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Indianapolis usually is synonymous with three sports — football, with the Colts reigning as NFL champions; auto racing, with the Indy 500; and basketball, with the NBA's Pacers, WNBA's Fever and the Big Ten and NCAA tournament.

The city was also a hockey town, briefly, in the mid to late 1970s, with a franchise that competed in the World Hockey Association — a league seeking to compete with the NHL for fans in the '70s, before eventually folding and sending four teams (Edmonton Oilers, New England/Hartford Whalers, Winnipeg Jets and the Quebec Nordiques) to the NHL in 1979.

The Racers fielded a squad that included future NHL stars Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.

Former Racers SuperFan and Tucson resident Timothy Gassen documents the tale of the Racers and the WHA in his new book, "Red, White and Blues: A Personal History of Indianapolis Racers Hockey 1974-1979."

The Star asked Gassen to discuss the rise and fall of professional hockey in Indianapolis, what lessons it might have for the Coyotes, and the possibility of another professional hockey franchise in Tucson.

Q: What effect do you think the WHA had on the NHL, in terms of the style of play and the way the league was run?

A: The merger of those two leagues is a really important part of hockey history. It came along at a time when pro hockey in North America was at a crossroads. It was branded as a clumsy, violent sport, made up of 99 percent Canadian players.

The WHA took a completely different approach, bringing in European players who were faster, more skilled; they added overtime. They also helped create the free agent market you see today — spending a lot of money to get the best players from the NHL to play.

When I interviewed former WHA players for the book, they said it was not just the money that brought them to the WHA. It was also because the brand of hockey was really exciting.

A: Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis are interesting sister cities to look at. In the last 30 years, all the corporate headquarters have gone to Columbus. Indianapolis does not have the corporate base. It does not have the sophisticated economy that Columbus does now. That is how professional sports work these days. Thirty years ago, the idea of the NFL having a team in Indianapolis was ridiculous, and look at them now with a Super Bowl champion.

A: The NHL seemed to have learned its lesson in the 1980s from the war it had in the WHA in the 1970s. They tried to emphasize rules that would help the Gretzkys. The NHL in the 1980s looked a lot like the WHA in the 1970s. The league needs to relearn the game now. They came out on the other end of the lockout with the owners making a lot of money.

The NHL now does not nearly have the sophistication nationally to market their game like the NBA in the early '90s. They are too behind the times. Their product is too expensive.

The game itself is getting much, much better, with lots of really exciting young players coming up, but no one can afford to go. That is why the franchise in Indianapolis was so successful — entire families would go together. Indianapolis is a very blue-collar city. Three generations of families would go to games.

A: The situation in Indianapolis is similar to that of Tucson. In neither market did franchises have owners with long-term goals — they were looking for a quick turnover.

What Tucson needs is an owner with enough money and a five-year plan. It'll be a great hockey market once the right owner comes into place. I'm firmly convinced Tucson can be the most profitable market for minor-league hockey in the country.

Hockey is the most profitable sport for small markets. The city has talked very publicly about the whole financial package for this arena — they want a minor-league hockey team attached to it. That is going to happen.

Is it five years away? Three years away? I don't know. But it's going to happen.