Harold Ballard and the Toronto Toros

[checkerdome]

A)Wasn't Mr. Ballard one of the most outspoken critics of the WHA?

If that was indeed the case, why would he have given that league no small measure of credibility by letting the Toros play out of Maple Leaf Gardens?

Surely he could have made much more $ from staging rock concerts or even wrestling than he could make off Toronto's WHA entry.

B) Both Mr. Ballard and the owner of the Toros, Mr. Bassett were super-wealthy Ontario businessmen. Was their opinion of one another ever public knowledge, i.e. grudging admiration or jealousy?

merci

Click to read more...

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

There is some mention on the wikipedia page:

The Toronto Toros were an ice hockey team based out of Toronto that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976.

The franchise was awarded to Doug Michel in 1971 to play in the WHA's inaugural 1972-73 season. Initially, he tried to base the team in Hamilton, Ontario, but it didn't have an appropriate venue. He also had discussions with Harold Ballard, owner of Maple Leaf Gardens and the Toronto Maple Leafs, about locating the team in Toronto, but those talks didn't get very far. Michel settled on Ottawa and the team became the Ottawa Nationals. Nick Trbovich became majority owner in May 1972.

The team was a flop at the box office, averaging about 3,000 fans a game, and in March 1973 — just before the end of the season—the City of Ottawa demanded payment of $100,000 to guarantee the club dates at the Ottawa Civic Centre. The team decided to leave Ottawa and played their home playoff games at Maple Leaf Gardens, attracting crowds of 5,000 and 4,000 in two games before being eliminated by the New England Whalers. At the end of the season, the team moved to Toronto permanently, and was sold to John F. Bassett, son of media mogul and former Leafs part-owner John Bassett. Future Leafs owner Steve Stavro was a minority shareholder. They were renamed the Toronto Toros in June 1973.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Toros

 

[Lard_Lad]

I think Ballard was serving his sentence for fraud when the Toros were let into MLG, so I'm not sure how much of a say he had in it. After he was out, he definitely did what he could to make things unpleasant for them, though.

As for his relationship with Bassett Jr, Bassett Sr was probably Ballard's worst enemy at the time, so you can assume they weren't exchanging Christmas cards.

 

[Badger Bob]

If that was indeed the case, why would he have given that league no small measure of credibility by letting the Toros play out of Maple Leaf Gardens?

Without researching, the initial reaction would be that it was strictly a revenue decision. During that era, enough other activities took place to sully the Gardens's reputation for being sacred ground. First, Ballard ruined the fanchise. Then, he promoted the hell out of "Maple Leaf Wrestling." Years later, stories of child molestation surfaced. WHA hockey should've been among the highlights from all of that turmoil.

 

[justsomeguy]

Ballard charged them a whack of money to rent MLG. That was one of the reasons the team moved south.

He railed against the WHA and for good reason given the number of players he lost compared to some of the other organizations but when the chance to make a few bucks came around well, Harold was a businessman at heart. (Although others might employ other nouns, probably with a number of adjectives)

 

[V-2 Schneider]

Ballard also didn't allow them to use the full MLG lighting rig, or the game was was played with half the full lights.It was dingy and dark at ice level.