Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction February 2025
Despite folding almost a half century ago, the WHA continues to fascinate historians and collectors, and we offer a gorgeous group of thirty-four (34) 1970s slugs hailing from the world of the World Hockey Association. All hailing from the personal collection of legendary journalist Frank Brown, the group is paced by a quartet of blue Biltrite offerings of the New York Raiders (advertisement reverse), Cleveland Crusaders (advertisement reverse - residue stuck on over the logo face) and Minnesota Fighting Saints (x2 - WHA reverses - very light wear to the logos of one of them). Also including a group of eleven (11) Biltrite B2 slugs dating from 1972-75 which feature the "large crest/large WHA" reverse, teams present are Quebec (light logo wear), Winnipeg, Chicago, Toronto (light logo wear), Houston (stuck on residue), Edmonton, Los Angeles (light surface wear), Vancouver, Minnesota, New England (surface wear) and Cleveland. For the rest of the lot, including a group of seven (7) Minnesota Fighting Saints pucks from 1974-75 that feature the Art Ross Tyre reverse (both logo variations - majority show logo/surface wear), other highlights include a game puck from the 1974 Canada-Russia series (Viceroy V2 slug - light wear to logos over both sides and chipping to one edge), a rare seldom seen Jersey Knights game puck from 1974 (Viceroy V3 - Gerry Cosby advertisement reverse), a 1973-74 New York Golden Blades game puck with the Davidson WHA reverse (Biltrite B2) and a game puck from the 1979 WHA All-Star Series against Dynamo Moscow (blank reverse - Biltrite B3). A Classic Auctions LOA will accompany the lot.
Publishing his first paid hockey article in a New York Rangers game program in 1970 that earned him a total of fifty ($50) dollars, from there, Frank Brown began his career as a journalist for The Associated Press, typically covering the Montreal Canadiens. Under the leadership of Stan Fischler, Brown stated he learned the "courage of my convictions" after being handed Gordie Howe's phone number. Moving on to the New York Daily News in 1980, where he would remain until 1998, when he joined the National Hockey League as a communication executive, a position he would hold with the league until his retirement in 2018. He was awarded the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.
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