The real question is whether the franchise will still honor their Whalers heritage after they move to Quebec City?
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The logo is a classic. Maybe the best in professional sports. It won design awards when it wwas first introduced.
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Hurricanes season ticket holder here. While we think we have developed our own traditions down here, the Whaler history is quite interesting. Thanks for this.
Go Canes
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Can't believe you did an article about the Hartford Whalers and talked about how the Yard Goats have the same blue/green colors but didn't bother to mention the NWHL team, the Connecticut Whale. For crying out loud, it's an actual hockey team.
Hi Richard!
Have yourself a very Merry Christmas!
“The Rangers’ American Hockey League affiliate in Hartford was called the Connecticut Whale for a few years this decade. The name now belongs to the National Women's Hockey League team in Stamford.”
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Credit should have been given to Cummings & Good Design, the Connecticut firm that designed that perfect logo.
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Was a season ticket holder for 21 years. I still have the tickets to the last game where Kevin Dineen scored the last goal. You see Whalers gear everywhere still.
It was the life of Hartford and was lost for stupid political reasons - a function of the fan club back then was special meetings and towards the end we were told by the new owner's financial guy that he was certain the deal was done and they would stay - the all of a certain it fell apart - someone must have asked for something.
Still talk about and think about those great times even traveling to Springfield for 2 years.
Can't lose a love like that without so much remorse
I need to find my Whalers sweatshirt that I bought at Zayre.
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I lived in Hartford in the '80s. Whitney Ave. I was a casual Whalers fan. Loved going to the games, but always got the cheap seats. Miss the Islanders, Rangers and Bruins fans coming to town in all their regalia eating and drinking at 'the mall' - and the fights in the stands with the Boston fans. But the Hartford I remember (post '86) was never all that much excited about the team. I remember being at the Civic Pub on Asylum Ave. just from the Civic Center on a home night for the Whale. Hardly any indication anything was happening just a block up. But when the UConn men's basketball team was there, totally different story. That is just the fact. I also remember a preseason 'pep rally' staged downtown (during one of the final years for the team in Hartford) and hardly anybody there. The players came out, waved to the two dozen or so people assembled, then went on their way. I do miss Chuck Kaiton (and Arnold Dean) on WTIC very much. I live in Massachusetts now, but could never root for the Bruins.
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As a Connecticut native, despite never being a hockey fan, it was always nice to hear the name "Hartford Whalers" in the same sentence any one of the other NHL teams-even if they lost. My sister lived in Rocky Hill at the time, and would sometimes entertain business clients, by taking them to the home games.
But, there was something of an anecdotal consensus; the feeling that a major professional sports team geographically sandwiched between two far bigger cities also with pro sports teans would not ensure a future, even if the Whalers won at least one Stanley Cup.
Still, the Hartford Whalers deserve a proper homage. It's nice to see that.
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@Ponsobny Britt
I remember when Bob Kraft was doing his dog and pony show with the state of Connecticut, threatening to move the Patriots from Foxboro to Hartford. I doubted that the denizens of Hartford Country would even support an NFL team in adequate numbers.
As a Winnipegger, I feel your pain, but for a small market NHL team to survive, it has to be the biggest game in town.
Winnipeg's got 750,000 citizens, and probably 500,000 of them are hockey fans. We pay about $100 per ticket on average and get 15,000 (sellouts) for every game. Edmonton and Calgary are bigger cities, but with the same dynamic- massive community commitment.
I loved the Whale- they were one of the old WHA teams with Winnipeg, Edmonton and Quebec. Quebec will be back in 5 years. But no American small market city has the fan base to support a NHL team in the current economic environment.
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I grew up a Whalers fan, and was crushed when they relocated to Carolina. A few years later, I was living in Atlanta when we were awarded the Thrashers franchise. I was a season ticket holder for all 11 seasons before they relocated to Winnipeg.
I am now a Nashville Predators fan, and have high hopes that they are not relocating anytime soon.
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Grew up a Whalers fan. Loved the team and the franchise. The state, though, could only hurt the franchise w/ its effort to recoup the costs associated with having The Whale play in the civic center.
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What was not brought up in the piece was how faithful the Whaler's fans were. Remember when the roof of the arena collapsed on January 18, 1978? We "91 Club" had to truck up I-91 to Springfield to see the games for 2 years. That arena was small and we packed it for most every home game (I admit, there were some snow storms where I took a pass). Hartford was vibrant. Now it has returned to its former description of the city where 2 interstates meet and home to too many insurance companies.
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@Scott You're right, Scott, that was a great example of the Whalers Faitful. There was SO much I couldn't fit into the story.
Winnipeg has shown that returning to small-market former WHA cities can be successful. I'd love to see two southern teams move back to Hartford and Quebec. It would be great if all teams in the Atlantic Division were less than a day's drive away from each other. It's crazy that my team's division who's name was stolen from NY/PA/DC, one with 4/6 original six teams has two Florida teams in it.
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@Jenn Even though the Whalers did not have outstanding teams, they developed great rivalries with the Bruins and Montreal Canadians, and to some degree the New York Rangers. I think a new arena in the central part of this small state would have drawn on the hockey-rich southern CT cities and could have resulted in a long-term franchise. They also would have needed a more lucrative TV contract to be successful.
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The Hartford Whalers stopped drawing fans as the economy was down. In retrospect it would have been better to build them a new arena in the hopes of them staying. A few years later the New England Patriots were lured to build a new stadium in Hartford but our inept Governor at the time John Rowland was played by Robert Kraft. Hartford is Americas filing cabinet , not a major sports market.
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@Jack
I'm always surprised that Hartford remains larger than New Haven. New Haven has Yale and is closer to NYC. I grew up in Boston and was hardly aware that Hartford existed, but I knew Providence and Burlington (VT). Hartford needs a prominent university. Middletown has Wesleyan.
@richguy Hartford has a UCONN Brach now. It's one small building with a Starbucks and a book store. Hartford killed itself 30 years ago by taking out G. Fox and Sage Allan. It's never been the same. I walk the city on my lunch hour, it's very sad.
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I lived in CT for 5 years when the Whalers were there, and I very much enjoyed seeing their games. But there was no way that market could ever have supported an NHL team in the modern era. Most of my friends from CT in those days were either life-long Rangers or Bruins fans despite having grown up with the Whalers in the WHA and later the NHL. North Carolina is not a fantastic market for hockey either, but over time the franchise seems to have stabilized there.
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