 | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Competition | World Hockey Association |
| Awarded for | Playoff championship of the WHA |
| History | |
| First award | 1973 |
| Editions | 7 |
| Final award | 1979 |
| First winner | New England Whalers |
| Most wins | Winnipeg Jets (3) |
| Most recent | Winnipeg Jets |
TheAvco World Trophy, also known as theAvco Cup, is the playoff championship trophy of the defunctWorld Hockey Association, which operated from1972 until1979. The trophy'snaming rights were sold to the formerAvco Corporation (a name originally derived from "Aviation Company"), a defense contractor who bought the rights to advertise their consumer finance division. The trophy was mocked by some for its corporate sponsorship and never developed anything approaching the significance and sentiment of theStanley Cup, itsNational Hockey League rival. Still, the cup's design was often seen as creative in that it involved a freely-floating etched crystal globe embedded in the "stem" of the cup. The cup was designed by Frank Bonnerkopf of Boise, Idaho.[citation needed]
The trophy was donated to the new league in 1972 along with approximately $500,000 by the Avco Financial Services Corporation, and became the first major sports league championship trophy to bear the name of a private corporation. Three Avco trophies exist; besides the one that is on display at theHockey Hall of Fame, the others are inWinnipeg at theManitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, and in theNova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame inHalifax. The trophy was retired after the WHA ceased operations in 1979.[1] Led byBobby Hull, theWinnipeg Jets claimed the trophy on three occasions, including the final league championship againstWayne Gretzky and theEdmonton Oilers.Gordie Howe and theHouston Aeros vied for the trophy three times, winning twice.
The Avco Trophy in fact may have been most famous, or perhaps infamous, in its absence. When theNew England Whalers won the league's inaugural championship in1973 the trophy had not yet been completed, and the Whalers were forced to skate their divisional championship trophy around the ice surface.[2]
Eight players skated for three Avco World Trophy-winning teams in the WHA playoffs:Joe Daley,Ted Green,Bob Guindon,Bill Lesuk,Lyle Moffat,Lars-Erik Sjoberg,Willy Lindstrom andPeter Sullivan. All but Green did so as members of the three Winnipeg Jets championship teams, whereas Green did so with the 1972–73 Whalers and the first two Jets championship teams. Green was the first to win the Trophy with multiple teams. Bobby Hull is commonly cited as winning the Avco Trophy three times with the Jets as well, but he did not play in the 1979 playoff run due to injury.
| Season | Winning team[1] | Coach | Games | Losing team | Coach | Winning goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | New England Whalers | Jack Kelley | 4–1 | Winnipeg Jets | Bobby Hull | Larry Pleau(5:44, third) |
| 1974 | Houston Aeros | Bill Dineen | 4–0 | Chicago Cougars | Pat Stapleton | Murray Hall(16:55, first) |
| 1975 | Houston Aeros | Bill Dineen | 4–0 | Quebec Nordiques | Jean-Guy Gendron | Gord Labossiere(19:53, first) |
| 1976 | Winnipeg Jets | Bobby Kromm | 4–0 | Houston Aeros | Bill Dineen | Veli-Pekka Ketola(10:22, first) |
| 1977 | Quebec Nordiques | Marc Boileau | 4–3 | Winnipeg Jets | Bobby Kromm | Real Cloutier(6:29, second) |
| 1978 | Winnipeg Jets | Larry Hillman | 4–0 | New England Whalers | Harry Neale | Bobby Hull(3:26, third) |
| 1979 | Winnipeg Jets | Tom McVie | 4–2 | Edmonton Oilers | Glen Sather | Lyle Moffat(6:35, second) |
In the seven-year postseason history of the WHA, 21 games went into overtime. Notably, no championship game ever reached overtime.
| Season | Date | Round | Winning team | Overtime goal scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | April 4 | Eastern Division Semifinals | Cleveland Crusaders | Ron Buchanan (9:44) |
| 1973 | April 8 | Eastern Division Semifinals | New England Whalers | Brit Selby (3:37) |
| 1973 | April 11 | Western Division Semifinals | Winnipeg Jets | Norm Beaudin (3:12) |
| 1973 | April 13 | Western Division Semifinals | Houston Aeros | Murray Hall (3:38) |
| 1973 | April 14 | Eastern Division Semifinals | New England Whalers | Mike Byers (3:47) |
| 1974 | April 7 | Eastern Division Semifinals | New England Whalers | John French (2:51) |
| 1974 | April 10 | Eastern Division Semifinals | Chicago Cougars | Ralph Backstrom (17:45) |
| 1974 | April 13 | Eastern Division Semifinals | Cleveland Crusaders | Wayne Muloin (4:17) |
| 1974 | April 18 | Western Division Finals | Minnesota Fighting Saints | Mike Walton (1:40) |
| 1975 | April 11 | Quarterfinals | New England Whalers | Rick Ley (6:46) |
| 1975 | April 15 | Quarterfinals | Phoenix Roadrunners | Michel Cormier (7:21) |
| 1975 | May 1 | Semifinals | Houston Aeros | Jim Sherrit (0:27) |
| 1976 | April 9 | Preliminary Round | Phoenix Roadrunners | Del Hall (0:31) |
| 1976 | April 11 | Quarterfinals | Winnipeg Jets | Ulf Nilsson (0:54) |
| 1977 | April 9 | Eastern Division Semifinals | Indianapolis Racers | Gene Peacosh (8:40, 3OT) |
| 1977 | April 13 | Western Division Semifinals | Houston Aeros | Morris Lukowich (13:11) |
| 1977 | April 14 | Eastern Division Semifinals | Quebec Nordiques | Paul Baxter (1:50) |
| 1977 | April 26 | Western Division Finals | Winnipeg Jets | Peter Sullivan (8:05) |
| 1977 | April 28 | Eastern Division Finals | Quebec Nordiques | Paulin Bordeleau (5:29) |
| 1978 | April 16 | WHA Quarterfinals | Houston Aeros | Ted Taylor (7:19) |
| 1978 | April 18 | WHA Quarterfinals | Quebec Nordiques | Marc Tardif (2:59) |