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A sampling of Dallas Morning News coverage of the first NHL game in Dallas between the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings at Reunion Arena on Sept. 30, 1986.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dallas Morning News archives<\/p>\n
When Wayne Gretzky<\/a> made his first trip to Dallas, he was most concerned about whether the Texas heat would melt the ice. \u00a0<\/p>\n He wondered, too, whether he and his Edmonton Oilers teammates might get stuck in the folding chairs they were using as a bench at Reunion Arena when they hopped over the boards.\u00a0<\/p>\n It never crossed the Great One\u2019s mind that he\u2019d return to Dallas dozens of times \u2014 to play NHL games, cover them as a broadcaster and, eventually, visit his daughter and 1-year-old grandson while she studies at SMU.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But that preseason game 40 years ago Wednesday \u2014 Sept. 30, 1986, between the Oilers and Detroit Red Wings at Reunion Arena \u2014 became a catalyst not only for Gretzky\u2019s ties to Dallas, but for the Stars\u2019 <\/a>future in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI guess from 1986 to 2026, I\u2019m part of Dallas,\u201d Gretzky told The Dallas Morning News. \u201cLet me put it this way: In 1986, I didn\u2019t envision hockey being where it\u2019s at today in Dallas. It\u2019s a credit to the whole city, the organization and the league.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Bringing the NHL to Dallas for the first time that fall took imagination, persistence and a few calculated risks from a handful of businessmen.\u00a0<\/p>\n But according to Brad Thomas \u2014 SMU\u2019s first sports promotion director and a longtime Dallas sports marketing consultant \u2014 he and his late business partner, Michael Halbrooks, pulled it off with the help of a Mattel doll and a horse figurine.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not taking no for an answer\u00a0<\/p>\n Thomas doesn\u2019t like to take no for an answer. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n It\u2019s probably a big reason he\u2019s had a decades-long career in marketing in Dallas, having a hand in several events and franchises from SMU to LIV Golf to FC Dallas and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Edmonton Oilers learned that about Thomas quite early in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n A few years removed from his time at SMU, he and Halbrooks started an event company called Events Inc. They hosted track events, tennis and other sports they felt the D-FW area was lacking.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hockey was one of those sports \u2014 a major professional game with no ties to Dallas outside of the Dallas Black Hawks of the Central Hockey League, who played from 1967-82.\u00a0<\/p>\n Longtime Dallas sports marketing consultant Brad Thomas (left) knew they had to\u00a0make Oilers superstar Wayne Gretzky (right) the centerpiece of promotion for the NHL’s first game in Dallas.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Brad Thomas<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a major sport, and it wasn\u2019t here,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cWe thought that\u2019s the kind of game we can promote and market and maybe sell out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But Thomas knew the only way they could do so would be bringing Gretzky to town \u2014 not only the game\u2019s greatest star but one of the biggest superstar athletes of all time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thomas didn\u2019t just make a few phone calls to the Oilers. He spent years trying to convince them.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe first reaction was almost laughable,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018It\u2019s too hot. The ice won\u2019t be solid. That\u2019s ridiculous.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But he didn\u2019t quit. Mattel released a Wayne Gretzky figurine in January 1983, and Thomas saw his opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI got my hands on one of those,\u201d he said. \u201cI bought a plastic pony, and I was able to figure it out where we put the Gretzky doll on the horse, and I packaged it up and sent it off to [Oilers Assistant GM] Bruce MacGregor and said, \u2018Wayne Gretzky wants to come to Texas.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Getting others on board\u00a0<\/p>\n The Oilers ultimately agreed to play a 1986 preseason game in Dallas. Thomas and Halbrooks had a much easier time convincing Steve Yzerman\u2019s Detroit Red Wings to be the opponent.\u00a0<\/p>\n The duo determined it would cost $100,000 to bring both teams to Dallas \u2014 $75,000 for Edmonton and $25,000 for Detroit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thomas called up his friend he knew through SMU, Malcolm Holland, who had recently started a bank, and asked for a loan.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018This is crazy. This is Dallas. It’s 100 degrees, and we don\u2019t do ice here,\u2019\u201d Holland said. \u201cI made a $50,000 loan that I never should have made because there wasn\u2019t really any proven product here, but I made it because I believed in Brad and Mike that they could bring people to the arena and sell tickets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Wil Caudell, the new GM of Reunion Arena in 1986, had a similar belief. \u00a0<\/p>\n When Thomas and Halbrooks approached him with the idea, he was all for it, especially once he knew Gretzky was involved. \u00a0<\/p>\n While most questioned whether Reunion Arena <\/a>could support hockey at the time, Caudell had no doubt.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe can do ice. We do Disney on ice,\u201d he said. \u201cIn 1980, when we built Reunion Arena, it is a perfect hockey arena. The sightlines were even better than American Airlines Center.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He hired a seasoned hockey specialist to ensure the ice was NHL-ready and safe for the players. That was his responsibility, while Thomas and Halbrooks worked on selling seats.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Great One comes to Dallas\u00a0<\/p>\n The marketing plan was built entirely around Gretzky.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOne guy sold tickets,\u201d Thomas said.\u00a0<\/p>\n They bought full-page advertisements in The News that said, \u201cThe great Gretzky comes to Dallas.\u201d They offered a $99 front row rink side package that included a seat along the boards, a ticket to a private postgame reception and an autographed picture of Gretzky.\u00a0<\/p>\n But all the other tickets were cheaper than $30. The get-in price was under $15. \u00a0<\/p>\n They gave out bumper stickers, pennants, hats, media gifts and anything they could to get the word out.\u00a0<\/p>\n And it worked. Nearly 17,000 fans packed Reunion Arena on that September night. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a bona fide sellout,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cWe walked away that night with a low six-figure net profit. At that point, we thought, \u2018OK, we are really good at this.\u2019 Such a victory. Such a great experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n An unforgettable atmosphere\u00a0<\/p>\n Daryl Reaugh, who would begin a 30-plus year career as the Stars\u2019 play-by-play announcer <\/a>a decade later, was there that night.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reaugh has become a fan favorite in Dallas and across the league. Like Gretzky, that game would introduce him to Dallas \u2014 a city he\u2019d call home for half his life. \u00a0<\/p>\n But on that night, the Oilers\u2019 goalie and his teammates knew their job was to take a backseat. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey were not concerned with Daryl Reaugh,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was all about Wayne.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Dallas had perhaps unfairly, yet understandably, earned some skepticism about its ability to safely host an NHL game. \u00a0<\/p>\n Reaugh remembers a board they had to walk on to get on the ice that would leave wood pieces stuck in their skates. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were standing around, and we were like, \u2018Somebody\u2019s going to die,\u2019\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But at the same time, he and his teammates embraced the opportunity to expand the game far away from their home in Western Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gretzky led that charge. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe probably played upwards of 25 minutes of the game in Dallas because that was him. That was Gretz. He understood the drill and that it was important,\u201d Reaugh said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gretzky reflects on the game with fond memories. While the first that come to mind were how hot it was, he remembers how Thomas and Halbrooks did all they could to make it a pleasant experience for the players, even if they didn\u2019t have all the bells and whistles of a typical NHL rink.\u00a0<\/p>\n He remembers when two young girls came out to sing the national anthem, whom Thomas had tracked down from an episode of the “Late Show with David Letterman,” and the entire arena erupted.\u00a0<\/p>\n And he remembers the same enthusiasm from the fans throughout the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of the crowd had never seen a live hockey game,\u201d Gretzky said. \u201cThe crowd was really into it. It wasn\u2019t like a normal exhibition game. They were really excited to be part of it. It was unreal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n One thing no one can seem to remember is who won the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n (For the record, the Oilers won, 3-1.)\u00a0<\/p>\n But it would help the city of Dallas become big winners in the long run. \u00a0<\/p>\n Paving the way for the Stars\u00a0<\/p>\n The game was such a success that it became a tradition.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers played in 1987 in a rematch of the prior season\u2019s Stanley Cup Final. They tried to bring Gretzky back for a third year, for a matchup with Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins, but weeks before the game he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the tradition of hockey at Reunion Arena carried on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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