Kings Article: 50 Forgotten Kings Stories: The "Battle" for Red Kelly + Who Is Yasushin Tanaka?

[Sheng Peng]

I'm proud to be moving this series of articles to LAKings.com...Red Kelly tells me the "little trick" that Punch Imlach played on Jack Kent Cooke + would you believe the surprise player from LA's first training camp was a Japanese national?

The "Battle" for Red Kelly + Who Is Yasushin Tanaka?

In honor of the franchise’s 50th anniversary, this is the first in a series of 50 forgotten Kings stories. Here's my first entry, enjoy!

50 Forgotten Kings Stories: It Was Almost the LA Blades

Click to read more...

 

[ADifferentTim]

Thanks, Sheng. As a real-life history buff, I genuinely appreciate this.

 

[Model62]

Wow. Great stuff!

I really enjoyed the headlines on those news items, too. Here's one: "“Blades File Suit in Bid to Bar Cooke’s Ice Team".

 

[Omni Owl]

LA Blades isn't too terrible for a team name.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I remember that Blades was also a rumored name for the new expansion team in San Jose.

http://sharks.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=62861

In a random sweepstakes drawing, San Jose attorney Allen Speare was selected as the grand prize winner. Other entries were submitted from participants representing California and nearly every other state and Canadian province. The top-15 names submitted, in alphabetical order, were: Blades, Breakers, Breeze, Condors, Fog, Gold, Golden Gaters, Golden Skaters, Grizzlies, Icebreakers, Knights, Redwoods, Sea Lions, Sharks and Waves.

From what I recall reading around that time, Blades was rejected because they didn't want a violent image to relate with the team name (kind of like the Washington Bullets, who ended up becoming the Wizards).

Although they don't relate to the Kings, it is interesting to read about the first hockey club in Los Angeles, the Monarchs.

http://www.laweekly.com/news/no-one-was-killed-outright-las-surprising-ice-hockey-history-4378113

By 1946, the Pan-Pacific operator was one of three groups that bid to bring an NHL franchise to Los Angeles, but travel costs to the West Coast were considered prohibitive by hockey owners, a view shared with baseball owners. Rebuffed, minor league hockey took up the slack with two Pacific Coast Hockey League teams playing at the Pan, the Los Angeles Monarchs and the Hollywood Wolves. The Monarchs brought the city its first hockey championship when they won the PCHL title in 1947. Hockey drew well in L.A., but the southern division of the league collapsed around the Monarchs in 1950 and the league refused to allow the team to join the northern division, citing travel costs.

The 1950s were a dark period for L.A. hockey above amateur level. By 1956, efforts were made to gain a team in the Western Hockey League, which grew out of the old PCHL. However, the lack of a larger, modern arena proved a hindrance. That changed in July 1959, when the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena opened to give the city a suitable venue. The Sports Arena soon hosted NHL exhibition games and visiting minor league games.

After much talk, L.A. finally joined the WHL when the owner of the Victoria Cougars moved his team to the Sports Arena. The newly christened Blades debuted before a crowd of 10,268 on October 13, 1961. Despite only one winning season, the Blades became a popular attraction with players like colorful Howie Young and Willie O'Ree, often called "The Jackie Robinson of Hockey."

When the NHL decided to expand, several L.A. groups bid for a new franchise, among them the Blades owners. In the end, Canadian magnate and Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke was selected and the Kings were born. The Kings era began on October 14, 1967 at the Long Beach Arena, with the team playing home games at Long Beach and the Sports Arena until the Forum was ready.

But the Kings weren't the last team to call L.A. home. Formed as a rival to the NHL, the World Hockey Association launched in 1972 with a team in Los Angeles. Beset by financial woes, the Los Angeles Sharks played two seasons at the Sports Arena with three different owners before moving to Detroit, then Baltimore before folding. Another minor league team, also known as the Blades, played a few games in the Sports Arena before folding in 1979.

It's probably a good thing the NHL expansion franchise in Los Angeles was awarded to Jack Kent Cooke, he at least kept the team in Los Angeles until he sold the Kings (and Lakers) to Dr. Jerry Buss. Had it been someone else, the Kings may have wound up just like the Oakland Seals.

 

[Sheng Peng]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. And some great finds there, Ziggy!

 

[kingsholygrail]

"The Blades were sharp tonight!"
"The Blades have been dulled!"

 

[Sheng Peng]

I'm proud to be moving this series of articles to LAKings.com...Red Kelly tells me the "little trick" that Punch Imlach played on Jack Kent Cooke + would you believe the surprise player from LA's first training camp was a Japanese national?

The "Battle" for Red Kelly + Who Is Yasushin Tanaka?