1974-75 Regular Season

1974-75 saw a lot of changes to the league landscape from the previous year. The Seattle Grey Wolves and Dallas Metros both made their debuts as PHL franchises, The Washington Generals played their first season in DC, and the defending champion Detroit Mustangs now found themselves in the Eastern Conference. Seattle entered their first season with modest expectations. However, the Wolves enjoyed a decent year for an expansion team,winning 27 games and actually finishing ahead of Vancouver to avoid the Pacific  Division basement. The same could not be said for Dallas, who won only 12 games all year despite a promising rookie year from Mike Fleming. Minnesota and Ottawa battled neck and neck for first place all year as the Beavers finally enjoyed a breakout year with Casey Beckett leading the way with 98 points as Ottawa finished with 51 wins and their first ever 100 point season. However is was the Lumberjacks who took first overall, winning 55 games with Guy Dupont enjoying a career high 47 goals. The Washington Generals' struggles continued in their new home, the Generals finished in last place in the Atlantic Division with only 22 wins. Meanwhile, it was a tough year in Toronto as the Racers finished third last in the entire league the team began to look towards the future. rumors began to surface that 20-year veteran and future hall of famer Mark Benson was looking to leave Toronto. Benson quickly debunked those rumors. "Toronto is my home, win or lose I'm a Racer until the end." Boston had a tough year as well, missing the playoffs for the first time in their history as veteran stars Johnny Bedford and Phil Reid began to decline, while Detroit struggled in their first season in the Eastern Conference, finishing third in the division and just making the playoffs. In LA, the dynamic duo of Stuart Holly and Ray Fowler continued to light it up, and this time it was Fowler who would lead the way, taking the league scoring title with 112 points. On February 16, Fowler set a PHL record for goals in one game when he netted 7 goals against Vancouver in a 11-0 LA rout.

Ray Fowler

Back east, it was the New York Civics who led the way in the Atlantic Division throughout most of the season. Heading into the last day of the regular season, the Civics led the Philadelphia Redshirts in the standings by two points. New York faced the Boston Bulldogs while the Redshirts took on the lowly Pittsburgh Stingers. The Bulldogs, playing for pride, defeated the Civics 2-1. In order for New York to take first place, the Stingers would need to defeat their rivals in Philadelphia, something they had yet to do in their six years in the PHL. After skating with the Redshirts in a tied game, Danny Stevenson finally scored with 40 seconds left to secure a victory for the Stingers and first place for the Civics. The drama was building heading into the playoffs as the big questions began to surface. Would Detroit be able to defend their title after a tough season? would this be the year LA finally gets it done? Would Minnesota finally prove their Lewis Cup run in 1972 was no fluke? Those questions would all be answered soon enough as the last 12-team playoff got underway.