Philadelphia Blazers
| Philadelphia Blazers | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Home arena | Philadelphia Civic Center |
| Colors | Yellow and burnt orange |
| Franchise history | |
| 1972 | Miami Screaming Eagles |
| 1972–1973 | Philadelphia Blazers |
| 1973–1975 | Vancouver Blazers |
| 1975–1977 | Calgary Cowboys |
The Philadelphia Blazers were an ice hockey franchise in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the 1972–73 WHA season that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The team's home ice was the Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center.
The franchise was originally intended to be based in Miami, Florida (to be called the Miami Screaming Eagles), but due to money problems, and a lack of a suitable arena, they never played a game in Miami. The franchise instead moved to Philadelphia, where it debuted in 1972 as the Philadelphia Blazers. After only one season in Philadelphia, the team relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for the start of the 1973–74 WHA season and became the Vancouver Blazers. Two years later the franchise was again relocated, this time to Calgary, Alberta, where they played as the Calgary Cowboys beginning with the 1975–76 WHA season. Two years later, the franchise folded.
In June 1972, Bernard Brown and James Cooper were granted the rights to the Miami Screaming Eagles along with the players (namely Bernie Parent) that were under contract with the team, from Herb Martin. Brown and Cooper then relocated to Philadelphia and renamed the team the Philadelphia Blazers. Shortly after the relocation to Philadelphia, they came to contract terms with Derek Sanderson, signing him for $2.6 million over 5 years, at the time the highest salary ever paid to a professional sports player. The signing caused a great deal of publicity, but controversy as well, as many hockey pundits asserted that Sanderson was nowhere near enough of a preeminent star to warrant such a payout.
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