California Golden Seals
California Golden Seals | |
---|---|
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena | |
City | Oakland, California |
Team colors | Kelly green, royal blue, white (1967–1970) Kelly green, California gold, snow white (1970–1974) Pacific teal, gold, white (1974–1976) |
Stanley Cups | 0 |
Conference championships | 0 |
Division championships | 0 |
The California Golden Seals were a professional
The Seals were the least successful of the teams added in the 1967 expansion, never earning a winning record and only making the playoffs twice in nine seasons of play. Off the ice, they were plagued by low attendance. The franchise was relocated in 1976 to become the Cleveland Barons, who would cease operations two years later.[1] They are the only franchise from the 1967 expansion never to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.[a]
History
Founding
In 1966, the NHL announced that six expansion teams would be added as a new division for the
Van Gerbig had planned to have the team play in a new arena in San Francisco, but the new arena was never built. He decided to move the team across the Bay from the
A year later, Van Gerbig brought the Seals into the NHL as an expansion team. The team participated with the other five expansion teams in the
The Bay Area was not considered a particularly lucrative hockey market; however, the terms of a new television agreement with CBS called for two of the expansion teams to be located in California and other than the Kings there were no other prospective franchise applicants of similar pedigree to the Seals. Nevertheless, while the WHL Seals had drawn well at the Cow Palace the team drew poorly in Oakland once they entered the NHL. The plan to bring fans in from San Francisco failed, and on November 6, 1967,[2] Van Gerbig announced that the team's name would be changed to the Oakland Seals (although the league did not register the change until December 8 to focus more on the East Bay).[3]
Struggles
The Seals were never successful at the gate even after the name change, and because of this poor attendance Van Gerbig threatened on numerous occasions to move the team elsewhere. First-year coach and general manager
This, as well as the team's mediocre on-ice performance, led to major changes to both the Seals' front office and the roster – only 7 of the 20 Seals players remained after the first season. The new-look Seals were somewhat more successful. In their second season they improved to 69 points, which while still seven games below .500 was good enough for second place in the all-expansion West Division. The Seals were actually favored to win their first round playoff matchup against the Kings, but were upset in seven games. Oakland regressed to 58 points the following season, but still edged out Philadelphia for the final playoff spot on a tiebreaker. Their second playoff appearance was a brief one as they were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those were the only two years that the franchise made the playoffs.
The league's rejection of a proposed move to Vancouver prompted a lawsuit that was not settled until 1974 (San Francisco Seals Ltd. v. National Hockey League). The Seals organization filed suit against the NHL claiming that the prohibition violated the
For the 1969–70 season the team was sold to Trans-National Communications, whose investors included Pat Summerall and Whitey Ford.[6] However, the group filed for bankruptcy after missing a payment and relinquished the team to Van Gerbig, who put the team back on the market.
Charles O. Finley purchases the franchise
Prior to the
Finley renamed the team the "Bay Area Seals" to begin the 1970–71 season, but after just two games into the season on October 16, 1970, he changed the team name to the "California Golden Seals",
Under the ownership of the NHL and Mel Swig
The team rebounded in 1971–72, but the arrival of the World Hockey Association (WHA) wiped out most of those gains. Finley refused to match the WHA's contract offers, causing five of the team's top ten scorers from the previous season to bolt to the new league. Devoid of any defensive talent save for goaltender Gilles Meloche, the Seals sank into last place again in 1972–73, where they would remain for the rest of their history. Although divisional restructuring in 1974–75 included a revamped format in which three teams in each division made the playoffs, the team's efforts were frustrated by their placement in the Adams Division, with the strong Sabres, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs of the day. The Seals once again finished well out of playoff contention, and were notably the only team to lose at home to the expansion Washington Capitals.
Finley soon lost patience with his struggling hockey team, especially given the contrast to his World Series champion Athletics. He tried to sell the Seals, but when no credible buyers came forward who were interested in keeping the team in the Bay Area, he sold the team back to the league for $6.585 million.[13][14] A 1973 attempt by Finley to sell the team to Indianapolis interests who planned to relocate the team to that city was rejected by the NHL's board of governors.[15]
In early 1975, newspapers reported that the Seals and Pittsburgh Penguins were to be relocated to Denver and Seattle, respectively, in an arrangement that would have seen the two teams sold to groups in those cities that had already been awarded "conditional" franchises for the 1976–77 season.[16] At the same time, the league announced that if the Seals' sale to the Denver group was not completed or new ownership found locally, the franchise would be liquidated at the end of the season.
The Denver arrangement fell through, and the league ran the Seals for more than a year until a group headed by San Francisco hotel magnate Melvin Swig bought the team on July 28, 1975, with the intention of moving the team to a proposed new arena in San Francisco.[17] The team fell just short of the playoffs, and after a mayoral election, plans for the new arena were cancelled. With a new arena out of the picture, the league dropped their objection to the relocation of the franchise.
The end
Although attendance was finally showing some improvement and the team playing better, minority owners George and Gordon Gund persuaded Swig to seek approval to move the team to their hometown of Cleveland. The team's final game in Oakland was a win over the Los Angeles Kings on April 4, 1976;[18] league approval for the move was granted on July 14, and the team was renamed the "Cleveland Barons" after the city's old AHL squad.
Unfortunately, details were not finalized until less than six weeks before the start of the 1976–77 season, rendering the Barons all but invisible in Cleveland. After two more years of losses and with attendance worse than it had been in Oakland, the Gunds (by this time majority owners) were permitted to merge the Barons with the equally strapped Minnesota North Stars on June 14, 1978.[1] The merged team continued as the Minnesota North Stars under the Gunds' ownership, but assumed the Barons' place in the Adams Division. The North Stars ultimately relocated to Texas following the 1992–93 season to become the Dallas Stars.
The Cleveland Barons remain the most recent team in an established North American major professional league to fold. They were also the last actively playing NHL team to do so since the
Legacy
The current NHL team in the Bay Area, the
Dennis Maruk was the last Seals player active in the NHL, retiring as a member of the North Stars in 1989. The last former Seals player in any league was George Pesut, who was active in Germany until 1994.
Though no longer an active team, the Seals remained a popular subject, and are the subject of multiple works.[20] In 2006, Brad Kurtzberg published the first book on the Seals franchise, Shorthanded: The Untold Story of the Seals: Hockey's Most Colorful Team. In January 2017, filmmaker Mark Greczmiel released his documentary, The California Golden Seals Story on iTunes. In 2016, the Seals tribute site, GoldenSealsHockey.com was founded to help promote the November 2017 release of the book, The California Golden Seals: A Tale of White Skates, Red Ink, and One of the NHL's Most Outlandish Teams, which covers the Seals' and Barons' entire history, including their six years in the WHL.
The San Jose Sharks unveiled their Reverse Retro jersey based on the final years of the Golden Seals on October 20, 2022.[21]
Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
NHL season | Team season | Team name | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
1967–68 | 1967–68 | California/Oakland Seals1 | 74 | 15 | 42 | 17 | 47 | 153 | 219 | 787 | 6th in West | Did not qualify |
1968–69 | 1968–69 | Oakland Seals | 76 | 29 | 36 | 11 | 69 | 219 | 251 | 811 | 2nd in West | Lost in Quarterfinals (Kings), 3–4 |
1969–70 | 1969–70 | Oakland Seals | 76 | 22 | 40 | 14 | 58 | 169 | 243 | 845 | 4th in West | Lost in Quarterfinals (Penguins), 0–4 |
1970–71 | 1970–71 | Bay Area Seals/California Golden Seals2 | 78 | 20 | 53 | 5 | 45 | 199 | 320 | 937 | 7th in West | Did not qualify |
1971–72 | 1971–72 | California Golden Seals | 78 | 21 | 39 | 18 | 60 | 216 | 288 | 1,007 | 6th in West | Did not qualify |
1972–73 | 1972–73 | California Golden Seals | 78 | 16 | 46 | 16 | 48 | 213 | 323 | 840 | 8th in West | Did not qualify |
1973–74 | 1973–74 | California Golden Seals | 78 | 13 | 55 | 10 | 36 | 195 | 342 | 651 | 8th in West | Did not qualify |
1974–75 | 1974–75 | California Golden Seals | 80 | 19 | 48 | 13 | 51 | 212 | 316 | 1,101 | 4th in Adams | Did not qualify |
1975–76 | 1975–76 | California Golden Seals | 80 | 27 | 42 | 11 | 65 | 250 | 278 | 1,058 | 4th in Adams | Did not qualify |
Relocated to Cleveland | ||||||||||||
Total | 9 seasons | 698 | 182 | 401 | 115 | 479 | 1,826 | 2,580 | 8,037 |
Notes:
- 1 Named California Seals from October 11 to November 6, 1967.
- 2 Renamed California Golden Seals after two games in the season
Franchise records
Includes Cleveland Barons (1976–78)
Career:
- Most games played – Bob Stewart (414)
- Most goals – Dennis Maruk (94)
- Most assists – Al MacAdam (129)
- Most points – Al MacAdam (217)
- Most penalty minutes – Bob Stewart (691)
- Most wins by a goaltender – Gilles Meloche (93)
- Most losses by a goaltender – Gilles Meloche (191)
- Lowest goals against average (GAA) by a goaltender – Charlie Hodge (3.09)
- Most shutouts by a goaltender – Gilles Meloche (11)
- Most minutes – Gilles Meloche (20,666)
- Most wins by a coach – Fred Glover (96)
- Most losses by a coach – Fred Glover (206)
Single season:
- Most goals – Dennis Maruk (36 in 1977–78)
- Most assists – Dennis Maruk (50 in 1976–77)
- Most points – Dennis Maruk (78 in 1976–77)
- Most wins by a goaltender – Gary Smith (21 in 1968–69)
- Most losses by a goaltender – Gary Smith (48 in 1970–71)
- Best goals against average (GAA) by a goaltender – Charlie Hodge (2.86 in 1967–68)
- Most shutouts by a goaltender – Gary Smith (4 in 1968–69) and Gilles Meloche (4 in 1971–72)
Scoring leaders
These are the top ten scorers for the franchise, including its time in Cleveland.[22]
Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al MacAdam | RW | 320 | 88 | 129 | 217 | 214 |
Dennis Maruk | C | 236 | 94 | 117 | 211 | 162 |
Joey Johnston | LW | 288 | 84 | 101 | 185 | 308 |
Ted Hampson | C | 246 | 61 | 123 | 184 | 37 |
Bill Hicke | RW | 262 | 79 | 101 | 180 | 155 |
Walt McKechnie | C | 250 | 62 | 109 | 171 | 124 |
Dave Gardner | C | 289 | 67 | 99 | 166 | 33 |
Gerry Ehman | RW | 297 | 69 | 86 | 155 | 56 |
Rick Hampton | LW | 285 | 56 | 96 | 152 | 125 |
Carol Vadnais | D | 246 | 63 | 83 | 146 | 560 |
Notable players
Hall of Fame members
- Harry Howell
- Bert Olmstead (inducted as a player but was only a coach for the Seals)
- Craig Patrick (inducted as builder)
- Rudy Pilous (inducted as builder)
- Bill Torrey (inducted as builder)
Team captains
The Golden Seals had the following team captains:[23]
- Bobby Baun, 1967–68
- Ted Hampson, 1968–71
- Carol Vadnais, 1971–72
- Bert Marshall, 1972–73
- Joey Johnston, 1974–75
- Jim Neilson and Bob Stewart, 1975–76 (co-captains)
General managers
- Rudy Pilous, 1967 (fired before start of season)
- Bert Olmstead, 1967–68 (resigned in March 1968)
- Frank Selke Jr., 1968–70 (resigned in November 1970)
- Bill Torrey, 1970 (resigned in December 1970)
- Fred Glover, 1970–71 (fired in October 1971)
- Garry Young, 1971–72 (fired in November 1972)
- Fred Glover, 1972–74 (resigned in February 1974)
- Garry Young, 1974—given title of Director of Hockey Operations due to NHL ownership of club (resigned before start of 1974–75 season)
- Bill McCreary Sr., 1974–76—given title of Director of Hockey Operations from 1974 to 1975 while club under ownership of NHL. He became general manager in the summer of 1975 after Melvin Swig bought the club from the league
First-round draft picks
- 1967: Ken Hicks(third overall)
- 1969: Tony Featherstone(seventh overall)
- 1970: Chris Oddleifson(10th overall)
- 1974: Rick Hampton(third overall)
- 1975: Ralph Klassen(third overall)
Broadcasters
In
See also
- List of California Golden Seals players
- List of California Golden Seals head coaches
- List of NHL players
- List of NHL seasons
- 1967 NHL expansion
Notes
- ^ The five surviving teams from the 1967 expansion have each won at least one Stanley Cup, although in the case of the Minnesota North Stars the championship was won after the franchise relocated to Dallas and became the Dallas Stars. The North Stars reached the Stanley Cup Finals twice while based in Minnesota.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-894801-31-7.
- ^ Minneapolis Tribune November 7, 1967, page 24 from an AP story.
- ^ Currier 2017, p. 52
- ^ Currier 2017, p. 81
- ^ Currier 2017, p. 67
- ^ Currier 2017, pp. 81–82
- ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ Deford, Frank (1971). Five Strides on the Banked Track. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 114–115.
- ^ a b Pittsburgh Post Gazette Monday February 28, 1977, edition
- ^ "Montreal Gazette, October 16, 1970".
- ^ "Trader Sam's Greatest Trades". HabsWorld. 15 August 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
- ^ "Worst of the worst - Columns - the Guardian". Archived from the original on 1 January 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ "NHL buying Finley out". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. January 15, 1974. p. 12B.
- ^ "Seals not bound for Indy". Calgary Herald. Associated Press. June 26, 1973. p. 15.
- ^ "Denver and Seattle may buy teams". Gettysburg Times. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. January 22, 1975. p. 15.
- ^ Currier 2017, pp. 280–281
- ^ Steve Kroner (April 4, 2020). "April 4, 1976: California Golden Seals hockey team beats L.A. in final game". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Cameron, Steve (1994). Feeding Frenzy! The Wild New World of the San Jose Sharks. Taylor Publishing Co. pp. 29–38.
- ^ Custance, Craig. "California Golden Seals left a short-lived, but colorful legacy in the Bay Area, ESPN, February 1, 2017
- ^ "Check out Sharks' flashy new Reverse Retro jerseys". RSN. 20 October 2022.
- ^ "Player Season Finder". hockey-reference.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Currier 2017, pp. 394–395
- ^ Kantowski, Ron (January 5, 2017). "Tim Ryan hoping NHL's Golden Knights succeed where Golden Seals could not". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
- ^ "On Someone Else's Nickel: a Life in Television, Sports, and Travel – by Tim Ryan". Golden Seals Hockey. 23 February 2018.
- ^ Shapiro, Len (9 August 2014). "California Golden Seals Radio Network Coverage Map". Bay Area Radio Museum.
- ^ "Roy Storey". Bay Area Radio Museum. 10 August 2014.
- ^ Peng, Sheng (April 13, 2017). "50 Forgotten Stories: Bob Miller & Roy Storey". LAKings.com.
- ^ Zielinski, Missy (January 10, 2017). "A Tale of Two Teams: California Hockey, Then and Now". sjsharks.com.
- ^ Currier 2017, p. 367
- ^ Okanes, Jonathan (September 25, 2018). "He Gives You A Great Cal Broadcast". calbears.com.
- ISBN 9781418580155.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "Column: California Seals documentary is one you don't want to let slip away". Los Angeles Times. February 9, 2017.
- ^ Hartlaub, Peter (July 13, 2012). "Jon Miller's tough rookie year (with 1974 photo!)". SFGate.
- ^ "Seals on TV". Contra Costa Times. January 14, 1976. p. 27. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
Bibliography
- Currier, Steve (2017), The California Golden Seals: A Tale of White Skates, Red Ink, and One of the NHL's Most Outlandish Teams, Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 978-0-8032-8848-5
Further reading
- The NHL's Mistake by the Lake: A History of the Cleveland Barons by Gary Webster (2021), published by McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers (ISBN 9781476685847)
- Shorthanded: The Untold Story of the Seals: Hockey's Most Colorful Team by Brad Kurtzberg (February 2006), published by AuthorHouse (ISBN 9781425910280)