The New England Whalers began play in 1972-73 as an original WHA franchise. They were one of the few to survive all 7 of the tumultuous WHA seasons and would eventually merge and join the NHL as the Hartford Whalers after the WHA’s collapse. Speaking of collapses, in 1978 the Whalers had to deal with the collapse of the Hartford Civic Center’s roof, forcing them to change venues for their home games. The team started out in the Boston Garden and actually won the WHA’s 1st Avco World Trophy behind the strong offense of Tom Webster, the team’s leading offensive weapon. The Whalers were again a force in year 2 of the league, but eventually succumbed in a 7-game semi final series to the Cinderella Chicago Cougars. Some of the Whalers home playoff games that year were played in the tiny Big E Coliseum in West Springfield MA, after the club was chased from the Boston Garden. The Whalers began play in 1974-75 in East Springfield until their own arena; the Hartford Civic Center was finally completed in January of 1975. The franchise added some major names to their roster in the later WHA years with the additions of Dave Keon and Gordie, Mark and Marty Howe.

This road green mesh gamer by Stall and Dean was worn by Dan Bolduc during the 1977-78 WHA season. This Maine native spent 2 years in Harvard before representing the US Olympic team. Following that Dan, spent 3 seasons with the Whalers and then moved to the NHL where he played for the Red Wings and Flames.