The puck stopped here on this day in 1983, when the CEO of Ralston Purina decided the company should focus on pet food products, not hockey and sell the St.Louis Blues.. Fans were shocked when the deal was announced with the small town of Saskatoon, Canada, which had fewer than 200,000 residents.
The NHL was also shocked and intervened to stop the deal. Ralston filed an antitrust suit, while the NHL filed a countersuit for damages.
A new buyer, Harry Ornest, became the only bidder for the team. Ornest, an entrepreneur who struck it big with vending machines, put in his coins in the slot and selected the Blues. The team stayed in St. Louis.
Based upon content from the book Missouri 365: This Day in Missouri History by John W. Brown, broadcaster and Missouri historian. Get your copy at Reedy Press.
Photo from Unsplash
Related Posts
Bring the Heat
Those who just can't get enough chips and dip won't want to miss the 417 Salsa Fest in Springfield. A celebration of all things salsa, the event features a salsa taste-off, a hot-pepper-eating contest, live music, Latin dancing, and more.
At Montauk State Park, a River is Born
Montauk State Park is one of the oldest in the Missouri State Park system. Visitors can see the headwaters that form the Current River, cast a line in a well-stocked trout run, explore a pre-Civil War mill, and maybe even spot a pair of bald eagles.
The Kansas City That Never Was
Sometimes it's fun to wonder "what if?" An exhibit at the Special Collections Gallery at the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Miller Nichols Library imagines how a number of proposed projects might have reshaped the Kansas City experience.
Calamity Jane is Born in Princeton, Missouri: May 1, 1852
Martha Jane Cannary Burke was born in Princeton. The infamous frontier woman was known as "Calamity Jane."