The New York Raiders were given WHA franchise life on November 1st 1971. Hopes to play at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island were dashed when the NHL decided to immediately expand, cutting off the Raiders threat and thus the New York Islanders were born. The Raiders had nowhere else to look other than the mecca, Madison Square Garden. A deal was reached with the Garden and the Raiders began play in the WHA’s inaugural season of 1972-73.

The Islanders outsold the Raiders in season ticket sales by better than a 4 to 1 margin, and thus the Raiders would play to sparse crowds at MSG. This put immediate strain on ownership as the Garden charged the Raiders enormous fees to use their arena. Original owner Neil Shayne sold the team to Dick Wood and Sy Seigel. The two new owners were without a plan and before long, with mounting financial losses, they gave the team back to the league. The league ran the team over the last half of the inaugural season. The Raiders finished last in the East behind a hideous defense.

In May of 1973 two New Yorkers purchased the team from the league and changed the team nickname to the Golden Blades. After less than 2 months, and only 20 games of play in 1973-74, the two new owners met the same fate as the prior owners. Once again the league stepped in and assumed ownership. It was now obvious that playing at MSG, in the high rent district, was not going to work. The league immediately moved the franchise out of New York and into New Jersey. They were renamed the New Jersey Knights and played at the tiny Cherry Hill Arena. A new owner by the name of Joe Schwartz was found in January. Attendance remained low, as neither the New York or Philadelphia markets would warm up to the WHA squad. As had the Raiders the season prior, the Golden Blades/Knights finished in last place in the East.

Schwartz made a bold move and took the team west, relocating them to San Diego. They were renamed the Mariners and things actually improved for the franchise. They had a successful first season in California, finishing 2nd in the West and winning a playoff series in 1975. The 1975-76 team couldn’t improve on its previous season, but did make the playoffs and won another playoff series. Schwartz, the one-time white knight, began suffering financial woes and defaulted the team in January of 1976. In an unheard of scenario, the players voted to play out the remainder of the season despite the knowledge that they would be without paychecks! Ray Kroc, owner of the San Diego Padres, was touched by the story and in the summer of 1976, he purchased the team from the league. The Mariners played on and again were a playoff team in 1976-77, but this time they lost their 1st round series. Kroc sold the team at the end of the 1976-77 season amidst low attendance figures and financial losses. The new owners planned to relocate the team to Florida, a plan which never came to fruition, thus ending their franchise life.

This home white knit gamer by Wilson was worn by Ernie Wakely circa the 1975 WHA season. Wakely spent 20 years between the pipes beginning in 1959-60 with the Winnipeg Warriors of the WHL and ending in 1978-79 with the Birmingham Bulls of the WHA. In between he was both an NHL and WHA All Star. Ernie’s NHL years were predominantly spent with the St. Louis Blues, other than for a lone game in 1968-69 with the Montreal Canadiens. From 1969-70 thru 1971-72, Wakely tended goal for the successful expansion St. Louis Blues squad. His stellar play in 1970-71 earned him an NHL All Star appearance. When the WHA formed, Ernie bolted and joined the Winnipeg Jets. He spent parts of 3 seasons in Winnipeg before joining the San Diego Mariners in 1974-75. After 3 years in southern California, Wakely joined the Cincinnati Stingers in 1977-78. He would go on to play for the Houston Aeros later that same year and then finished his career in Birmingham with the Baby Bulls the following season. Ernie earned a 2nd Team WHA All Star selection for his play during the 1977-78 season, the next to last of his career. In a poll taken that named the 50 greatest WHA players of all time, Ernie Wakely ranked 17th on that prominent list.

Wakely was the man between the pipes during all 3 years of the San Diego Mariners existence. He partook in 148 of the Mariners 239 career games and posted 77 Wins, 8 by way of shutout, against only 57 losses, 9 ties and a GAA in the low 3’s in each of their 3 seasons. Sewn into the collar of this gamer is the Wilson tag. The outline of the name on back that was made up of individually applied letters remains neatly removed and easily readable. The game wear on this sweater consists of stick and puck marks, blue paint swipes, light sweat stains and some pilling. Shown above is a beautiful photo match of Wakely wearing this exact jersey during his time with San Diego in the WHA. This vintage photo matched knit was donned by of one of the WHA’s all-time great goaltenders, choice!