Huh. I didn't know that Nelson Skalbania owned both the Oilers and the Flames at one point.
Seems like a really greasy guy, but was great for pro hockey in Alberta.
A totally greasy guy.
I don't know what value he brought to the Oilers (other than selling them Gretzky), but he didn't really do anything to benefit Calgary. Hotchkiss and the Seaman brothers had already been working on a deal to buy the Flames when Skalbania swooped in with a late offer. He eventually partnered with the others and purchased the Flames to move them to Calgary. He was bought out by the other owners after one season.
If he hadn't been involved, the sale still would likely have happened and the team still would have moved.
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Turn up the good, turn down the suck!
I don't know what value he brought to the Oilers (other than selling them Gretzky), but he didn't really do anything to benefit Calgary. Hotchkiss and the Seaman brothers had already been working on a deal to buy the Flames when Skalbania swooped in with a late offer. He eventually partnered with the others and purchased the Flames to move them to Calgary. He was bought out by the other owners after one season.
If he hadn't been involved, the sale still would likely have happened and the team still would have moved.
Skalbania was able to outbid the Seaman/Hotchkiss group by surreptitiously negotiating a long-term deal for local broadcast rights with Molstar Communications. He used that up-front money to sweeten his offer. Or so the story went.
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Skalbania had a name for spending money that wasn't his, and selling things he didn't own yet. Usually he was able to cover his backside in time, but one time he miscalculated and went bankrupt, another time he miscalculated and went to jail.
There used to be a joke about Skalbania. People said the Italians made you an offer you couldn't refuse, but the Poles made you an offer you couldn't understand.
Peter Pocklington looked good by comparison, and that's saying something.
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Skalbania never owned the Oilers. Bill Hunter, Peter Pocklington (who was 10 times greasier than Skalbania was), The Edmonton Investors Group (37 people who saved the Oilers from being moved to Houston), and Mr casting couch himself, Daryl Katz are the only owners the Oilers have ever had.
__________________ Food for thought:the Oilers last 3 years have been the worst statistical 3 year span in NHL history.
Skalbania never owned the Oilers. Bill Hunter, Peter Pocklington (who was 10 times greasier than Skalbania was), The Edmonton Investors Group (37 people who saved the Oilers from being moved to Houston), and Mr casting couch himself, Daryl Katz are the only owners the Oilers have ever had.
According to this he did.
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Sklabania had once owned the Oilers and brought Pocklington, an old business partner in real estate deals, in as a 50-50 partner in 1976. Pocklington bought him out shortly thereafter, and Skalbania would resurface in Indianapolis within a matter of months as the Racers owner.
I was so happy we finally had an NHL team! The logo could have been anything and I would support it.
Back in the day there was no social media and you only heard from the vocal minority who sent letters to the editorial.
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I don't remember debate over the logo ... but I do remember debate over the team name. Keep the Flames or go with something different. I always liked the Calgary Wranglers and the Calgary Cowboys and their respective logos at the time better than the Calgary Flames.
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IIRC there was a contest to name the Dome after it was built. Some guy thought the roof looked like a saddle and hence the name. The guy won a pair of ST's.
IIRC there was a contest to name the Dome after it was built. Some guy thought the roof looked like a saddle and hence the name. The guy won a pair of ST's.
I remember Howie Meeker mentioning that his son, a construction worker in Calgary, helped place the roof tiles on the Saddledome.
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Originally Posted by Timbo
I was so happy we finally had an NHL team! The logo could have been anything and I would support it.
Back in the day there was no social media and you only heard from the vocal minority who sent letters to the editorial.
They had a call in show after the radio broadcasts. IIRC it was Bill Powers and Grant Pollock who were the hosts. They had a triva contest after each game also.
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Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop
I remember Howie Meeker mentioning that his son, a construction worker in Calgary, helped place the roof tiles on the Saddledome.
Howie Meeker and his telestrator brings back memories. I also loved his in between periods commentary that went with it. Had an excellent knowladge of the game.
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Last edited by Dion; 08-25-2017 at 12:00 AM.
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Howie Meeker and his telestrator brings back memories. I also loved his in between periods commentary that went with it. Had an excellent knowladge of the game.
Does anyone know exactly who submitted the final design? Probably just a silly story but I was told a number of years ago it was a local female artist who first sketched it on a Calgary Sun crossword puzzle in 10 minutes using the flaming A as her goofy inspiration
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IIRC there was a contest to name the Dome after it was built. Some guy thought the roof looked like a saddle and hence the name. The guy won a pair of ST's.
Actually, about 60% of the entries for the name the building contest contained the word "saddle" - even though the architects never made the connection themselves. The guy who got the tickets won them in a random draw.
That is itself a marked difference from when the Stampede Corral opened in 1950. The public hated the 'hick' nature of it and some members of the media absolutely refused to refer to the arena by name until the Calgary Stampeders threatened to pull their media credentials.
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