After attempting to find an arena in South Florida without success and being second fiddle in Philadelphia and Vancouver, the team now called the Cowboys, were in a city on their own, with a move to Calgary. The World Hockey Association had planned to place a team in Calgary to rival the Edmonton Oilers in the inaugural season.

However, the Calgary Broncos like, the Miami Screaming Eagles ran into problems before ever playing a game and instead became the Cleveland Crusaders. By the time the Cowboys arrived, the WHA was beginning to unravel as many viewed it as a minor league, a fact that was not helped by the Cowboys logo which more resembled that of a Fast Food restaurant than a hockey team.

The Cowboys would play their home games at the Stampede Corral, which was one of the smallest arenas in the league with a capacity of 6,500. However, Cowboys Owner Jim Pattison had hoped to get the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede board to expand the arena to 15,000, but at the time no timetable was set for the Corral's expansion.

The Cowboys coached by Joe Crozier would get off to a slow start, losing five of their first six games, including a 2-0 loss in their first game against the Minnesota Fighting Saints on October 12th. However, with a strong November they quickly turned things around.

After struggling to score goals in their previous season, the Cowboys had a pair of 40 goal scorers, with Danny Lawson leading the way with 44 while Ron Chipperfield had 42. The Cowboys would go on to finish in third place with a record of 41-35-4.

In the playoffs the Cowboys would face the Quebec Nordiques, winning the first two games on the road. In Game 2, one of the ugliest fights in the history of the WHA broke out when Rick Jodzio cross-checked Quebec's Marc Tardif in the head, causing both teams to leave their benches.

Witness claimed Jodzio struck a helpless Tardif several times as the brawl led to a Police investigation. The game would be halted as 11 players were ejected with Jodzio and Cowboys Coach Joe Crozier receiving suspensions.

The Cowboys would go on to win the series in five games to reach the semifinals. Against the Winnipeg Jets the Cowboys would not be able to find the same magic as they were clearly overmatched losing in five games, as the Jets went in to win the WHA Championship.