WHA (new) jersey Expo recap

Engines are full steam ahead for the 3 remaining WHA HOF events, but I wanted to recap the great experience we had kicking off the Summer 2010 tour at the MeiGray Jersey Expo on July 17 in, appropriately, New Jersey.

It was the public debut of the new WHA HOF DVD series, which literally arrived days before the event. The MeiGray Group kindly played the documentaries all day on their big screen video display, and we had them on a portable DVD player at our booth, too.

Also debuting was the new WHA HOF game jersey, which we'll use in the August 28 game in Cleveland. Check out the photos on our Facebook page -- the embroidered crest especially looks great! We might make these also available for sale to fans -- we'll see.

Barry Meisel and Stu Oxenhorn from the MeiGray Group welcomed us at the Expo with the finest collection of WHA game jerseys I've ever seen. The display, set behind our WHA HOF booth, brought a continual crowd to us and we were busy talking with fans for the entire day. I only managed to get away for a few minutes to see more WHA jerseys at other collector's tables and conduct some interviews -- I'll finish a video clip soon showing much of these colorful jerseys!

NJ Devils defensive great (and 3-time cup winner) Ken Daneyko was a special guest at the show, and he came by the WHA HOF display and said he enjoyed seeing all the WHA jerseys again. You see, Ken is from Edmonton, and he told us that the WHA Oilers was the team he grew up with in the 1970s. Ken talked about the great teams that he saw in the WHA, and he was very gracious.

6,000 miles is a long way to go in 72 hours for a one-day event like this, but the day was fabulous, and we lost count of how many times fans told us something like, "thanks for doing this -- it's about time the WHA history was celebrated."

Those sentiments make all this hard work worthwhile. Thank you to the MieGray Group and to New Jersey!

New WHA HOF event: August 28 in Cleveland

Andre Lacroix WHA Hall of Fame Day
Set for August 28 in Cleveland
with Exhibition Game
At the Pond in Chagrin Falls

The World Hockey Association Hall of Fame is proud to announce a day of celebration for major league hockey All-Star Andre Lacroix in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday, August 28, at the The Pond ice complex, 9999 E. Washington Street (in Chagrin Falls, Ohio).

WHA Hall of Fame President Timothy Gassen will travel from Arizona to Cleveland and emcee an induction ceremony for recently elected WHA HOF member (and Chagrin Falls resident) Andre Lacroix. Documentary films from the new WHA Hall of Fame DVD Series, an autograph session, and an exhibition hockey game will also be featured.

Following the Andre Lacroix Day, The Pond will host on Sunday, August 29 its kickoff for the fall back-to-skating season. The Sunday kickoff includes a $5 pass to enjoy skating, skate rental, bounce house, clowns, balloons and face painting from 1:30-4:30 pm. There will also be free skating lessons provided throughout the afternoon.

The World Hockey Association was a major hockey league in the U.S. and Canada from 1972-1979, and Lacroix is the WHA all-time scoring champion, and is one of a handful of players to play in all seven years of the league’s existence. The Cleveland Crusaders was a member of the WHA from 1972-1976, and the WHA merged with the NHL in 1979.

The Andre Lacroix WHA Hall of Fame Day will start with a screening of new WHA films (starting at 11:30 a.m.), then feature an autograph session (12:30-1:30 p.m.) with Lacroix and other hockey luminaries. An on-ice induction ceremony and exhibition game featuring Lacroix will conclude the day (1:30-3 p.m.). Other former WHA stars are also expected to attend and skate – check www.WHAhof for updates on the developing lineup.

The WHA Hall of Fame will also have a limited supply of pucks, T-shirts, hockey cards and DVDs available for sale – please bring cash for WHA HOF purchases.

Event information and tickets are available at www.skateatthepond.com

The August 28 Cleveland festivities will be the final stop on the WHA HOF Summer 2010 tour. The WHA HOF started the tour as a featured guest of the major vintage WHA jersey exhibit on July 17 at the MeiGray Expo in Newark, New Jersey, will travel to Hartford, Connecticut on August 14 for the Whalers FanFest, then head to the World Premiere of the new WHA HOF Jets documentary film with Bobby Hull and other WHA stars on August 20 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Complete information is at www.WHAhof.com

Andre Lacroix WHA Hall of Fame Day
Saturday, August 28
11am-3pm (see web site for event schedule)
at The Pond Family Friendly Ice Rink
9999 E. Washington St. (Chagrin Falls)

Phone: (440) 543-3884
www.skateatthepond.com

back in AZ, Phoenix is next!

You only realize how far NYC is from Tucson once you go there and back within 72 hours! Though a blur, we kicked off the summer 2010 WHA HOF show in NJ this past weekend with great success. I'll have lots of photos, stories and video online later this week when I catch my breath.

This next weekend we hope to meet with former WHA-ers in Phoenix, in preparation for our next public event, the big Whalers reunion and WHA HOF induction ceremonies in Hartford on August 14.

And the new Jets-Aeros DVD set has arrived, and I''l try to get the order form online at the site by July 20. The WHA league DVD set is @ 2 weeks away from being available, too.

OK, I gotta go unpack my bags now and get some sleep!

See you in New Jersey & new DVDs!

Don't miss your opportunity in the NYC area to see the major exhibit of WHA jerseys and the public premiere of the new WHA documentaries this weekend, July 17. This kicks off the Summer 2010 WHA HOF tour, and as we travel from Arizona we only hope the weather has broken in NJ and is cooler than here, lol. So much to do before we head to the east coast...the press interviews are picking up, for one. check out of events page for details!

Upon our return, on July 19, the new WHA DVDs will be available for sale! We'll also have some special new items, available only here...

AND a very special event announcement should be ready for next week. Stay tuned, and wish us luck in NJ. We'll post updates from NJ on the WHA HOF Facebook page; the link is on the main page here.

Facebook for the WHA HOF

So I've followed the pied piper called Facebook and will post there shorter updates for the WHA HOF (see link), and use this blog for more article-like musings. Except for these thoughts...

Thanks to Shawn Lavigne for putting me on the "Hockey This Morning" show with Mike Ross this morning...

My best wishes and thoughts to Jacques Demers for a speedy recovery in Ottawa. Hard to believe it's been 35 years since I first met Jacques in Indianapolis with the WHA Racers! I like the detail in one report that Jacques has a hard time keeping his oxygen mask on because he's talking so much, lol...

Our first WHA HOF visit to NYC is next Saturday (July 17) for the game jersey Expo. It's hotter there than here in Arizona, and I'm praying for a weather break before we go, or I'll sweat myself away!

The new WHA DVDs ship next week, and will go on sale on the site @ July 19, upon our return from the east coast...

Cheers to Whitey Stapleton

I've had the discussion with fellow WHA & Indy Racers fans for years: who was the franchise's most valuable player from 1974-1979? Many immediately claim Wayne Gretzky, who played his first major league games in Indy. Or there's Mark Messier, who also debuted with the Racers. How about Dave Keon? Surely a legend like that is the franchise MVP.

Yes, they are all fine candidates, but defenseman Pat "Whitey" Stapleton outshines them all combined. Whitey played two full seasons with Indy, their finest years, and even returned to coach the Racers in their 1978-79 swan song. On the ice he brought the stability, committment and a winning confident attitude the new team never had before. Off the ice he insipred fans wit his dignity and kind spirit, and made the future in Indy seem bright, indeed.

I was one of those young fans in Indy enraptured with "The General," and I didn't know yet that Whitey had already been a hero for Team Canada in the 1972 USSR series. I didn't know he has started his major league career among the "Original Six" as a very young man, then played in the Stanley Cup finals along side Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull in Chicago. I knew him first as an Indianapolis Racer, a WHA All-Star who contorlled the blueline and the pace of the game unlike any other defenseman I've seen since.

Now, all these years later, I've gotten to know Whitey as a person. He is the most positive, encouraging peerson I have ever come across in hockey. He is a gentleman, a loving person, a warm and intelligent man of the higest caliber. To say I hold Pat Stapleton in high regard doesn't do him justice -- he deserves far greater praise.

But back to the WHA and the 1970s and his play with the Racers. Anyone who was there will agree -- based on what he helped the city achieve, through the caliber of his play, there was never a better Indianapolis Racer than #12, Pat Stapleton. He is my franchise MVP.

Pat Stapleton turned 70 years of age this past Sunday. Cheers to you, Whitey. We are blessed to know you.

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PS: Remember that the July 17 MeiGray WHA jersey Expo is July 17 in New Jersey...and a new event will be announced soon!

NEW: July 17 & August 14 WHA HOF Events!

Fans in Winnipeg are already excited about the WHA Jets reunion and film premiere August 20 in Manitoba -- and we've added two more opportunities for fans to see the new WHA films and support the WHA HOF: Saturday, July 17 in New Jersey at a major WHA hockey jersey exhibit, and Saturday, August 14 at the Whalers FanFest in Hartford, Connecticut.

Here are the press releases below, and we hope to see you in person soon!

WHA Hall of Fame
Featured at July 17, 2010
MeiGray Jersey Expo

The World Hockey Association Hall of Fame is proud to announce its participation as an invited guest to the Seventh Annual MeiGray Game Worn Jersey Expo, Saturday July 17 at Raritan Valley Community College Conference Center in North Branch, New Jersey.

WHA HOF President Timothy Gassen will travel from Arizona with his new WHA documentary DVDs to New Jersey and meet with hockey fans at the MeiGray vintage WHA jersey collection exhibit. The Meigray Group, formed by partners Barry Meisel and Bob Gray, is the game worn jersey industry’s preeminent authenticator and reseller, providing authentic jerseys to the collector’s market since 1997.

Barry Meisel is also a WHA fan, collecting the major league’s hockey jerseys since his days as a firsthand WHA fan in the 1970s.

“We believe the MeiGray WHA jersey collection could be the finest and most complete in the world,” WHA HOF President Timothy Gassen says. “We are excited to partner with them at this major exhibit, which will be a rare opportunity for fans to see WHA jerseys in a historically accurate way.”

The WHA HOF has also been invited to host a booth at the MeiGray Expo, where a limited supply of WHA pucks, shirts, jerseys and DVDs will be available for sale. (Fans should bring cash only for purchases from the WHA HOF.) All WHA HOF merchandise, including the new three-part WHA Hall of Fame DVD series, is also available online at www.WHAhof.com

Admission to the Seventh Annual MeiGray Game-Worn Jersey Expo is $25. Former New Jersey Devil and current MSG hockey analyst Ken Daneyko will meet with fans and sign free autographs, and a wide array of hockey jersey and memorabilia dealers and exhibits will also be available. Each attendee will also receive a free blank NHL jersey and a tour of the MeiGray facility.

Complete registration information is at www.meigray.com
________________________________________________________

WHA Hall of Fame
Featured at August 14, 2010
Hartford Whalers Hockey Fest

The World Hockey Association Hall of Fame is proud to announce its participation as an invited guest to the Whalers Summer Fan Fest and Reunion, Saturday August 14, 2010at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.

WHA HOF President Timothy Gassen will travel from Arizona with his new WHA documentary DVDs to Hartford and emcee an induction ceremony for recently elected WHA HOF members Gordie Howe & Howard Baldwin, among others. Elected WHA HOF member Andre Lacroix will also visit with fans at the WHA HOF booth, where a limited supply of WHA pucks, shirts, jerseys and DVDs will be available for sale. (Fans should bring cash only for purchases from the WHA HOF.) All WHA HOF merchandise, including the new three-part WHA Hall of Fame DVD series, is also available online at www.WHAhof.com

The August 14 Whalers Summer Fan Fest and Reunion is the first major public event launching Howard Baldwin’s Whalers Sports and Entertainment group, which is working to re-establish the Whalers hockey heritage in Connecticut.

The Whalers Summer Fan fest will feature a reunion of former WHA and NHL Whalers players, an array of Whalers merchandise, and a world premiere of the WHA HOF’s new league documentary films. The admission price to the day-long event is a $5 donation to the Whalers Alumni Foundation.

Complete information is available online at www.whalerssports.com/FanFest.html