Toronto Toros The Toronto Toros were a team based out of Toronto that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976 . The franchise was awarded to Doug Michel in 1971 to play in the WHA ' s inaugural 1972 - 73 season . Initially , he tried to base the team in Hamilton , Ontario , but it didn ' t have an appropriate venue . He also had discussions with Harold Ballard , owner of Maple Leaf Gardens and the Toronto Maple Leafs , about locating the team in Toronto , but those talks didn ' t get very far . Michel settled on Ottawa and the team became the Ottawa Nationals . Nick Trbovich became majority owner in May 1972 . The team was a flop at the box office , averaging about 3 , 000 fans a game , and in March 1973 — just before the end of the season — the City of Ottawa demanded payment of $ 100 , 000 to guarantee the club dates at the Ottawa Civic Centre . The team decided to leave Ottawa and played their home playoff games at Maple Leaf Gardens , attracting crowds of 5 , 000 and 4 , 000 in two games before being eliminated by the New England Whalers . At the end of the season , the team moved to Toronto permanently , and was sold to John F . Bassett , son of media mogul and former Leafs part - owner John Bassett . Future Leafs owner Steve Stavro was a minority shareholder . They were renamed the Toronto Toros in June 1973 . Initially , Bassett wanted to move the team into a renovated CNE Coliseum , while Bill Ballard — Harold ' s son , who was running the Gardens while his father served a prison sentence — wanted the team at the Gardens and opposed the plan to upgrade the Coliseum . The Toros ended up at Varsity Arena for the 1973 - 74 season . Bassett signed forwards Pat Hickey and Wayne Dillon to aid the offensive attack . He also made a strong attempt to sign Leaf centre Darryl Sittler , and thought he had an agreement for a five - year $ 1 million contract , but Sittler re - signed with the Leafs . The Toros played to a 41 - 33 - 4 record in the regular season , bolstered by goaltenders Gilles Gratton and Les Binkley and a strong defensive corps backstopped by ex - Maple Leaf star Carl Brewer . The Toros also fared well in the playoffs , making it to the Eastern Conference final , only to lose to the Chicago Cougars . The Toros moved to the Gardens for the 1974 - 75 season . However , by this time Harold Ballard had regained control of the Gardens . Ballard was a violent opponent of the WHA ; he never forgave the upstart league for nearly decimating the Leafs ' roster in the early 1970s . He deliberately made the Toros ' lease terms at the Gardens as onerous as possible . The Toros ' lease with Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd . called for them to pay $ 15 , 000 per game . However , much to Bassett ' s outrage , the arena was dim for the first game . It was then that Ballard demanded $ 3 , 500 for use of the lights . Ballard also denied the Toros access to the Leafs ' locker room , forcing them to build their own at a cost of $ 55 , 000 . He also removed the cushions from the home bench for Toros ' games ( he told an arena worker , " Let ' em buy their own cushions ! " ) . It was obvious that Ballard was angered at the WHA being literally in his backyard , and took his frustration on the renegade league out on the Toros . Despite the financial difficulties , the Toros managed to strengthen themselves in the off - season . They signed two ex - Leafs : former NHL superstar Frank Mahovlich and the hero from the 1972 Summit Series , Paul Henderson , as well as Czech star Vaclav Nedomansky , who defected to Toronto . Tom Simpson became the first professional hockey player in Toronto to have a 50 - goal season , scoring 52 goals ( a number he would never come close to matching again ) . The Toros finished the year with the league ' s fifth - best record at 43 - 33 - 2 , but were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the San Diego Mariners . The Toros were now averaging 10 , 000 fans per home game . In part due to the expenses associated with playing in the Gardens , the Toros bottomed out in the 1975 - 76 season . They finished with a horrible 24 - 52 - 5 record — the worst in the league — under coach Bobby Baun , despite Nedomansky ' s 56 goals and the signing of 18 year - old Mark Napier , who scored 93 points in his rookie year . The Toros still averaged over 8 , 000 fans per game , which was a 20 percent drop from the previous year . Following the season , with the drop in attendance and onerous lease terms at the Gardens , Bassett moved the club to Birmingham , Alabama , where they were renamed the Birmingham Bulls for the 1976 - 77 season . Season - by - season record . " Note : GP = Games played , W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , Pts = Points , GF = Goals for , GA = Goals against , PIM = Penalties in minutes "