INSIDE HOCKEY

Today’s media consumer – expecting instant access to any video, audio or information that pops into their head – does not care about the minefield any producer must navigate to create a legitimate, watchable DVD of vintage material. Fans just want the stuff, in perfect condition, legalities and technical realities be damned.

So it is against great odds that a three DVD box set of 1970s World Hockey Association footage has seen the commercial light of day. “The WHA Chronicles,” released in May by Toronto’s Video Service Corp, seems to be a miracle gift to fans of the rogue major hockey league – if one ignores a set of factually inaccurate bonus features.

But let’s back up. For the generations of fans who discovered hockey in the 1980s or later, the WHA might not even register on their brain’s Google search. And that’s another reason why a box set of vintage WHA material is so vital for true hockey fans – that lost history, so important to the development of the NHL even today, needs to be remembered and re-told.

OK, a thumbnail history of the WHA for those still scratching their heads: The World Hockey Association was the major league rival to the NHL from 1972-1979, it featured stars such as Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky, and four WHA teams merged with the NHL for the 1979-1980 season. (Those four teams are featured prominently on this box set). Oh, and many fans like me who followed both leagues religiously believe the WHA’s brand of hockey – which helped bring the European style to North America – was every bit as important and entertaining as the NHL.

Fast forward to this 2008 DVD release. It includes four complete games originally broadcast on television in the 1970s, plus recent interviews with Bobby Hull and Wayne Gretzky. There is also a short clip purporting to be a “League History,” a “Fight Reel,” and a “Stats Package” as DVD-ROM data. Fu-Manchu mustaches, fluffy disco hair, and crazed, frantic 1970s WHA action oozes from the metal-boxed collector’s set.

The game on Disc One shows the New England Whalers vs. the USSR in 1976, in fine quality. Fans who have forgotten the WHA might also forget just how mean the Soviets looked while playing magnificent hockey. And like the heartbroken fans in Hartford (who lost their Whalers in a move to North Carolina in 1997), any chance to see mascot Pucky the Whale on a jersey is enough to get me to watch.

Disc Two features the 1977 WHA All-Star Game and a 1977 AVCO Cup Final game with Winnipeg vs. Quebec.

Video quality for the All-Star game is good, and the lineup and action makes it one of the most enjoyable major league All-Star games I’ve ever seen. A smart hockey player wouldn’t want to go up against that 1977 WHA All-Star team, with Hull, Howe, Tremblay, Stapleton, et al. The 1977 Finals game is the roughest looking on the set, similar to mid-quality VHS, but is still certainly watchable. The hissy audio, though, could have easily been fixed in post-production, but inexplicably remains raw. (VSC says extensive restoration work was done on all of the tapes, however.)

Disc Three has a fine quality version of the last WHA game ever: the AVCO Cup final won by Winnipeg over Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers. Excellent interviews with Bobby Hull and Gretzky round out this final DVD. Former 1970s Winnipeg TV sports anchor Peter Young conducts the interviews in the bonus section, and is on camera for the short game introductions throughout.

Fans might wonder if the less-than-pristine quality of some of the video merits the suggested $49.98 price tag – but finding complete WHA games in any kind of watchable quality, and releasing them as a collection commercially, certainly justifies this price.

The difficulty in finding complete games has been one reason why a set like this hasn’t come out before, but the hazy legalities surrounding the defunct league has been just as prominent. Since the WHA ceased operation in 1979, the question of who owns what was left over from the league has been a point of contention. Lots of WHA products – T-shirts, magnets, photos, jerseys, you name it – have been created over the past 30 years for curious fans. Most of the items are created from materials presumed to have slipped into the public domain.

A “new” World Hockey Association (a small amateur junior circuit based in British Columbia) started up a few years ago, though, and it has claimed ownership of some vintage WHA materials. This new entity has reportedly offered licenses for WHA products such as replicas of vintage 1970s league jerseys.

“We didn’t have to, but we paid them (the new WHA) a few bucks to be nice guys about it,” VSC founder Jonathan Gross says. While control over vintage names and logos might be debatable, paying “licensing fees” to copyright claimants can be cheaper and easier than testing the waters in court. “As for the games, they are in public domain, and we paid a good price for the best copies available.” Gross estimates the budget for the entire box-set production tipped the $100,000 mark.

It is always easier to criticize the quality of a production than it is to create one, and such criticism for this box set ignores the dedicated people doing their best over the past three years to bring it to market. Hockey fan Paul Patskou worked on the production as a freelance researcher, and says, “I am happy to have participated in producing the long overdue salute to the World Hockey Association. This maverick league brought much enjoyment to hockey fans of the 1970s and hopefully fans who don’t remember the league will have some fun watching the games and listening to the stories.”

And the stories are a hoot. The 40-minute interview with Bobby Hull is worth the price of the box set by itself. Hull, now near 70, was in great spirits for his interview, and weaves a thoroughly mesmerizing tale of the WHA’s birth and his place in 1970s hockey history. A great sparkle in his eyes shows the fire, competitive edge and humor that makes him one of hockey’s greatest treasures. This interview deserves its place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, which did assist VSC with some materials for the box-set’s production.

The interview with Wayne Gretzky is also a surprising highlight. The Great One has appeared strident and even grumpy on camera in recent years – but he is relaxed, open and genuinely likable in this interview clip. “I think Wayne realizes his role in preserving hockey history, especially the era he came up in,” Gross says.

It has also been well-documented how difficult it has been to get Gretzky to discuss the WHA and his start with the Indianapolis Racers, so it is a great pleasure to finally hear him share some of his thoughts. He didn’t even charge VSC for the interview, which is a great kindness for a commercial production. “Wayne was a gentleman about the whole thing,” Gross adds, with obvious respect for Gretzky.

The content from the first half of this Gretzky interview closely follows what he has said previously over the years about the WHA – almost like a script or mantra – but in the second half Gretzky dips into his own memories and reveals some interesting tidbits about his start in major league hockey and the Indianapolis Racers. It is a delight to see Gretzky in such fine form, and he did a respectful, thoughtful service to the WHA and hockey history with his contribution to the box set.

The three-minute “League History” clip, though, misses the mark as widely as possible. This “history” is actually a computer graphic showing a map of North America, with animated team logos that move about, along with a voice-over narration. Some of the logos are phony or incorrect versions, a fact obvious to hardcore hockey fans but misleading to those getting their first taste of the WHA.

The attempted humorous tone of the narration is puerile, some of the information is factually inaccurate, and it has little to do with an actual league history. This piece is exactly the kind of belittling representation of the WHA that fans, former players and coaches of the league have been attempting to avoid (or erase) for decades – and Gross acknowledges the problems.

“That section did not come out as I wanted,” Gross says. Sensitive to the emotional reaction of fans – Gross counts himself as a major WHA fan – he hopes they understand it was an attempt at entertainment, not hardcore journalism. “It was a mistake, but we were too far into production to go back and re-do it. If we can sell enough of this collector’s edition to issue a second edition, we’ll correct the errors.”

The “Stats Package,” viewed through your computer’s DVD-ROM drive, is also lacking. You can navigate on computer to find the stat info, which consists of two Acrobat pdf files – one for team statistics and one for player statistics.

There is no source given for this statistical information, which for any serious fan renders the data useless as a reference. Knowing who compiled the data, when they did it, and from what sources, is paramount when determining if a collection of historical statistics such as this can be trusted. A cursory look through these files also show simple errors – Larry Hillman is listed incorrectly as the head coach of the 1979 AVCO Champion Winnipeg Jets, for instance. (Tom McVie was actually the Jets’ coach for the 1979 playoffs.)

It appears this data was most likely copied in bits from the Web and other previously published sources, and then piled together into these files. Reliable and complete sources for WHA statistics exist elsewhere, so these two documents aren’t of much value here. (Fans should instead visit xalerpress.com for information on Scott Surgent’s essential book “The Complete Historical and Statistical Reference to the WHA.”)

The irony is that this WHA box set would have been much stronger and historically accurate without these added “bonus” features – but potential DVD buyers love the idea of extras, so producers attempt to add value by packing them in. But if historical materials are factually inaccurate, as in this case, then they hurt the product.

“We’re trying to entertain people, “Gross says. “We’re a small company, there are always tiny mistakes, and we try to avoid the big ones. We took a lot of pains to make this the best property we could.”

So the faulty “bonus” sections don’t ruin this box set – they just should be avoided by viewers interested in historical accuracy. The impressive and extensive WHA game footage and the insightful interviews are the stars of this set, and deserve to be seen.

As a video producer who works with vintage materials myself, I know how difficult it must have been for this collection to be completed. I do tip my producer’s hat to VSC for going through the rigors (including the financial risk) to release it. If enough people give it a try, then VSC hopes it can follow-up with a more complete release as other vintage footage is hopefully found.

And that’s more than other video producers have been willing to tackle since the wild and wooly WHA closed shop in 1979.

The WHA Chronicles is available at videoservicecorp.com.

Timothy Gassen is a journalist, filmmaker and video producer, and author of the WHA book “Red White & Blues: a personal history of the Indianapolis Racers,” available at whaRACERS.com.