Franchise History
Graham James left his position as coach and general manager of the Swift Current Broncos to found the Hitmen in 1994. He organized a group of eighteen investors in the club, including star National Hockey League players Theoren Fleury and Joe Sakic, along with Bret Hart, famous for his exploits in the World Wrestling Federation. The Calgary Flames, who had just assumed control of the then Saddledome and were looking to fill extra dates in the building, were receptive to the new team.
Calgary had been without a WHL team since the Wranglers moved south to become the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 1987. The league's expansion into Calgary was met with skepticism, as the league had previously failed in Western Canada's largest markets of Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg, when in competition with the NHL.
Read more about this topic: Calgary Hitmen
Famous quotes containing the words franchise and/or history:
“Many famous feet have trod
Sublunary paths, and famous hands have weighed
The strength they have against the strength they need;
And famous lips interrogated God
Concerning franchise in eternity....”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“This is the greatest week in the history of the world since the Creation, because as a result of what happened in this week, the world is bigger, infinitely.”
—Richard M. Nixon (1913–1995)