By LEROY SAMUELS;
Courier-Post Staff: February 12th, 1974
PHILADELPHIA – Ed Tepper figures the people who tumble into the Spectrum to watch ice hockey will tumble into the same building to watch indoor lacrosse — at least 10,000 fans a game.
No kidding, Tepper spoke with a poker-face when he projected the instant, blue- chip success for the new Philadelphia franchise of the National Lacrosse League. “The fans who love contact sports, ice hockey and football, are going to love indoor lacrosse with its speed and violence,” said Tepper, president of the local franchise, which will play 40 games from May through September.
6 Franchises
Tepper, a builder and developer, figures the lacrosse team — which is still (1) unnamed and lacking a (2) general manager and (3) a head coach — will generate enough excitement to draw “at least 10,000” fans each home game here in the Spectrum.
“Really, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t expect that many.” said Tepper, “because, in my mind, Philadelphia is the No. 1 sports town in the nation. The Flyers have to be the No. 1 franchise, and everyone knows how the Eagles draw at home. Lacrosse has similiar fan appeal, its quickness and body contact will be selling points to the fans. .MI of us, the investors, are excited about the team.”
Philadelphia will be one of six teams in the newly-formed NLL, headed by G.T. Spence Lyons, former commissioner of the Eastern Lacrosse Association. Other franchises will locate in Montreal, Toronto (home of the league headquarters), Syracuse, Maryland, and Rochester.
New Floor
David A. Natale, a Delaware County attorney, will be the chairman of the board of the Philadelphia franchise. Tepper, as president, will be directly involved in the operation of the team, hiring the GM and coach. “We’re very clcse to naming a general manager,” Tepper said, “and we have at least one person in mind for a head coach. We’ll sign both soon to get our program underway quickly.”
A new insulated wooden floor will be purchased by the Spectrum and used as the playing surface for all home games. The goals are a pair of nets. 4 1/2 by 4 1/2 feet wide.
Indoor lacrosse is played in three 20-minute periods, six men per team, with no timeouts.
18 Players
Tepper said each NLL team will have 18 players in uniform. A player draft is scheduled in Montreal on March 25 to stock each team. Also, Tepper said a free agent tryout camp would be held, possibly in the Delaware Valley, to “uncover any possible players we may have missed in the draft.”
“We figure there are enough American and Canadian players to adequately fill all of the rosters in the league,” said Tepper. “Our job is to find and sign them to contracts.”
Bruce Norris, owner of the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings, will head the Toronto franchise. Bill Putman, former president of the Philadelphia Flyers, has an interest in the Maryland organization.
