Hi everyone! This will be a short update this week since I’m writing this at work, and like the legendary John McLean in Die Hard, I gotta make this quick before I get caught. Except I don’t have guns pointed at me in every direction, so maybe I’m not at all like John McLean.
I won’t be able to put a real update on the site this week since our router at home seems to have died, which is weird since TekSavvy just sent us a supposedly “better and faster” router just a few weeks ago. Well, after not being able to print anything, and not being able to use our Internet-connected phone for several weeks, now the Internet ain’t working at all, so in other words, impossible to properly update the site this week aside from this short message. Hopefully, TekSavvy will have everything resolved this weekend and I’ll be able to make a better update next week.
Hi everyone! Well, here we are, officially in spring… and with a 10-15 centimetre snowstorm heading our way tonight and tomorrow morning! I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to get a little sick and tired of snow. At least there’s still the best part of the hockey season to come.
Back in January 1978, the Cleveland Barons were also looking forward to this part of the hockey season: the stretch drive and playoffs. General manager Harry Howell started stocking up on veterans and tried to help the Barons make one final push in what turned out to be their last NHL season. Ultimately, the Barons’ bid for a wild-card playoff spot failed, but for a little while at least, Cleveland had a legitimate reason to cheer on its team in the latter half of the 1977-78 season. You can check out a new article on the Barons’ new winning attitude right here.
In the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame we have a brand new card from the 1983-84 O-Pee-Chee set. It isn’t one of the weirdest-looking cards we’ve ever featured, but it is definitely one of the most baffling to explain. You can check it out here.
Before you leave the site today, if you haven’t already done so, please vote for who you believe should be elected to the 2019 Seals Hall of Fame. You can vote up to three times per device so you don’t have to wrack your brain trying to decide between two worthy candidates! The race is definitely a close one and it promises to go right down to the wire.
Hi everyone! This week, it’s story time! I’ve added an article about Seals Hall of Famer Reggie Leach, one of my favorites, to the articles section, and I have a bit of a back story to share before you go check it out.
I have a bit of a personal connection to Reggie. When I was writing the manuscript of my book (which you can purchase right here) sometime in 2013, my uncle Pete, who was down from B.C. for my Mom’s funeral that July, took a look at it, he told me he could get Reggie Leach to autograph it. He said he knew a guy who knew Reggie, and that it wouldn’t be a problem. So I handed my uncle one of the three or so copies I had, and sure enough, a few weeks later, I had my manuscript back, autographed by The Riverton Rifle himself. Reggie also included a great photo of himself wearing the infamous snow white skates from 1971-72, the photo in which it looks like Stan Gilbertson is hanging his head in shame in the background. The photo is currently on my desk at home and the manuscript is on the book shelf in my office close to my autographed copy of my book (signed by Reggie, Marv Edwards, Joey Johnston, and Wayne King).
I got to meet Reggie, Joey, Marv, and Wayne in October 2017 when I traveled to Toronto to participate in the Q&A for the Seals 50th Anniversary Night. It was very obvious that Reggie was quite at ease in front of a crowd, and he loved regaling everyone with stories of his hockey past. He’s a real pro at public speaking. After the Q&A, I had the opportunity to speak to Reggie for a few minutes. I mentioned to him how I could see, his huge, whomping Philadelphia Flyers Stanley Cup ring from the other end of the Q&A table we were both sitting at. He then mentioned that he also owned a California Seals ring as well, which I was quite familiar with. I showed him a picture of it in the book, and he immediately recognized it. I think he said he had once lost it, but one of his kids had found it and gave it back to him, but I’m a bit sketchy on the details. What I do remember is that I gave him a copy of my book as a thank you for coming to the event in the first place, but he then pulled out $80 and bought two more copies for his son and daughter. Reggie couldn’t have been a nicer gentleman, and I strongly urge you to go out and pick up a copy of his excellent autobiography, The Riverton Rifle, if you haven’t done so already.
Anyway, that’s about it for this week. Hope to see you all again real soon! Until next time, stay gold!
Former Seal Harry Howell passed away today, and I wish to extend my sympathies to his family and friends. He was one of the most respected players of his generation, whether that was as a member of the New York Rangers (with whom he won the 1967 Norris Trophy due in part to his career-high 12 goals and 40 points), the Oakland Seals, California Golden Seals, L.A. Kings, or the WHA’s New York Golden Blades/Jersey Knights, San Diego Mariners, or Calgary Cowboys. The Hockey Hall of Famer played a total of 1,581 regular-season games in the NHL and WHA, amassing 101 goals and 360 assists over an incredible 24 seasons. He also played in 45 career NHL/WHA playoff games, but unfortunately never captured the Stanley Cup.
When he was acquired by the Seals in 1969, many believed the Hamilton, Ontario native’s career was coming to an end; he played another seven years, including two with the Seals, scoring four goals and 25 assists in 83 games. He brought class and dignity to a franchise that was just starting out and looking for some credibility. Despite the Seals’ struggles during most of his two seasons in Oakland, Howell was known as a player who never quit, and who always gave it his all. After being traded to Los Angeles, he eventually made his way to the World Hockey Association. After his retirement, he returned to the NHL, this time as assistant general manager of the Seals’ descendants, the Cleveland Barons. When Bill McCreary was fired mid-way through the 1976-77 season, Howell became general manager, and he orchestrated many important deals, acquiring players like Gary Edwards, Walt McKechnie, J.P. Parise, and Chuck Arnason, all of whom played important roles in Cleveland’s ill-fated playoff push in 1977-78. When the Barons were merged with the Minnesota North Stars, Howell coached the team briefly before resigning from his post. He later served as a scout for the 1990 Edmonton Oilers, getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
His number 3 has been retired by the New York Rangers, and his 1,160 regular-season games played for the franchise is still the team’s all-time record. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979.
Hi everyone! Finally, after a month of sickness hell, everyone is feeling better at the Currier house. We’re all breathing clearly, noses stopped leaking, and coughing fits are now down to a minimum. To say the least, I have been more than happy to bid adios to February and greet March with a warm embrace. Now if only we can start the process of getting rid of all that cumbersome snow everywhere and everything will be alright.
This week, check out the brand new Hockey Newsarticles posted about the Seals’ contract negotiations (or should I say lack of negotiations) near the end of the 1972-73 season. It must have been tough playing for the Seals during the Charlie Finley era. The team was a shambles, no one knew where the owner was at, and when he showed up it was to either gripe about how bad the team was, or to show off in front of his friends. Surprisingly, Finley actually spent some money in the off-season to keep the Seals’ best players around, so there would be no mass defections like there had been the year before, but there had definitely been concerns that whatever talent the Seals had was not going to be sticking around for long.
There is also a brand new induction to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame. This week’s card features Teemu Selanne and… Roy Firestone? And some of the worst fonts you ever did see. Yup.
So that’s that for this week. Keep coming back for more stats updates, articles, and other historical tidbits from everyone’s favorite defunct hockey team. Until next time, stay gold!
Hi everyone! Welcome back! I’m happy to say I am feeling much better this week and have been looking forward to enjoying this weekend, the first in nearly a month where I don’t expect to be tearing through Kleenex boxes, coughing away, and downing Buckley’s cold and flu capsules. I’m looking forward to a normal weekend, and maybe a little hockey on the TV, but before I get to that, some business to take care of here.
This week, my beloved Habs turned in an impressive 8-1 win over Detroit, and this week, in the articles section, you can read about a rare 8-1 win by the California Golden Seals. This game, November 7, 1971, took place just as the off-the-scrap-heap Seals were just starting to warm up and make a charge at a West Division playoff spot. Poor Jacques Plante really took one on the chin on this night, but don’t feel too bad for the Hall-of-Famer; one year later he started a game for the Leafs in which they would beat the Seals 11-0, and Plante was so bored in doing so, according to Seals broadcaster Joe Starkey, that the goalie didn’t even finish the game to earn himself the shutout.
Also, there is a brand new Overexposed card, this time featuring former Minnesota North Star, and Norm Ferguson rookie-of-the-year rival Danny Grant. It is not just an expose on another weird card from the classic 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set, but a tribute to some long-lost hockey legends of an animated kind.
So that’s about it for this week. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite Seals eligible for the 2019 Seals Hall of Fame. You can make your picks on the right side of the page. Keep spreading the word about the site too. I keep seeing new people showing up and sending e-mails with Seals memories, and it’s been great reading them!
Hi everyone! Just a short update today, I’m afraid. As I expected, after our son Emmett became infected with Lord-knows-what-except-it-seemed-to-linger-forever-and-ever, my wife and I have both been experiencing flu symptoms for the better part of a week and have been alternating between feeling simply “snotty” to “achy and tired” to “feeling like we want to die”. Emmett found eating ice chips to be rather soothing, but then again, he eats ice chips for fun in the middle of December. It got me thinking of those old “McDonald’s Ice Chips” that were forever prominent in the San Mateo Times‘ sports section, and these were always fun to read because they cast a light on lesser-known events and quotes in Seals history. The “Ice Chip” I wanted to share with you is from 50 years ago yesterday: February 22, 1969. You can check it out over in the articles section.
Despite my health issues this past week, I did get my new car, which has been great although a bit of an adjustment; now I actually care if I hit something or get the paint scratched, so I’m being extra cautious everywhere I go and anytime I need to use the car as some sort of temporary shelf for a freshly-bought case of beer. I also got a cheque from the Public Lending Rights Program of Canada, meaning that enough people have borrowed the book from the library that I actually made a profit out of it! Crazy. All these years, I had no idea that taking a book out of the library gave the author a few bucks (or cents). So keep spreading the word about the book. If friends and colleagues don’t want to shell out too much money for the book, tell them to find it at their local library, and if it ain’t there, tell the library to get crackin’!
Don’t forget to vote for your picks for the Seals Hall of Fame for 2019. You can vote up to three times per device too. Until next time, stay gold!
Hi everyone! It has been one hell of a whirlwind week up here in the Nation’s Capital. My son has developed a hacking cough and fever, meaning he has had to skip daycare the last few days, and then my wife got sick, making for an extremely low-key Valentines’ Day, and we had 30 centimeters of snow in one 12-hour period, meaning just about everyone stayed home from work this past Wednesday. Looking at these photos, would you have gone to work?
My wife tells me there is a car (someone else’s) buried behind and under all that snow. See that dot in the middle of the picture? That’s the pompom on the tuque my wife and son used to build a snowman… or so they tell me. In four or five months, once the snow finally melts, I’ll find out if they’re telling me the truth.
I was more than happy to call in sick for the day.
I was also in negotiations with a Honda salesman over purchasing a 2016 Civic LX. Thankfully, my boy’s cold seems to be finally waning now that the weekend is upon us (but he still has a cough, and my wife and I are now sick), the snow has been plowed (for the most part), and I’ve closed the deal on my new car. No more squealing fan belts, bald winter tires, failed environmental tests, and 150-degree mid-July days driving around with no air conditioning. I’ll miss my rusty old 2004 silver Civic (yes, writing a book CAN indeed mean still driving something that looks like it was found in an abandoned warehouse in the worst part of town), but I’m thrilled to have a car with touchscreens, surround sound, and a complete lack of rust coming my way in a few days. And I’m looking forward to christening it with a cranked-up-to-11 listening session of AC/DC’s Back in Black, the only album that should be considered when breaking in a new car, by the way.
But now on to the reason you’re likely here. A few days back, some of you may have seen Jeff “the Dude” Bridges starring in a Super Bowl commercial as his legendary character from The Big Lebowski. OK, so maybe I’m being hopelessly optimistic that there is going to be a sequel to this 1990s classic film, but one has to have dreams, doesn’t he? This week, I’ve added an article about former Seals defenseman Ted “Dude” McAneeley. The article goes over his early days growing up in Cranbrook, B.C., the roles his father and twin brother played in his life, and his greatest NHL thrill up to that time. Enjoy this rare piece from the Hockey News in the articles section.
That’s about all for this week, I’m afraid. My cold is starting to take over, and there’s a good chance I’ll be sleeping on the floor in my son’s room tonight (again) because if I don’t he will likely be visiting my wife and I’s bedroom every time his hacking cough wakes him up. Might as well just take the floor and hope I sleep well enough to function tomorrow. Good times…
Hi everyone! I hope you all have been enjoying a great week. I personally cannot wait until tomorrow. I actually get to sleep in (until 6:15! Thanks Gro Clock). Seriously, that is now considered sleeping in; my son was waking up at 5:30 most mornings until we bought him a Gro Clock, which might be the greatest invention known to parents. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, and you have kids, I feel really bad for you for not having enjoyed the benefits of this wonderful device sent from the gods. Also, I’m shopping for a new (ok, used) car! Finally going to replace the squealing, broken-air conditioned, balding-tired ’04 Honda Civic.
This week, I’ve added a new article about one of the strangest games in Seals history. On February 11, 1962, while the San Francisco Seals were in the midst of their first WHL season, the club traveled to Spokane to take on the Comets. It was the eighth game of a nine-game road trip, and to that point, things hadn’t gone so well. The putrid road trip dropped the Seals from 17-27-1 to 18-33-1, and then there was this game in Spokane. Try to guess what the three unusual elements were in this one.
There is also a new entry in the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame. This week, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Richard Mulhern shows off his fluorescent pink Atlanta Flames logo. If that makes no sense to you, well… it probably shouldn’t, I admit, so go check out this week’s induction to find out how it all totally makes sense. That make sense?
Finally, don’t forget to vote for your favorite Seals personality to be added to the Seals Hall of Fame. You can vote up to three times per device, as you may or may not know. And spread the word to others who may not be aware of the site. Every little bit of support helps!
Hi everyone and Happy Super Bowl Weekend! After what felt like about two weeks, my Habs are back in action this weekend: two afternoon games in two days, which is pretty traditional considering a pretty good percentage of sports fans will be watching Tom Brady lose (hopefully).
This week, I’ve had the time to update the Seals/Barons all-time scoring and goaltending stats. Actually, it wasn’t that much work considering Hockey-reference.com has updated all of its stats after the NHL’s release of all its game summaries. I can only imagine the number of hours those folks who run the site had to put in to update the stats of every team for every season they competed in the NHL. I’ve only worked on stats involving the Seals and it felt like it took an eternity to put everything in order. So, thanks Hockey-reference.com for making all of us stats nerds happy and for making our lives just a little easier! You can find what can now be considered the official all-time scoring and goaltending stats for the Seals and Barons in the stats section.
I’ve also added a brand new induction to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame, a weird card featuring the New York Rangers and Chicago Black Hawks from the 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee set. It features long-time NHLer Lou Angotti doing his best impression of an African safari star!
Don’t forget to vote for who you feel belongs in the Seals Hall of Fame for 2019! You can find the list of nominees on the right-hand side of the screen, and you can vote up to three times per device. Until next time, enjoy the Super Bowl and stay gold!
