Skip to main content

Fort Wayne Komets (IHL, 1974-75)

1974-75 Regular Season:
Komets vs. Flint Generals

     The Fort Wayne Komets were looking to rebound from a disappointing 1973-74 season, which saw the defending Turner Cup Champions drop to last place in the Southern Division with a 31-45-0 record, next-to-worst in the entire league. ex-Komet player Ted Wright, who replaced Marc Boileau when he was hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins, was back behind the Komets bench. 

     1974-75 was another letdown season, as the Komets were even worse than last year. Fort Wayne was dead last in the Southern Division, with a 26-44-6 record, 11 points back of the Des Moines Capitols and 37 behind first place Dayton. Wright was let go after winning just twice in the first 10 games of the season, and was replaced by Ralph Keller for the rest of the year. 

     Fort Wayne had the third-worst offense in the IHL in 1974-75 (counting Lansing, which folded midway through the season), scoring only 247 goals. Center Brian Walker had his best season in the pros, scoring 38 goals and 79 points to lead the Komets. Right winger Doug Gibson, in his only professional season, was the other 30-goal scorer, lighting the lamp 36 times. 19-year old Robbie Laird, who would go on to an 11-year career (mostly in Fort Wayne), had 15 goals and 43 points in 62 games, to go along with 115 penalty minutes.

     The Komets allowed the second-most goals in the league that season, giving up 313. They used four different goaltenders that season, though long-time Komet Robbie Irons played the most games at 46, with a 3.27 GAA and two shutouts. Pat Flaherty, Gord Hubley and Bruce Aberhart were the other netminders. 

     This is a 39-page program, all in black-and-white. It's from a December 7, 1974 game against the Flint Generals. Flint would finish in 2nd place in the Northern Division, with a 44-26-5 record. No idea who won. The Azar's Comet Big Boy of the Week was center Dale Power. Power only played 9 games in his final season in pro hockey, scoring 2 goals and 5 points. Nevertheless, a poster of him is included on page 36. Pepsi Bingo is on page 20, along with the rosters of both teams on page 21. Long-time Komet broadcaster Bob Chase included "From the Press Box" and "This Week in the IHL" on pages 22 and 23. 

     Local advertisements include Marhoefer "Happy Weiners" (Hot Dogs), Scott's Discount Foods, Brookside Lincoln Mercury, Ted and Tom's Restaurant and Heritage House Smorgasbord.

Aftermath: 1974-75 would be the last season the Komets would miss the playoffs until 1996-97. The original Komets franchise relocated to Albany, New York, for the 1990-91 season, but folded on Valentine's Day 1991. The Franke family purchased the mothballed Flint Spirits franchise and moved it to Fort Wayne in time for the 1990-91 season, where it remains to this day. The Komets, who played in the IHL, UHL/IHL and CHL, currently play in the ECHL.

Reference:

International Hockey League Regular Season Statistics: 1974-75, from hockeydb.com


     

     

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Port Huron Hockey: Flags/Wings (1962-81)

Now, on to Port Huron.      Port Huron has had a long, yet checkered, history of pro hockey. The most successful franchise, by far, was the Port Huron Flags (also called Wings for a few years) of the IHL. The Flags were, for the most part, a competitve team on the ice, making the Turner Cup Finals seven times and winning the Cup on three occasions. For three years, (1971-74), the franchise was a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and sent numerous players on to the NHL in it's existence. However, the team had problems drawing big enough crowds. While the Flags lasted for nearly 20 years, former GM Morris Snider later admitted that the franchise could have folded three years before it actually did, due to declining attendance. I've found some Flags/Wings programs online over the years, and here's what I have. 1963-64 Regular Season--Flags vs. Windsor       1963-64 was the second year of existence for the Flags. After missing the playoffs in their inaugural cam
Post a Comment
Read more

Flint Generals yearbook (IHL, 1973-74)

     I recently bought two yearbooks from the Flint Generals of the IHL. This one is from the 1973-74 season. It's a 40-page book, all in black-and-white, and on glossy paper. Each player for that season has a full page photo and a short bio. The statistics and a team photo for each Generals season are included. Stats for every player that wore the "blue and gold" are listed in the back of the yearbook. Flint Journal sportswriter Len Hoyes added an article previewing the remainder of the 1973-74 campaign.       One thing that Hoyes noted in his article was about attendance: "With all of their problems, the Generals were still attracting fans at a rate of 3,950 per game. Attendance was down slightly, but Flint's percentage rate of almost 100 percent remained the envy of minor league hockey." (Hoyes, 1974)      The original Generals were a popular team for most of their existence, and attendance only bottomed out when the region's economy tanked
Post a Comment
Read more

Fort Wayne Komets (1967-68, IHL)

1967-68 Regular Season--Komets vs. Des Moines Oak Leafs      1967-68 was the sixteenth season of Fort Wayne Komets hockey, all in the IHL. The team was coached by Ken Ullyot, who had been with the franchise since 1958. The Komets played      Having lost to Toledo in the 1967 Turner Cup Finals, the Komets slipped to fourth place in '67-68. While Muskegon ran away with first place, the battle for the second-fifth slots was hotly contested. Fort Wayne finished 30-29-13, their 73 points one ahead of Toledo and just five behind second place Dayton.      The Komets were also in fourth place in offense, scoring 282 times that year. Fort Wayne legend Len Thornson led the team with 38 goals and 97 points. Three others, Bob Baird, Randy Gates and Merv Dubchak, joined Thornson in the 30+ goal club. Three others scored at least 20 goals.      The Komets had the second-best defense in the IHL that season, allowing just 272 goals. Fort Wayne used three different goaltenders that year. Rob
Post a Comment
Read more