Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2020
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/26/2020
An historic relic representing the infancy of the infamous WHA, this mounted puck display feature’s the actual puck used by the Alberta Oilers’ Ron Anderson to score the first Canadian goal / WHA goal in league history! A dark blue Biltrite puck, “Made in Canada” appears in small raised letters over the reverse, with a WHA logo placed over the front. The puck has been mounted to a small wooden base with sloping face, with an engraved plaque affixed listing the crucial particulars, including “W.H.A. October 11, 1972 – First Canadian Goal Scored – Ron Anderson”. The puck exhibits light wear to the WHA logo, with some additional wear to the wooden base. A detailed LOA signed by Ron Anderson will accompany. We should note that the detailed LOA from Anderson states that this puck is THE VERY FIRST WHA GOAL PUCK. The LOA also mentions that the goal was scored at 6:19 of the first period, vs Ottawa netminder Les Binkley.
Ron Anderson remembers scoring the WHA’s very first goal like it happened yesterday.
On Oct. 11, 1972, playing right wing on the Alberta Oilers’ first line with centre Jim Harrison and left winger Bob McAneeley, Anderson beat Ottawa Nationals goalie Les Binkley at 6:19 of the opening period of the inaugural game, in front of 5,065 fans at the Ottawa Civic Centre.
“I got the puck behind our net, stickhandled through all five Ottawa guys, then whipped a wrist shot high over the goalie’s glove hand … he never moved,” Anderson, 67, chuckled from his home in Calgary.
“That’s how I like to remember it today, anyway.
“The truth is, I whacked at a bouncing puck out near the Ottawa blue line and it kind of floated and knuckle-balled all the way into the net. If the goalie had seen it, he could’ve stopped it with a fly swatter.”
Did the significance of the moment register?
“Not really; we knew it was the first WHA game and all that, but we were just trying to win the damn thing,” said Anderson.
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