History
The Toros had been modestly successful on the ice since moving from Toronto, and had drawn fairly well by NHL standards. However, onerous lease terms at Maple Leaf Gardens led owner John Bassett to move to Birming ham.
John Brophy, who would later go on to coach the Leafs, joined head coach Glen Sonmor as an assistant after the move to Birmingham. Brophy became head coach in the 1978–79 when Sonmor joined the Minnesota North Stars. His team finished last in the league, but was in the middle of a youth movement.
Wayne Gretzky was heavily recruited by Birmingham Bulls owner John Bassett to be part of the youth movement. Bassett wanted to confront the NHL by signing as many young and promising superstars as possible and saw Gretzky as the most promising young prospect.
Although Bassett failed to sign Gretzky, the Bulls (affectionately known as the Baby Bulls) included several future NHL stars at the beginning of their professional careers (Rick Vaive, Michel Goulet, Rob Ramage, Pat Riggin, Craig Hartsburg, and Gaston Gingras), as well as a 36-year-old Paul Henderson. Even though his team was the only one in the league not to make the playoffs, Brophy was awarded the Robert Schmertz Memorial Trophy as the WHA's coach of the year.
Read more about this topic: Birmingham Bulls
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“One classic American landscape haunts all of American literature. It is a picture of Eden, perceived at the instant of history when corruption has just begun to set in. The serpent has shown his scaly head in the undergrowth. The apple gleams on the tree. The old drama of the Fall is ready to start all over again.”
—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)
“All objects, all phases of culture are alive. They have voices. They speak of their history and interrelatedness. And they are all talking at once!”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“Every member of the family of the future will be a producer of some kind and in some degree. The only one who will have the right of exemption will be the mother ...”
—Ruth C. D. Havens, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 13, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)