Flyers Mark 60th Anniversary of Joining NHL
The countdown is on for the beginning of the 60th season of Philadelphia Flyers hockey. It was 60 years ago, on Feb. 9, 1966, that National Hockey League (NHL) president…
The countdown is on for the beginning of the 60th season of Philadelphia Flyers hockey. It was 60 years ago, on Feb. 9, 1966, that National Hockey League (NHL) president Clarence Campbell and the league's expansion committee convened at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City to finalize a plan to double the league's size from six franchises to 12 teams, creating a pathway for the creation of a hockey team for Philly.
According to a report on the Philadelphia Flyers website, the Philadelphia Hockey Club, Inc., earned conditional approval for a new NHL team in 1966. It would take another year for the franchise to receive final approval and to unveil a "name the team" contest.
The early team faced two primary hurdles to final franchise approval: a $2 million franchise fee due in early 1967 and the construction of an arena ready for the 1967-1968 season.
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Prominent local figures anchored the bid to bring NHL hockey to Philadelphia. Jerry Wolman, former president of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Bill Putnam, an executive at Morgan Guaranty Bank in New York, set the stage. Meanwhile, Ed Snider, Philadelphia Eagles treasurer, and others stepped up to lead as financial pressures mounted.
The name "Flyers" came about unusually. According to the Flyers website, in 1967, the Philadelphia Hockey Club's legal counsel, Earl Foreman, and his wife, Phyllis, attended a Broadway show with Ed Snider and his wife, Myrna. "On their way back from Manhattan, the couples stopped for ice cream at a Howard Johnson's restaurant. It was there that Phyllis suggested the name 'Flyers' for the hockey team," the account goes on to say.
Wolman's financial troubles eventually led to his removal from the early Philadelphia franchise's management. Ed Snider's role greatly expanded and essentially saved the young Flyers franchise from going under during its early days. Snider enlisted the help of Joe Scott, a Scott & Grauer beer distributorship executive, for support. Scott eventually became a significant part of the Flyers' management team alongside Snider.
Fitz Dixon, who would later become the majority owner of the 76ers, eventually held minority ownership of the Flyers and the Phillies. He also chaired the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission.
