“Seals’ Outlook Glum” – Dec. 3, 1969 – download here

After finishing a shocking second in the NHL’s West Division, the Seals got off to a slow start in the early months of the 1969-70 season. While the team played well enough to stay at or above .500 for the first nine games of the season, a 2-13-3 tailspin threatened to knock the team out of the playoff race. By some miracle, the Seals recovered and finished fourth. One of the reasons for their turnaround was the play of defenseman Harry Howell, who made his Seals debut December 2 versus Los Angeles.

 

“Fun and Games, Inc.” (by Art Rosenbaum) – Sep. 7, 1969 – download here

There was not many articles written about the Seals between seasons, but here is one from the San Francisco Examiner in which the team’s (as always) convoluted ownership situation is laid bare for all to see. Between the 1968-69 and 1969-70 seasons, the (by-then annual) ownership carousel landed on Trans-National Communications, which promised big success on and off the ice, but failed to deliver. It wouldn’t be long before the Seals had themselves a brand new owner. The good news was that this owner would actually stick around for a few years. The bad news was that this owner was one Charles Oscar Finley.

“Hockey PR Like a Punch in the Head” (by George Ross) – Oct. 5, 1969 – download here

The Seals were feeling mighty confident going into the 1969-70 season, and with good reason. The team had finished a solid second the year before, there were tons of good young players at every position, and they had also acquired New York Rangers legend Harry Howell to bolster the blue line. The players did acknowledge that St. Louis was still the team to beat in the West, but they also felt that they had a serious chance at catching them in the standings. This article is a good summary of what was going on in the Seals camp in the days before the start of the regular season. Rookies Tony Featherstone, Ron Stackhouse, and Don O’Donoghue were all given opportunities to shine, but it was the relatively unknown Neil Nicholson who seemed to have made the greatest impact. Unfortunately for him, he would become the answer to a trivia question: Who is the only Seals player to appear in the playoffs but never in the regular season?

“Buffalo Fans Jump Seals Coach” – Oct. 6, 1969 – download here

As you may or may not know, Fred Glover was one tough customer in his minor-league days. He was also one of the absolute premier players in American Hockey League history. The city of Buffalo may have disagreed with those two opinions, however, since its fans really had a hate on for Glover. Even after he graduated to the NHL to become coach of the Oakland Seals, they didn’t forget him. On October 5, 1969, the Seals traveled to Buffalo to take on the AHL Bisons, and all Hell broke loose resulting in stitches to a hand, broken glasses (of the ocular variety, I might add), at least one broken jaw, and several hurt feelings. The Bisons were more than motivated on this night too, actually beating the NHL Seals handily, 5-1.

“Kurtenbach — winner by KO” – Oct. 24, 1969 – download here

Subscriber, and Bert Marshall fan, Warren Shapiro, asked for an article about the former Seals defenseman.  This may not technically be an article, but it’s still a short, funny story about Marshall’s attempt to subdue legendary bruiser, and former Seals great, Orland Kurtenbach.

“The Night the Oakland Seals Got Their Championship… sort of (by Jim Rodrigues) – download here

I wish I could remember where I found this great article, but I just don’t.  If anyone knows where it comes from, or when it was written, please let me know so I can add that info to the site.  This is a fun article describing the game of cat-and-mouse played by NHL tough guys Carol Vadnais and Keith Magnuson back when both were patrolling the blue line for their respective teams.  For once, the Seals came out on top over perennial powerhouse, the Chicago Black Hawks.

“Bruins Skin Seals” (by Spence Conley) – Nov. 11, 1969 – download here

November 10, 1969 was not exactly a magical night if you were a Seals fan or a member of the Oakland Seals. Not only did Gary Smith get tossed from the game for making contact with a referee, and not only did the Bruins score eight times on Smith and his replacement Charlie Hodge, the Bruins unloaded a whopping 63 shots at the Oakland net, an all-time Seals record that was equalled by those same Bruins the next season.

“NHL Absolves Oakland” – Nov. 27, 1969 – download here

It didn’t take long for the NHL to regret placing a franchise in Oakland, and for most of the Seals’ nine years in the best league in the world, that feeling of regret never went away. For a little while, however, there was a glimmer of hope that things would turn around and the turnstiles would start moving so fast fans could spin right through them like Marge Simpson ziplocking lunchbox sandwiches (Major props to anyone who got that reference!).

“Carol — Top Puncher” (by Ed Levitt) – Dec. 16, 1969 – download here

Everyone knows that Carol Vadnais was the biggest star the Seals had in their run as the “Oakland” Seals. He had swagger. He had offensive skills. And he could fight. He had a tremendous skill-set that few defensemen of his era possessed. Unfortunately, he was often overshadowed by Hall-of-Fame defenders like Orr, Park, and Lapointe, among others, but Vadnais strung together a wonderful 1,000-plus-game career that included multiple All-Star games, and a Stanley Cup in 1972. This piece from the Oakland Tribune’s Ed Levitt is all about Carol and what he brought to the Seals during a season when the whole team seemed kind of mixed up and was misfiring on all cylinders.

“Seals’ Goal, Glover Door Both Open” – Jan. 14, 1970 – download here

As the calender flipped from December 1969 to January 1970, the Seals were not exactly setting the world on fire. The team that had surprised the West Division with an exciting brand of hockey was no more. Sure, the same players were there, but goals were down, wins were few and far between, and the team looked absolutely lost. This January 14, 1970 article by Walt Daley of the San Francisco Examiner explores the turmoil the Seals were experiencing at the time, including the threat of sending several members of the old 1968-69 team to the minors to find their game.

“Seals Shock Toronto, 6-3” (by Spence Conley) – Jan. 24, 1970 – download here

The first 40 games of the 1969-70 season were not exactly a rousing success for the Oakland Seals. A 9-25-6 record put them on pace to miss the playoffs for the second time in three years. Luckily for the Seals, they picked up their game at just the right time, and finished the season on a 13-15-8 run to squeak into fourth place and earn the final playoff spot in the West. One of the wins that helped put the Seals back on the right track was a 6-3 thrashing of the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 23. Earl Ingarfield had one of his greatest nights as a professional scoring his second hat trick of the year, and Gary Smith stopped 27 shots for the win.

“A Cool Romance” (by Ed Levitt) – Feb. 26, 1970 – download here

Everyone loves a wedding, right? Surely, the Seals’ Bill Creasy would be among those who do, you’re probably saying. Well, yes, but just not enough to hold it smack dab in the middle of a hockey game. A young Bay Area couple hoped they could convince the Seals to let them say their “I dos” at centre ice during the intermission of a game late in the 1969-70 season, but after some careful consideration, the couple was politely turned down, and given a couple of free tickets as an early wedding present. In this article, you can clearly see the enthusiasm that was starting to build near the end of the Seals’ third season, so it is unfortunate that the club was not able to take advantage of this good fortune and build a sustainable fan base.

“Hockey Power – Key to Victory” (by Jim Bainbridge) – Mar. 16, 1970 – download here

As the 1969-70 season wound down, the Seals finally found their groove. Going into the game the Seals were 17-37-11, but starting with their March 15 victory over Philadelphia, the Seals finished the year 5-3-3 to squeak into the playoffs… just ahead of those same Philadelphia Flyers.

“Seals Regain 4th Place” (by Spence Conley) – Mar. 26, 1970 – download here

In the final head-to-head meeting of the season between Oakland and Philadelphia, the stakes were incredibly high. The Seals and Flyers would jockey for position right up to the last night of the regular season. Both teams ended up with 58 points, and tied for fourth place, but the Seals’ 22 victories were five more than the Flyers’ total, but had the Flyers managed to hold on for just 12 more seconds, they would have been the ones to take on Pittsburgh in the first round.

“Freak Goal Beats Seals” (by Spence Conley) – Apr. 9, 1970 – download here

April 8, 1970. For most of you that date means absolutely nothing. For most Seals fans, this date means absolutely nothing. But there is likely a very, very small minority of Seals fans who can tell you exactly why this date is significant. While no one can prove this with absolute certainty, this is arguably the date when the Seals (figuratively) died. In game one of the West Division semi-finals against Pittsburgh, the two teams were tied 1-1 in the third period when a controversial goal by Nick Harbaruk sent the Seals down to defeat. It stands as the most controversial goal in team history, and it could be argued (probably unsuccessfully, but just bare with me here) that the Seals never truly recovered. They went on to lose games 2, 3 and 4, and they never played another playoff game afterward. Were the Seals so demoralized by the fact that Glen Sather got in goalie Gary Smith’s way, and prevented him from stopping Harbaruk that they just lost the will to win? Who knows….?

“New Tune For Old Seals” (by Spence Conley) – April 16, 1970 – download here

The 1969-70 season came to a screeching halt for our heroes from Oakland. The Pittsburgh Penguins handled the Seals easily in a four-game sweep, and it was obvious that for the Seals to take the next step, they would have to take a step back and let go of their past. They didn’t, instead hanging on to a few too many fading veterans.