Tag: Denver Coliseum

1964 Denver Invaders program from the Western Hockey League

Denver Invaders

February 25, 2024

The Denver Invaders were an outstanding minor league hockey club that played one season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) during the winter of 1963-64. The Invaders relocated to Denver from Spokane, Washington the previous spring and served as a farm club of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Under head coach Rudy Pilous, the team was terrific on the ice, dominating the WHL with a 44-23-3 regular season record. But lackluster attendance at the Denver Coliseum and disputes between local investors and the Maple Leafs led the franchise to leave Colorado for British Columbia after only a year.

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Denver Stars 1978 Major League Rodeo Champions Snapback Hat

Denver Stars

November 26, 2021

The short-lived Denver Stars were the first and only champions of Major League Rodeo, a controversial 1978 start-up that sought to impose the conventions of American team sports leagues onto the rugged individualism of professional rodeo competition.

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Ralph Backstrom on the cover of a 1975-76 Denver Spurs program from the World Hockey Association

Denver Spurs

September 8, 2020

Western Hockey League (1968-1974) Central Hockey League (1974-1975) World Hockey Association (1975-1976) Born: 1968 Moved: January 2, 1976 (Ottawa Civics) First Game: October 9, 1968

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1992-93 Denver Thunder program from the National Professional Soccer League

Denver Thunder

March 23, 2019

This One-Year Wonder entry in the National Professional Soccer League had a handful of talented indoor players. But the 1992-93 Denver Thunder turned in an absolutely gruesome season both on the floor and off.

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1996-97 Colorado Xplosion Media Guide from the American Basketball League

Colorado Xplosion

February 9, 2014

The Colorado Xplosion were the Denver franchise in the women’s American Basketball League (ABL), which lasted for two-and-a-half seasons from 1996 to 1998. The team split its home games each season between the Denver Coliseum and McNichols Arena. Key players included top scorer Crystal Robinson and versatile 5′ 3″ guard Debbie Black. Competition from the NBA-backed Women’s National Basketball Association and the overall challenging marketplace for women’s professional sports ventures combined the drive the ABL out of business midway through its third season in December 1998.

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