finals, also won by the Blazers.

There were 2 games in the National Hockey League. The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Cleveland Barons, 4-2 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio. And the Colorado Rockies beat the Washington Capitals, 8-1 at the McNichols Arena in Denver. The 1977-78 season would be the only time the Rockies made the Playoffs until 1987-88, by which point they were the New Jersey Devils; and the last season for the Barons, who were merged with another bankrupt team, the Minnesota North Stars, who kept that name.

And there were 2 games in the World Hockey Association. The Edmonton Oilers beat the Birmingham Bulls, 3-2 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. And the Winnipeg Jets beat the Cincinnati Stingers, 3-2 at the Winnipeg Arena.

February 2, 1979: The Death of Sid Vicious

February 2, 1979: Sid Vicious dies of a drug overdose at a friend's apartment in New York City's Greenwich Village. He was 21 years old.

John Simon Ritchie was born on May 10, 1957 in Lewisham, Southeast London and... well, perhaps "grown up" isn't the right term... in Stoke Newington, East London. By the time he was 16, both he and his mother were hooked on heroin, he was torturing cats, and she kicked him out of the house.

Then he met John Lydon, who introduced him to his friends John Grey and John Wardle. They called themselves "The Four Johns," and moved in together. Lydon had a hamster he'd named Sid, after Syd Barrett, formerly of the bank Pink Floyd. That hamster bit Ritchie, and Lydon gave him the nickname "Sid Vicious." Vicious nicknamed Wardle "Jah Wobble." (Lydon and Wardle would form Public Image Ltd. after the Sex Pistols broke up.)

The original Sex Pistols were lead singer Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, and bass guitarist Glen Matlock, both 21-year-old natives of North London; and a pair of West Londoners who had been in a previous band together, lead guitarist Steve Jones, 22, and drummer Paul Cook, 21.

They needed an album, and they had several songs written as they began recording in February 1977. But Matlock, who had written a lot of the lyrics, quit, saying he was "sick of the bullshit."

He was replaced on bass guitar by Vicious, who'd been in a band named The Flowers of Romance. He could barely play the instrument at all, but embodied the punk persona (as the British saw it, not as Americans saw it) more than even Rotten did. If Rotten was, as he claimed in the song "Anarchy in the U.K.," an anarchist, Vicious was an out-and-out nihilist.

Left to right: Sid Vicious, Steve Jones,

Paul Cook and Johnny Rotten.

When the album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols was released on October 28, 1977, only 2 songs on it had Vicious on them: "Bodies" and "God Save the Queen," the latter written in connection with the Silver Jubilee (25th Anniversary) of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Despite the album's strong sales, the Pistols were doomed from the start. Their subsequent American tour did not do well. On January 14, 1978, they played the last show on that tour, at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. As with The Band in 1976, that venue would be the site of the last concert that Rotten, Vicious, Jones and Cook played together.

Vicious stayed in America, at the Chelsea Hotel in New York. He recorded a version of "My Way," which would be used by director Martin Scorcese to close his gangster film Goodfellas.

In late 1978, his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, was murdered there. He was arrested as the only suspect. Early in 1979, he was sent to the City prison on Rikers Island to detox from drugs. He was released on February 1 -- and died of a heroin overdose the next day. He was 21.

Ironically, his legal troubles had led his mother to reconcile with him. She told his New York friends that under no circumstances should he be left alone. But he was alone in a bedroom the night he died, even though she and the friends were sleeping in other rooms at that apartment, at 63 Bank Street. Anne Ritchie would also die of a heroin overdose, in 1996.

Matlock built a separate musical career, and swallowed his differences with Rotten, Jones and Cook, joining them on tour in 1996, 2003 and 2007-08. As of February 2, 2022, the 4 original members are all still alive.

*

February 2, 1979 was a Friday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 10 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 105-101 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, despite 35 points from Julius "Dr. J" Erving.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, 117-100 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 112-98 at the Boston Garden.

* The Washington Bullets beat the Houston Rockets, 120-106 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Golden State Warriors, 87-84 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the New Orleans Jazz, 116-110 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Kansas City Kings beat the Detroit Pistons, 130-114 at the Kemper Arena (now the Hy-Vee Arena) in Kansas City.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs, 133-108 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

* The San Diego Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets, 124-100 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena). Lloyd Free, who would later rename himself World B. Free, led all scorers on the night with 49 points.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 104-102 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

There were no games in the NHL that night, but there were 2 in the World Hockey Association:

* The New England Whalers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 4-1 at the Springfield Civic Center (now the MassMutual Center) in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Whalers were playing there while their home, the Hartford Civic Center (now the XL Center), was being rebuilt following a roof collapse in 1978.

* And the Winnipeg Jets beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2 at the Winnipeg Arena. These 4 teams turned out to be the only ones from the WHA admitted to the NHL after the season, with the Whalers changing their name to the Hartford Whalers. In 1995, the Nordiques moved, becoming the Colorado Avalanche. In 1996, the Jets moved, becoming the Phoenix Coyotes, and eventually the Arizona Coyotes. In 1997, the Whalers moved to Greensboro, and after 2 more years to Raleigh, becoming the Carolina Hurricanes. In 2011, the Atlanta Thrashers moved, becoming the new Winnipeg Jets. The Oilers have stayed put.