1976-77 San Diego Mariners: The Dean's Photo Set

The 1976-77 season was the third and final installment for the WHA's San Diego franchise. The Mariners had just been purchased by 74-year old Ray Kroc of McDonald's fame, who also owned the San Diego Padres at the time. The squad finished third in the six-team Western Division but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual Avco Cup champions, the Winnipeg Jets.

A 16-card set sponsored by Dean's Photo Services saluted the team. Issued in two sheets of eight perforated cards, each measure 5" x 8" if separated. The set features 14 Mariner players, as well as a team schedule and Dean's coupons. Key members of the team included goalie Ernie Wakely, and second and third top-scorers Joe Noris and Norm Ferguson.

Oddly, Andre Lacroix is not one of the featured players. He was the team's leading scorer the previous two seasons, and was again in 1976-77.

The card backs are unnumbered and feature a bio and career statistics for each player. All the cards are black and white, except for the front of the Dean's coupons card.

The Mariners folded just prior to training camp in the fall of 1977, as did the Pheonix Roadrunners and Calgary Cowboys.

The World Champs: 1972-73 New England Whalers

The inaugural season of the World Hockey Association (WHA) saw the New England Whalers crowned as the upstart league's first champions. Headlined by former NHLers Tom Webster, Ted Green (the team's captain), Rick Ley, Jim Dorey, Brad Selwood and goalie Al Smith, the Whalers ended up with the best record in the 12-team league.

New England defeated the Ottawa Nationals and Cleveland Crusaders in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and then beat the Winnipeg Jets 4 games to 1 to capture the first Avco Cup.

A set of 17 black-and-white glossy photos—presumably produced by the team—commemorates the championship squad. Each photo measures 3 3/4" x 5" with a square white border and features posed player photos in the team's dark jerseys. The photos are unnumbered with blank backs.

Tom Webster's 53 goals was good for second in the league, and his 103 points placed him in a three-way tie for fourth (check out those white skates). Terry Caffery (right) was named the WHA's first Rookie of the Year.

The team notably included a large number of American players, including Larry Pleau (left), Tim Sheehy (center) and Tommy Williams (right).