Denver Spurs win Western Hockey League title | May 3, 1972 | Colorado’s Top 150 Sports Moments
Happy birthday, Colorado — and Colorado sports.
Leading into the state’s 150th birthday Aug. 1, The Denver Gazette has partnered with the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame to publicize the definitive list of Colorado’s top 150 sports moments.
Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian Dave Plati and a committee of 10 compiled and will release the list every week until the No. 1 moment on July 31. Plati and Broncos icon Jim Saccomano will unveil the list weekly on a Colorado Sports Hall of Fame podcast at coloradosports.org/podcast/.
Today’s top moment in Colorado sports history:
No. 123
May 3, 1972
The Denver Spurs, regular-season champions of the Western Hockey League, went on to win the Lester Patrick Cup by defeating the Portland Buckaroos, 6-0, to clinch the championship series in five games. Denver had swept the San Diego Gulls in the semifinals. Frank Huck, the league MVP, scored nine goals with four assists in the playoffs. Rookie defenseman Glen Patrick was the first to be presented with the Patrick Cup, as it was named after his famous grandfather. It was the city’s first professional hockey title, some 24 years before the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup.
—Dave Plati, Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian
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