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Larry Lund: Unsung World Hockey Association Legend

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larry lund houston aeros 1977-78 o-pee-chee wha hockey cardWhen you think WHA, you think players like Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky and Anders Hedberg. Those guys made the league what it was but you should add Larry Lund to the list.

Lund, a champion seemingly everywhere he played, will forever be the 12th highest scorer in the history of the World Hockey Association. Larry outscored the more famous Howe family on the Houston Aeros in 1974-75 as the Texas team grabbed their second consecutive Avco World Trophy championship.

Junior and Minor Pro
WHA Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats

Junior and Minor Pro

Lund played his junior hockey with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 1959-60 and 1960-61. In both years, Edmonton went to the Memorial Cup finals. In both years, they came up on the short end. In 1960, the Oil Kings lost to the St. Catherines Teepees. The following year, defeat was at the hands of the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors.

From 1961-62 to 1971-72, Larry Lund played in the minors, spending time in the IHL, WHL, CPHL and AHL. Over that time, he won four championships, one in the IHL and three times in the WHL.

In his first year of pro, Larry helped the Muskegon Zephyrs to a first place finish in the IHL. The Zephyrs then captured the playoff championship with a win over the St. Paul Saints in the finals. That St. Paul team was coached by Fred Shero.

Two years later, 1963-64, Lund was on the Pacific Coast playing for the San Francisco Seals in the WHL. The Seals had a lackluster regular season, finishing fourth in the six team league, just three points up on the fifth place Seattle Totems.

It was an upsetting year in the WHL with the Seals taking the championship over the third seed Los Angeles Blades. Nick Mickoski was the head coach of that San Francisco team and Bob Perreault starred between the pipes.

By 1966-67, Lund’s scoring ability was starting to shine. Playing for the Seattle Totems in the WHL, Larry finished seventh with 34 goals and eighth with 72 points. The Totems grabbed the championship, beating the Vancouver Canucks in the finals.

Playing with the Totems again in 1967-68, Larry finished eighth in the WHL with 37 assists and seventh with 96 penalty minutes. Seattle repeated as WHL champions with a win over the Portland Buckaroos in the finals.

His time in the American Hockey League was limited. Lund appeared in just nine AHL games, all with the Quebec Aces in 1968-69. For the rest of that season, he returned to the WHL and the Seattle Totems.

Moving on to the WHL’s Phoenix Roadrunners for 1970-71, Lund tied for third with 92 points and placed third with 63 assists. His 147 penalty minutes put him in the seventh position. Phoenix reached the finals but fell to the Portland Buckaroos.

His final season in the minors came in 1971-72, again with the Roadrunners. Larry finished second with 66 assists and second with 96 points. His 149 PIM put him in seventh. He was a prime candidate to be picked up by a WHA franchise for the league’s inaugural 1972-73 season.

Over his WHL career, Lund scored 183 and assisted on 312 for 495 points over 574 regular season games. In the playoffs, he added 40 points over 50 games.

Larry Lund – WHA

Between 1972-73 and 1977-78, Larry Lund played in 459 regular season games in the World Hockey Association, all with the Houston Aeros. Over that time, Larry scored 149 and assisted on 277 for 426 points. In the post season, Lund added 65 points in 59 games.

In 1973-74, Lund tied for seventh in the WHA with Wayne Connelly of the Minnesota Fighting Saints, both with 53. He tied for ninth with 86 points, equaling Serge Bernier of the Quebec Nordiques. In the playoffs, he led the Aeros with 23 points. Houston captured the Avco World Trophy championship with a win over the Chicago Cougars in the finals.

The following year, the Aeros again captured the championship with a win over the Quebec Nordiques. In the regular season, Lund finished third with 75 assists, behind Andre Lacroix of the San Diego Mariners and Ulf Nilsson of the Winnipeg Jets. He finished fifth with 108 points.

The Houston Aeros reached the finals once again in 1975-76, this time losing to the Winnipeg Jets. Lund played in just five of Houston’s playoff games.

In 2012, Larry Lund was inducted into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame. His 426 points are the 12th most in WHA history.

Larry Lund – Rookie Card

larry lund houston aeros 1974-75 o-pee-chee wha rookie hockey cardThe Larry Lund rookie card appears as number 22 in the 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee WHA hockey card set. He was also included in the 1973-74 Quaker Oats WHA set. On that back of that 1974-75 card, it states that Lund scored the first ever goal for the Houston Aeros.

Despite being a standout in the WHA, Larry would only be included in one other WHA set, the 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee collection.

Larry Lund Career Stats

Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM
1961-62 Muskegon Zephyrs IHL 64 29 26 55 92
1962-63 Muskegon Zephyrs IHL 70 13 38 51 69
1963-64 San Francisco Seals WHL 67 2 11 13 19
1964-65 Minneapolis Bruins CPHL 37 30 17 47 26
1964-65 San Francisco Seals WHL 37 8 12 20 28
1965-66 Seattle Totems WHL 69 24 31 55 56
1966-67 Seattle Totems WHL 72 34 38 72 74
1967-68 Seattle Totems WHL 68 16 37 53 96
1968-69 Quebec Aces AHL 9 1 2 3 2
1968-69 Seattle Totems WHL 58 7 14 21 49
1969-70 Phoenix Roadrunners WHL 68 33 40 73 54
1970-71 Phoenix Roadrunners WHL 69 29 63 92 147
1971-72 Phoenix Roadrunners WHL 66 30 66 96 149
1972-73 Houston Aeros WHA 77 21 45 66 120
1973-74 Houston Aeros WHA 75 33 53 86 109
1974-75 Houston Aeros WHA 78 33 75 108 68
1975-76 Houston Aeros WHA 73 24 49 73 50
1976-77 Houston Aeros WHA 80 29 38 67 36
1977-78 Houston Aeros WHA 76 9 17 26 36
WHA Totals 459 149 277 426 419

3 thoughts on “Larry Lund: Unsung World Hockey Association Legend”

  1. Great post, Tom. I saw Larry Lund play many many times here with the Aeros. He became a real favorite of ours. Those were fun times. I miss having a team around here. Thanks for stirring some memories.

      1. I’ve heard in the past that Rockets owner Les Alexander had repeatedly thwarted efforts to land a team here. I can’t say for sure that’s completely true but I do know that the one time there was serious consideration of an move here by an existing NHL team Alexander roadblocked it. I also know that he and the Aeros owners never saw eye-to-eye. The “official” explanation for the Aeros moving to Iowa a few years back was that the Wild, their parent club, wanted to have their minor league team based closer to Minnesota. That may be the sole reason but I tend to doubt it.

        I’d LOVE a team here. I’d give up my Texans seats in a heartbeat for hockey season tickets.

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