, Toronto Star
Tim Gassen admits he gets a lot of strange looks when he talks about his passion.
That may be because the object of the Phoenix resident's passion is the World Hockey Association, specifically the Indianapolis Racers.
And it's that passion for a mediocre team that lived less than five seasons that drove him to produce a two-DVD set on the Racers, the launching pad for Wayne Gretzky's pro career in 1978.
"I often to say to Americans who may not understand the significance of Wayne Gretzky to hockey, what if I told you I had a story about Babe Ruth's first year in the major leagues that you've never heard before," Gassen says.
"Would you be interested?
"I think the answer would be yes. For the fans who think they know everything about Wayne, here's the Wayne Gretzky they've never seen before."
Gretzky, Indy and the WHA, which will debut May 16 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto, is a hockey history freak's dream with historical footage of Gretzky's debut and most of his first game back in Indianapolis as an Edmonton Oiler.
There's plenty more on the WHA's impact on the game, both in raising salaries for players and introducing features such as regular-season overtime.
This is not the first WHA project on the DVD shelves. Last year, The WHA Chronicles was released, complete with two championship games, an all-star game and a match between the New England Whalers and the powerful Soviets.
But Gassen's compilation includes footage he says hasn't been seen since the Racers folded in 1978.
There's a radio interview with a 17-year-old Gretzky describing how he balanced high school with hockey, and footage of Indianapolis coach Pat Stapleton tapping the Great One on the shoulder and sending him over the boards for his first shift.
As interesting as the DVD is, though, the story behind it might be better.
Unearthing 30-year-old video involved searching across the continent in the most unlikely places.
"A lot was thrown away," says Gassen, who fell in love with the Racers when they played at old Market Arena in Indianapolis.
"I talked to every TV station that ever broadcast a WHA game in the 1970s and every one told me they had thrown them away, either when they moved or when they converted to digital."
But some had been saved by TV producers who couldn't stand the thought of their work destroyed. But after 30 years, much of that had deteriorated or simply been forgotten.
"We found almost all the master tapes in garages," says Gassen.
"These were formats that weren't designed to last three years, never mind 30 years.
"We found them in garages in Ontario, Michigan and Indianapolis at bottom of piles of old stuff.
"It was like Indiana Jones digging through the ruins."
Stapleton, for one, believes the history of the WHA has been ignored too long.
"This is history," says the former NHL and WHA all-star defenceman now living in London, Ont. "The WHA changed hockey in so many ways.
"People forget the NHL was a closed shop before it came along."
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