London Lions
The London Lions was an independent professional ice hockey team in London, England, that played 72 games during the 1973-74 season against the top European hockey teams. It was started by Detroit Red Wings owner Bruce Norris with a vision of building a league to be affiliated with the National Hockey League. Norris' Vice-Chairman of the team was John Ziegler, who went on to become President of the National Hockey League in 1977.
The Lions played their home games at Wembley Arena and had a record of 52 wins, 13 losses and 7 ties. They toured Europe to promote the proposed European professional hockey league originally scheduled to start for the 1974-75 season. The original plans for this new league was to have the top teams participate in the Stanley Cup playoffs against the traditional North American NHL teams. The league did not gain support and never started play.
The team was named for an earlier London Lions, which was founded in 1924 by Blaine Sexton played at Westminster from 1927, then at Golders Green and the Hammersmith Ice Drome until 1933, when they moved to Wembley Arena as the Wembley Lions. In 1930, they won the first ever British Championship. The Lions also won the 1931 English Club Championship.
Results
The Lions went 52-13-7 during their 72-game 1973-74 season.
| Date | Opponent | Score | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 11, 1973 | Toledo Hornets | 1:0 | Detroit |
| October 19, 1973 |  Austrian Internationals |
5:4 | London |
| October 21, 1973 | Austrian Internationals |
8:2 | London |
| October 26, 1973 |  IJC Utrecht |
9:3 | Utrecht |
| October 27, 1973 |  Cercle des Patineurs Liegois |
10:2 | Luxembourg |
| October 28, 1973 | Raak IJshockey Rotterdam |
5:1 | The Hague |
| November 1, 1973 |  Finnish Olympics |
7:2 | London |
| November 3, 1973 | Finnish Olympics |
3:1 | London |
| November 4, 1973 | Finnish Olympics |
6:6 | London |
| November 8, 1973 | Dutch Internationals |
16:3 | London |
| November 10, 1973 | Dutch Internationals |
7:0 | London |
| November 11, 1973 | Dutch Internationals |
5:2 | London |
| November 15, 1973 |  Prague All-Stars |
4:4 | London |
| November 17, 1973 | Prague All-Stars |
3:1 | London |
| November 22, 1973 | IFK Helsinki |
4:3 | London |
| November 24, 1973 | IFK Helsinki |
2:6 | London |
| November 25, 1973 | IFK Helsinki |
7:2 | London |
| December 1, 1973 |  Scottish Select |
10:1 | Kirkcaldy |
| December 2, 1973 | International Select | 12:1 | Dundee |
| December 3, 1973 | Northeast Select | 15:6 | Billingham |
| December 5, 1973 | Northeast Select | 12:3 | Whitley Bay |
| December 10, 1973 |  Vastra Frolunda IF |
7:2 | Goteborg |
| December 11, 1973 | Farjestads BK |
3:1 | Karlstad |
| December 13, 1973 | TPS Turku |
2:8 | Turku |
| December 14, 1973 | SaiPa |
7:4 | Lappeenranta |
| December 16, 1973 | IFK Helsinki |
3:2 | Helsinki |
| December 18, 1973 | Tappara |
7:4 | Tampere |
| December 20, 1973 | IFK Helsinki |
6:4 | Helsinki |
| December 26, 1973 | AIK |
3:1* | Stockholm |
| December 27, 1973 | HV71 |
5:5 | Jonkoping |
| December 29, 1973 | Djurgardens IF |
3:5* | Stockholm |
| December 30, 1973 | Leksands IF |
1:6* | Leksand |
| January 1, 1974 |  Regina Pats |
5:5 | Stockholm |
| January 2, 1974 | IFK Helsinki |
9:5 | Helsinki |
| January 4, 1974 |  Dynamo Moscow |
2:1* | Stockholm |
| January 6, 1974 | Sodertalje SK |
6:4* | Sodertalje |
| January 7, 1974 | Roma |
6:2 | Visby |
| January 8, 1974 | Handens SK |
8:4** | Handen |
| January 9, 1974 | Malmo IF |
7:2 | Malmo |
| January 11, 1974 | HYS The Hague |
11:4 | The Hague |
| January 12, 1974 | Cercle des Patineurs Liegois |
12:2 | Liege |
| January 13, 1974 | Brussels Royal IHSC |
16:4 | Brussels |
| January 18, 1974 | Raak IJshockey Rotterdam |
8:4 | The Hague |
| January 25, 1974 | Tilburg Trappers |
8:3 | Tilburg |
| January 28, 1974 | Wiener EV |
10:2 | Vienna |
| January 30, 1974 | Klagenfurter AC |
8:0 | Klagenfurt |
| February 1, 1974 | Kapfenberg |
11:2 | Kapfenberg |
| February 2, 1974 | HC Salzburg |
9:1 | Salzburg |
| February 5, 1974 | Innsbrucker EV |
15:6 | Innsbruck |
| February 7, 1974 | Czechoslovak National Team |
3:6 | Prague |
| February 9, 1974 | Czechoslovak U23 Select |
4:1 | Plzen |
| February 10, 1974 | Czechoslovak U23 Select |
3:5 | Ceske Budejovice |
| February 12, 1974 | Czechoslovak U23 Select |
2:8 | Mileskov |
| February 13, 1974 | Czechoslovak U23 Select |
1:4 | Tabor |
| February 15, 1974 | HC Dukla Jihlava |
2:4 | Liberec |
| February 16, 1974 | ZKL Brno |
3:0 | Brno |
| February 20, 1974 |  HC Villars |
10:2 | Villars |
| March 1, 1974 |  West Germany |
1:6^ | Oberstdorf |
| March 7, 1974 | Dynamo Moscow |
3:6 | London |
| March 9, 1974 | Dynamo Moscow |
2:4 | London |
| March 10, 1974 | Dynamo Moscow |
2:2 | London |
| March 14, 1974 | Prague Lions |
4:1 | London |
| March 16, 1974 | Prague Lions |
7:5 | London |
| March 17, 1974 | Prague Lions |
5:2 | London |
| March 19, 1974 | Spartak Moscow |
4:4 | Geneva |
| March 20, 1974 | Czechoslovak U23 Select |
0:3 | Geneva |
| March 23, 1974 | IFK Helsinki |
6:2 | London |
| March 24, 1974 | IFK Helsinki |
6:6 | London |
| March 26, 1974 |  Altrincham Aces Select |
11:3 | Queensferry |
| March 28, 1974 | Djurgardens IF |
6:5 | London |
| March 30, 1974 | Djurgardens IF |
10:4 | London |
| March 31, 1974 | Djurgardens IF |
4:3 | London |
(Notes: A three-game series against Dusseldorf, scheduled for November 27-29, was cancelled. *1974 Ahearne Cup match. **Game played outdoors. ^Game stopped with two minutes remaining in second period due to rough play. The March 19 and 20 games were part of the Salon de l-Auto Tournament. The March 26 game played at the Deeside Leisure Centre in Queensferry was the first organized hockey game in Wales.)
Photos
The original London lions logo.
A team photo of the original London Lions.
A program from October 19, 1973.
A program from March 9, 1974.
References
Credits
Special thanks to Martin Harris for supplying the program images.
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