Cincinnati Stingers

Lore & Background

The Stingers franchise was awarded in 1974 as part of the WHA's ill-conceived attempt at expansion. They entered the league for the 1975–76 WHA season along with the Denver Spurs, playing almost immediately after the Cincinnati Reds had won the 1975 World Series. Most of the league's existing teams were not financially stable, and franchise relocations were commonplace. The Stingers achieved enough stability that they were the only one of the WHA's five expansion teams that lasted through to the end of the league, but they were left out of the NHL–WHA merger in mid-1979. The WHA insisted on including all three of its surviving Canadian teams, though below-average attendance made it unlikely that the Stingers would have made the cut. The Stingers, along with the Birmingham Bulls, were paid to disband when the WHA ceased operations. With the NHL's Cleveland Barons merging with the Minnesota North Stars the previous year, Ohio would be left without a major professional hockey team until the Columbus Blue Jackets started play in 2000.

The Stingers were the first professional team of long-time NHL stars Mike Gartner and Mike Liut, and the second pro team for Mark Messier, who scored one goal on a line with Robbie Ftorek, one of the league's top scorers. In their four seasons, Rick Dudley scored the most goals (131) and recorded the most points (277) in franchise history while Robbie Ftorek set season records for goals (59, 1977–78) and points (116, 1978–79). After the WHA shut down, a minor professional version of the Cincinnati Stingers began the 1979–80 season in the Central Hockey League (CHL). The CHL team included only three players from the 1978–79 WHA Stingers; Dave Debol, Byron Shutt and Paul Stewart, but disbanded 33 games into the season.

Reader's Guide

The Cincinnati Stingers are notable as the only major league hockey team to have played in Cincinnati, and as one of the WHA's expansion franchises that survived until the league's end. Their stability contrasted with the frequent relocations of other WHA teams, yet they were excluded from the NHL–WHA merger, partly due to below-average attendance. The Stingers were paid to disband alongside the Birmingham Bulls when the WHA ceased operations. Their legacy includes being the first professional team for future Hockey Hall of Famers Mike Gartner and Mark Messier, and for goaltender Mike Liut. Rick Dudley remains the franchise's all-time leader in goals and points. The team's brief minor-league continuation in the CHL lasted only 33 games. The last Cincinnati Stingers player active in North American major professional hockey was Mark Messier, who retired in 2004.