This road blue mesh gamer was worn by Rick Morris and Jim Dorey during the 1977-78 WHA season. Morris played the position of Left Wing and spent a few seasons in the minors with the Dallas Black Hawks and Greensboro Generals prior to joining the upstart WHA in their inaugural season of 1972-73. He was an original member of the Chicago Cougars and played in the Windy City for 3 seasons before a move in 1975-76 took him to the ill-fated Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics franchise. After half a season there, Rick joined the Edmonton Oilers and played with them into the 1977-78 season, when he was dealt to the Quebec Nordiques.

Dorey was originally a draft choice of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1964. He spent 4 years wearing the Maple Leafs colors before briefly joining the New York Rangers. In his first NHL game, Dorey set a then single game record for PIMS with 48! Dorey then jumped to the WHA for their inaugural season, suiting up for the New England Whalers for parts of 3 years. He then joined the Toronto Toros where he skated for parts of 2 seasons. In 1976-77 he joined the Nordiques and played parts of 3 years with them before a final stint in the AHL with New Haven.

Dorey originally wore this jersey while playing a partial season of 26 games with Quebec in 1977-78. Morris then joined Quebec and spent 25 games as a member of the Nordiques, where he also wore this jersey. A unique number change has taken place on this sweater, further confirming the budgetary constraints on these WHA clubs. Sewn to the back and covering Dorey’s number 7 is a piece of Nordique blue mesh with Morris’ number 27. Why use a full jersey when you could use a partial one! It goes without saying that there is also evidence of a nameplate change on the back. Also worthy of mention is the removal of Dorey’s alternate Captain’s “A’ from the left breast.  The game wear on this sweater is solid and consists of stick marks, board burns, board paint transfer, un-repaired burn holes and heavy inner pilling. A custom fight strap remains affixed to the inside. A nice vintage offering, worn by two tough customers, that is packed full of history and that helps tell a story from days past.