In 1972 a new major hockey league known as the World Hockey Association began its first season. This league would be the first (and only) major hockey league to rival the well established NHL. The rebel league was organized by Gary Davidson and Dennis Murphy. The same entrepreneurs who established the American Basketball Association. Most believed the league would be dead by the end of its first season. Seeing as how the founders Gary Davidson and Dennis Murphy had no hockey experience up to that point. Apparently the critics were wrong.

The league gained instant credibility when they signed NHL superstar Bobby Hull to a ten year deal worth 1.75 million. That amount of cash was incredible for the time. Seeing as how the average NHL player only made $22,000 a year.The WHA was also void of the dreaded "reserve clause".  So this encouraged many NHL players to jump ship to the new league.

After a few years of establishing itself and creating its own major league identity, the WHA continued to grow. One pivotal reason for the leagues growth was that new arenas were being built in cities void of a major league hockey team. While the NHL was more demanding by far in setting forth conditions for entry into their league. The WHA saw opportunity. And as long as an attractive arena was located in the city of question. The WHA would gladly accept a franchise bid.

Meanwhile Cincinnati lawyer Brian Heekin and a young Bill DeWitt Jr. (who's father owned the Reds ) set out to bring a major league hockey team to the Queen City. Bill DeWitt was also an investor in the American Basketball Asociations's Kentucky Colonels and was a former minority owner of the Cincinnati Swords hockey team. DeWitt & Heekin's only problem with bringing a major league hockey team to Cincinnati was that they had NO arena. Figuring that they had a shot at obtaining an NHL team, a new building was needed. City officials agreed to subsidize a new arena for an NHL franchise.

But in 1973 Cincinnati would lose its bid for an NHL expansion team to Kansas City & Washington . However, despite losing a bid, the NHL placed Cincinnati at the top of the list for an eventual team. But seeing as how the NHL had no specific time frame for another wave of expansion, DeWitt & Heekin applied with the World Hockey Association for a team, banking on the two leagues merging. Little did they know that the Kansas City Scouts would be a bust. The team became available following its second season and the Cincinnati group could have had an opportunity to buy the team and move them. Instead the team was relocated to Denver and renamed the Colorado Rockies.

City officials weren't thrilled with the prospect of bringing a team from a rebel league barely two years old. So if Heekin & DeWitt wanted an arena for a WHA team, they'd have to come up with the cash on their own. Which is exactly what they did. After 18 months, local banks agreed to buy $20 million in construction bonds. Giving life to major league hockey in Cincinnati. So in 1973 the WHA awarded the leagues first expansion team to Cincinnati.

MAJOR LEAGUE HOCKEY IN CINCINNATI

Since Riverfront Coliseum was still being built the franchise was unable to ice a team until completion of the arena. So in the mean time the organization began working on having a team ready to play for the 1975-76 season. Heekin was in charge of the building. While DeWitt ran the team and was the exclusive negotiator of player contracts.In 1974 they adopted the nickname "Stingers" and christened Riverfront Coliseum "the Beehive". Interestedly enough, you could still see the the "Beehive" lettering clear as day over each entrance to Riverfront Coliseum until 1997. When the arena was sold to Cyclones owner Doug Kirchhofer. He would have the lettering sand blasted off of the arena.

The organization was also busy participating in the drafts and signing players to minor league contracts. Making several players Stingers property before the inaugural hockey season in 1975. The club sent them to play for the Hampton Gulls of the Southern Hockey League which was their farm team. The club also put players on loan to other WHA teams prior to the first Stingers hockey season.  The Stingers also named Terry Slater as team coach. Slater previously coached the Los Angelos Sharks.

The inaugural game took place on the road on October 11th against the Cleveland Crusaders. Stinger Claude Larose (and the 1975 first round draft pick) would go on to score the first franchise goal at 12:45 in the second period when he batted one past former NHL star Gary Cheevers. It would be the only goal of the game and Cincinnati would have its first franchise victory.

The Stingers first home game came was played on October 23rd against the Edmonton Oilers. The game took place the day after the Cincinnati Reds had won the World Series and thousands of people who had Stingers tickets were drunk and disorderly from the baseball championship festivities that took place hours before the first puck dropped. Despite the rambunctious crowd, the Stingers defeated the Oilers by a score of 6-4.

Cincinnati started the season off well, winning nine of their first thirteen games. But a seven game losing streak that began with a loss to the Minnesota Fighting Saints brought the club back down to earth. As the season went on, there were plenty of enthused fans in the stands. But on average the attendance was about 7,500 in an arena that held 16,000. The lack of attendance would be hidden from television viewers due to randomly colored seats in the arena.

Through out the season the Stingers managed to develop some good rivalries with division foes such as Cleveland and Indianapolis. The Racers dominated Cincinnati, defeating the Stingers eight out of eleven games. But with the exception of the Racers, Cincinnati faired quite well against the other clubs they played and the Stingers actually were in contention for a playoff berth until the final game of the season. The final game was against the Cleveland Crusdaers on April 4th. In the game the Stingers took a three goal lead in the first period. But the Crusaders answered with six goals, to close the book on Cincinnati's first season.

Stingers left winger Rick Dudley (and former Cincinnati Sword) finished 9th in the league in goals. Scoring 43 on the season. John Hughes finished 8th in the league in PIM with a total of 204.

Attendance increased the following season, seeing the Stingers averaging about 8,000 per game. Along with the increase in attendance, the team record improved. The Stingers finished the season behind the first place Quebec Nordiques with a record of W-39 L-37 T-5 Pts 83. The Stingers qualified for the play-offs, only to get knocked out by their Midwest rivals Indianapolis Racers. Stingers center Rick Leduc & forward Blaine Stoughton finished tied (4th) and center Dennis Sobchuk finished 8th in the league with goals. Leduc & Stoughton finished with 52 while Sobchuk finished with 44. Ron Plumb finished 10th in the league in assists with 58.

During the summer of 1977, a group led by Whalers owner Howard Baldwin and Stingers owner Bill DeWitt Jr, worked out an agreement with the NHL for a merger. The agreement that was in place had the New England Whalers, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, Houston Aeros and Cincinnati Stingers moving into the NHL. All teams would remain intact and play in the same NHL division. The "WHA" division would then slowly evolve towards a full interlocked schedule in the senior league over five years. The WHA believed that the deal was a sure thing. So much so that when the Nordiques beat the Jets in the Avco Cup Championship in May, Jets owner Benny Hatskin thought it would be the last time. He thought that his WHA team and five others would now be competing for the Stanley Cup. But the merger proposel failed to pass by one vote. That one vote kept Cincinnati and Houston from ever being NHL towns.

Cincinnati started the 1977-78 season with high hopes, having lured coach Jacques Demers from the Indianapolis Racers. His Racers club the previous season swept the Stingers in the play-offs. His addition did little to help the club. Cincinnati spent most of the season in last place. They started the season 1 & 10 and on top of the poor start, the franchise began to develope financial problems. However, the fans kept coming, and owners Brian Heekin & Bill DeWitt stayed optimistic. They managed somehow to pull through. The team finished the 1977-78 season with a dismal record of W-35 L-42 T-3 Pts-73.

After the less than spectacular '77-78 season. Head coach Jacques Demers would move on to Quebec and be replaced with Floyd Smith. Smith had previous Cincinnati hockey experience drawing from when he coached the Cincinnati Swords of the AHL from 1971 to 1974. His 1972-73 squad won the Caulder Cup Championship. But before the start of the 1978-79 season the franchise was having more problems financially. So before the 1978-79 year, Stingers management refused to open the season until 5,000 season tickets were sold. Within a week, fans bought up the 5,000. So by the skin of their teeth the Stingers survived another year. The team drew about 7,000 fans on average for the year.

During the season, the Stingers tried to obtain a 17-year-old, 155-pound phenom named Wayne Gretzky. But his rights belonged to the Indianapolis Racers. The Racers would later trade him to the Edmonton Oilers. On December 12th 1978, hockey history would be made when Wayne Gretzky would score his first major league hat-trick. This historic event took place at Riverfront Coliseum during a game against the Stingers. Gretzky would go on to be one of the most greatest and recognizable hockey stars in hockey history and his career began in the WHA.

Cincinnati couldn't land Gretzky but they did manage to pick up a couple free agents who turned out to be hockey hall of famers. Right winger Mike Gartner & center Mark Messier. Messier was obtained as a free agent after his club the Indianapolis Racers folded. Gartner also signed a four year deal with the Stingers. Unfortunately the signings didn't help the Stingers. They finished in fifth place with a record of W-33 L-41 T-6 Pts-72.

Before the season ended, the NHL agreed to merge the WHA into the senior circuit. The NHL turned out to only absorb four of the six teams that remained in the rebel league. The four teams absorbed by the NHL were the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques (who are now the Colorado Avalanche), Winnipeg Jets (who are now the Phoenix Coyotes) and New England Whalers (who are now the Carolina Hurricanes).  The Stingers ownership had the opportunity to move the Stingers also. But the ownership chose to take a buy-out fee instead.

This resulted in the Cincinnati Stingers (along with the Birmingham Bulls) not being included in the merger. Some believe that if the Stingers would have been succesful at obtained Wayne Gretzky from the Indianapolis Racers. Cincinnati ownership may not have gotten could feet about merging.....Who knows??

By the end of the final WHA season. The Stingers qualified for the play-offs. This would be the last shot for Cincinnati to win a major league hockey championship (which was the Avco Cup in the WHA). Cincinnati would challenge the New England Whalers in a best out of three series. The two teams were evenly matched. During the season the Whalers and Stingers played six one goal games. It was truely fitting that New England would win game three by a one-goal game.

The series began in Hartford, on April 21st 1979. And the Whalers would beat the Stingers 5 to 3. Game two of the series was played the next day on April 22nd in Cincinnati. And would become the final home game for the Stingers. Seeing as how the Stingers weren't going to be part of the merger. Attendance for the play-off game was a dismal 5,131. Although, Cincinnati would beat the New England Whalers 6 to 3. Tying the series one to one. Moving the final game back to Hartford. Unfortunately, the Stingers would lose game three 2 to 1. So on April 24th 1979 major league hockey ended in Cincinnati. Stingers forward Reggie Thomas said "Those last few seconds of the game were tough. I couldn't help but see team mates Jamie Hislop & Robbie Florek. I realized that I'd never play on a line with them again".

The Stingers players were then distributed among the four WHA teams that were merging with the NHL. The existing NHL teams then stepped in and had the option of reclaiming the rights to players who they had lost to the WHA. Although, to keep the NHL teams from reclaiming the rights to everyone of their players (which would have dimensioned the WHA teams tremendously). The four clubs had the option to protect two skaters and two goaltenders. This was referred to as a "priority selections". Since the NHL treated the WHA teams as "expansion teams", their would be an expansion draft also. This helped stock the four WHA clubs with players made available from the existing 17 NHL teams.

As for the owners of the Bulls and Stingers.They were given a cash payment of 3.15 million each. Heekin and DeWitt says investors just about broke even on the team itself. Profits came from Riverfront Coliseum, which was sold for $21 million in 1997. When the league merger was complete, it brought the end to major league hockey in the Queen City.