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).