On January 11, 1975 the Hartford Whalers played their first game at the Hartford Civic Center. Fifty years later the team is gone, but the love and memories were strong this past weekend as the golden anniversary was celebrated in style. The weekend began with the premiere of the new Whalers documentary created by journalist Tal Pinchevsky, Pat Pickens author of the must read book “The Whalers: The Rise, Fall, and Enduring Mystique of New England’s (Second) Greatest NHL Franchise,” and team founder Howard Baldwin.

It was a sellout crowd at Cinestudio at Trinity College, and guests showed up in their blue and green finery to watch the 100 plus minute story of the birth of the New England Whalers in Boston with the old World Hockey Association to the Hartford Whalers and the NHL in Connecticut’s capital to the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina. The producers interviewed Whalers owners Baldwin, Richard Gordon and Peter Karmanos, the latter of which was met with jeers and boos. ESPN’s Arda Ocal led a roundtable discussion of the film.

The documentary goes in depth about the team’s history and features interviews with former players and staffers. It also explains the creation of iconic logo and the Whalers anthem “the Brass Bonanza.”

You can see the movie on January 20 the at Cinestudio and again on February 1, at Real Art Ways. Pinchevsky and Pickens told the crowd they are working on distribution of the film so stay tuned.

Special thanks to Jay Sloves and Donna Elkinson for inviting me to be a part of the documentary. I was interviewed about a year ago at Sacred Heart University, and there are also some old clips of me reporting on the Whalers in the 1990s. The film is also dedicated to Donna, who sadly passed away in November after a long career and numberous contributions to the city of Hartford and State of Connecticut. Her obituary is here: https://www.munsonloveterefuneralhome.com/obituary/Donna-Elkinson-Miller

The movie was followed by a special Whalers ceremony at the XL Center before the WolfPack the game. Whalers announcer Chuck Kaiton was there along with familiar faces like Marty Howe and Paul Holmgren. It was really a fun night with lots of nostalgia with a twinge of sadness. I interviewed Howard Baldwin for This Week in Connecticut and wore my Whalers Starter’s jacket and Vineyard Vines Whalers tie for the chat. Watch that here: https://www.wtnh.com/on-air/thisweekinconnecticut/team-founder-howard-baldwin-reflects-on-hartford-whalers-turning-50/

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