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==
Orig London Lions logo.jpg|The original London lions logo.
London Lions.jpg|A team photo of the original London Lions.
London1973Prog.jpg|A program from October 19, 1973.
London1974Prog.jpg|A program from March 9, 1974.
==References==
#International Ice Hockey Federation mention of London Lions
#London Lions page by Mikael Uhlin
==Credits==
Special thanks to Martin Harris for supplying the program images.
Category:Ice hockey teams in England