Minnesota Fighting Saints

The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972–76. The second team was relocated from Cleveland, Ohio, and played for part of the 1976–77 season. Neither edition of the franchise completed its final season of play.

Original team
The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises. They played four seasons, beginning in 1972–73. The Fighting Saints' first game, a 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, was played Friday, Oct. 13, 1972, at the St. Paul Auditorium. Partway through the first season, the new St. Paul Civic Center opened in January 1973. The first game in the new arena was Jan. 1, 1973, a 4-4 overtime tie with the Houston Aeros.

The team colors were royal blue, white and new gold. The name was taken from the St. Paul Saints of the Central Hockey League, who had used the nickname "The Fighting Saints" in promotional material.

At the outset, the Saints had a policy of favoring local players, with the 1972–73 roster featuring no fewer than 11 athletes who were either born in Minnesota or (in the case of former Team USA players Keith Christiansen, George Konik and Carl Wetzel) American citizens. This was almost unheard of in the early 1970s, when few NHL or WHA teams had even a single American player.

Despite their on ice success - the Saints never missed the playoffs nor had a losing record - attendance was poor in the crowded Minnesota market. Direct competition with the NHL Minnesota North Stars, the powerful University of Minnesota Golden Gophers (winners of two NCAA national championships in that period) and popular high school hockey teams doomed the WHA's future in the market. The Saints had a winning record of 30-25-4 when they ceased operations on February 28, 1976, due to financial struggles.

The last game was played Wednesday, Feb. 25, 1976 at the Civic Center, a 2-1 overtime loss to the San Diego Mariners in front of an announced crowd of 6,011.

Second team
After the NHL's California Golden Seals moved to Cleveland to become the Cleveland Barons, the WHA's Cleveland Crusaders moved to St. Paul for the 1976–77 season. Like their predecessors, this second version of the Saints (called the "New Fighting Saints" in advertising and promotional material) had a winning record through their first 42 games (19-18-5), but owner Nick Mileti was unable to sell the team to local buyers. The franchise officially folded on January 20, 1977. The team's logo and uniform design were identical to the first team's, but with red replacing blue in the color scheme.

The "New" Fighting Saints played their final game on Friday, Jan. 14, 1977, a 9-5 home win over the Indianapolis Racers.

Players
Ted Hampson was the Saints' captain in their first four seasons. In the final season, Ron Ward was the team captain, replaced in mid-season by John Arbour.

Among the Saints' notable players in their brief history were Wayne Connelly (the team's career scoring leader), Mike Walton, Mike Antonovich (the team's career games leader), Ted Hampson, Dave Keon, John McKenzie and Rick Smith, tough guys Jack Carlson, Gord Gallant, Curt Brackenbury, Bill Butters and Paul Holmgren and goalies Mike Curran and John Garrett. In the 1974 WHA semifinals against Houston, controversial forward Bill "Goldie" Goldthorpe played three games for the Fighting Saints, compiling no points and 25 penalty minutes. (The 1977 movie Slap Shot featured a wild player named Ogie Oglethorpe, based on Goldthorpe.)

Among the players the Saints selected in the inaugural WHA draft in 1972 was a man who had played for Team USA at the 1956 Winter Olympics, Wendell Anderson. Anderson said he was flattered, but he chose not to join the Saints and instead stuck to his day job -- as Governor of Minnesota.

Team executives
Glen Sonmor was the Saints general manager throughout their history. Sonmor coached the Saints for the first part of their inaugural season. When Sonmor gave up his coaching duties, assistant coach Harry Neale took over as head coach. Sonmor coached the Saints again during their final season, 1976–77. Neale had become head coach of the New England Whalers after the original Saints folded in 1976.

Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes