<p>Forty years ago this week, hockey history was forever etched in the city of Winnipeg as on May 20, 1979, the Winnipeg Jets won the last ever World Hockey Association game played as they claimed their third WHA Championship in game six of the Avco Cup Finals by defeating the Edmonton Oilers 7-3.</p>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This Day in the WHA</p>
<p>40 years ago today &#8211; The Winnipeg Jets defeat the <a href="https://twitter.com/EdmontonOilers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EdmontonOilers</a> 7-3 in Game 6 of the Avco Cup Final to win their 2nd of back-to-back Avco Championships and 3rd overall</p>
<p>Sadly, it was the final game ever played in the &#39;Rebel League&#39;</p>
<p>Winnipeg Arena, 5/20/79 <a href="https://t.co/yKHgb0ATO3">pic.twitter.com/yKHgb0ATO3</a></p>
<p>&mdash; World Hockey Assoc. (@ForeverWHA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ForeverWHA/status/1130489250367954944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>By 1979, the six year old league was an absolute mess and it was inevitable even before their seventh season begun that the WHA was doomed. The Houston Aeros &#8211; the only other club to enjoy relative success on the ice with a pair of Avco Cups in 1974 and 1975 &#8211; had folded before the season had even started, and the Indianapolis Racers folding during the middle of the season. By the time the WHA playoffs had rolled around, an agreement was in place for the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers to join the National Hockey League the following season, but with a caveat: Each team only was allowed to hang on to only a couple of players which meant players like young dynamic forwards Kent Nilsson and Terry Ruskowski along with established veteran players like defenseman Barry Long were all put in a dispersal draft and reclaimed by other NHL clubs.</p>
<p>With that future looming on the horizon and with the Jets having already lost Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nillsson to the New York Rangers before the 78-79 season begun and Bobby Hull having missed most of the season with injuries, the Jets still managed to defend their 1978 Avco Cup championship and be the only club to win the title three times in the seven year history of the league.</p>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Winnipeg Jets Win Last Ever AVCO Cup In Winnipeg 1979" width="1333" height="1000" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JO9YaO_CEm8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>It was one last skate with glory before a graduation to a hard knock life in the NHL the following year as predicted by a young Keith Olberman the following day&#8230;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is not exactly a video of the trophy presentation but here’s the surprise twist to the Jets’ win as I covered it on May 21, 1979 in one of my last sportscasts on WVBR-FM at Cornell before I turned pro with UPI: <a href="https://t.co/bZZfZQ9et0">pic.twitter.com/bZZfZQ9et0</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/1130503037393547266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The 1979-80 Winnipeg Jets enjoyed just nine wins in their first NHL season and could never replicate the success they enjoyed in the WHA before being relocated to Phoenix, Arizona in 1995.</p>
<p>As for the fate of the Avco Cup awarded that night and as mentioned, held onto by then general manager John Ferguson? The Jets did hang on to it for a while before donating the trophy to the the Hockey Hall Of Fame in Toronto. There are two other “copies” of the trophy also in existence, with one of them being located at the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.</p>

Forty years ago this week, hockey history was forever etched in the city of Winnipeg as on May 20, 1979, the Winnipeg Jets won the last ever World Hockey Association game played as they claimed their third WHA Championship in game six of the Avco Cup Finals by defeating the Edmonton Oilers 7-3.



https://twitter.com/ForeverWHA/status/1130489250367954944

By 1979, the six year old league was an absolute mess and it was inevitable even before their seventh season begun that the WHA was doomed. The Houston Aeros - the only other club to enjoy relative success on the ice with a pair of Avco Cups in 1974 and 1975 - had folded before the season had even started, and the Indianapolis Racers folding during the middle of the season. By the time the WHA playoffs had rolled around, an agreement was in place for the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers to join the National Hockey League the following season, but with a caveat: Each team only was allowed to hang on to only a couple of players which meant players like young dynamic forwards Kent Nilsson and Terry Ruskowski along with established veteran players like defenseman Barry Long were all put in a dispersal draft and reclaimed by other NHL clubs.

With that future looming on the horizon and with the Jets having already lost Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nillsson to the New York Rangers before the 78-79 season begun and Bobby Hull having missed most of the season with injuries, the Jets still managed to defend their 1978 Avco Cup championship and be the only club to win the title three times in the seven year history of the league.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO9YaO_CEm8

It was one last skate with glory before a graduation to a hard knock life in the NHL the following year as predicted by a young Keith Olberman the following day...

https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/1130503037393547266

The 1979-80 Winnipeg Jets enjoyed just nine wins in their first NHL season and could never replicate the success they enjoyed in the WHA before being relocated to Phoenix, Arizona in 1995.

As for the fate of the Avco Cup awarded that night and as mentioned, held onto by then general manager John Ferguson? The Jets did hang on to it for a while before donating the trophy to the the Hockey Hall Of Fame in Toronto. There are two other “copies” of the trophy also in existence, with one of them being located at the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.

40 Years Ago: Jets Claim Avco Cup In Last WHA Game Ever

Recent articles from Art Middleton

Breaking News