WHA History Summary

The World Hockey Association (WHA) was a professional ice hockey league that operated from 1972 to 1979. The league was established as a direct rival to the National Hockey League (NHL), and it succeeded in bringing about significant changes to the NHL's structure and operations.

The idea for the WHA was first proposed by Gary Davidson, a lawyer and sports entrepreneur, in 1971. Davidson was previously involved in the creation of two other professional sports leagues. Those were the American Basketball Association and the World Football League, both of which had competed with established leagues. The fact that Davidson was able to establish other leagues proved that people wanted their sports to improve. The American Basketball Association was most famous for implementing the three-point line. The World Football League was able to put a professional football team in Honolulu, Hawaii.