Hi Seals fans! This week, Golden Seals Hockey takes a look at the formative days of the California Golden Seals and the Charlie Finley era with a couple of new articles from October, 1970.  The first article is all about the first less-than-legendary Finley promotion: Barber Night! What was Barber Night, you ask?  Well, greenhorn, when Charlie Finley bought the Seals in the summer of 1970, he believed the team needed to make their presence felt in the community.  And who better than barbers to spread the word?  The answer?  No one… at least, according to Finley, who was forever out-of-touch with the local sports fan.  Anyway, Finley believed that since barbers are always chatting it up with their clients, they could be persuaded to talk about what a great time fans had watching the Seals at the Coliseum.  Finley invited a bunch of local barbers to opening night, and he wined and dined them too.  The barbers had a great evening, and players were there to talk to their potential new fans, and for one night at least, Barber Night was a success.  In fact, the Coliseum was sold out for the 1970-71 home opener, but that was about as good as it got for Finley’s newest plaything.  Attendance bottomed out at about 5,300 per game by the end of the season, almost 1,000 fans per game less than what the Seals had drawn the year before.

But Barber Night was not Finley’s last move to improve the Seals, oh no!  If you’re a regular visitor to this site, you probably already know that he also changed the team’s name from Oakland Seals to California Golden Seals two games into the season.  He also gave the Seals new California gold and Kelly green uniforms, the same uniforms the team is now most associated with, which would probably please old Charlie immensely. Oh, and he also gave the Seals green-and-gold skates, which went over about as well as a dude breaking wind in a crowded elevator.  Well, October 16, 1970 is when that little bit of insanity began, and you can read all about it, as well as Barber Night right here.

There’s also a brand new induction to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame.  For the first time ever, we dive deep into the history of American Hockey League cards for a piece of cardboard the likes of which I had never seen until this popped up on my screen.

If you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to vote for the player you believe should be inducted into the Seals Hall of Fame.  You will find the survey on the right-hand side of your screen.  Just above that you’ll also find an option to sign up for regular updates to this site.  An update in this site’s case is about one e-mail a week letting you know which new Seals articles and goofy cards I’ve added to this site.  And check out the details I’ve posted about my new book too.  I’m really proud of this thing, and I can’t wait for it to see the light of day.  If you’re a Seals fan, I guarantee you this will be right up your alley!

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone!  Well, Trade Deadline Day has officially come and gone, and as usual it was pretty boring, not that that stopped me from refreshing my laptop browser every 38 seconds to see what gem of a trade my beloved Canadiens would pull off.  Unfortunately, no real gems today, but I feel not much damage was done either, i.e., no first-round picks for washed up 36-year-old veterans on the last year of their contract, so yay Habs!

Not a huge update this week, but a few interesting additions for all you regulars to the site.  In the articles section, I’ve added a new piece that will be of interest to all WHL Seals fans, a write-up of woeful goaltender Tommy Green’s one career game as a Seal.  The poor guy was a parimutuel clerk who stepped in for Jack McCartan, who was being rested up for the playoffs.  The lowly San Diego Gulls took no pity on the 30-year-old rookie, and you can read all about the game here.  There is also a brand new induction to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame, and this one involves a legendary California-based goaltender, the L.A. Kings’ and San Jose Sharks’ Kelly Hrudey, being photographed in a not-so-legendary position.  You might even say this position stinks.  Head on over to the Overexposed wing to see what I mean.

As usual, I would like to remind everyone to head over to the right-hand side of the page and vote for the player they feel is most deserving of entry into the Seals Hall of Fame.  Vote as many times as you like, but only once per device.  Why only once per device?  I honestly have no idea.  I still haven’t figured out how to set the parameters differently in the survey section, so them’s the rules for the time being.  If you’d like to get regular updates concerning the latest comings and goings at Golden Seals Hockey, don’t be shy, and sign up for my weekly e-mail.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! I promised everyone 2017 was going to be a big year at Golden Seals Hockey, and I always keep my promises.  First, we had the release of Mark Greczmiel’s excellent documentary, The California Golden Seals Story, which can be purchased from iTunes. Now, the Seals are returning in paper form.  I’m very excited to announce the publication of my first book: The California Golden Seals: a Tale of White Skates and Red Ink, and One of the NHL’s Most Outlandish Teams.  The book, which will cover the franchise’s entire history, from its championship years in San Francisco, to its relocation across the Bay to Oakland, to its death in Cleveland, will be released this year by the University of Nebraska Press.  Be sure to check out the Steve’s New Seals Book! section of the site for more information about the book, as well as a chapter-by-chapter synopsis.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but if you are a Seals fan, you will love this book more than (to paraphrase 50 Cent) a fat kid loves cake.  To say this book took a long time to see the light of day is an understatement equivalent to saying “Donald Trump sometimes takes criticism to heart.”  I’ve been working on this tome for literally twenty-five years, and most of the people I interviewed for it were probably wondering what the hell I’ve been doing in the meantime.  I started so long ago, Kim Kardashian was simply known as the spoiled offspring of the dude who once defended O.J. Simpson, and North West was better known as a wind direction.  So long ago, the Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques were still around, the Atlanta Thrashers were not even a glint in Gary Bettman’s eye, and the Montreal Canadiens had just won Canada’s last Stanley Cup.  Yes, it took a long time, but what can you expect when you start doing research at twelve years old, and there was no such thing as the Internet, let alone Newspapers.com, but it was worth the wait, because the book is exactly the way I’ve always wanted it to be.

Several people associated with the Seals, including Lyle Carter, Ted Hampson, Joey Johnston, Marshall Johnston, Wayne King, Larry Lund, Dennis Maruk, Howie Menard, Morris Mott, Larry Patey, Tim Ryan, the late Frank Selke Jr., Len Shapiro, Gary Simmons, Joe Starkey, and Tom Thurlby, took the time out of their day to speak to me about their experiences.  Other NHL players of the era, notably Bryan Campbell, Ron Lalonde, and Jack Lynch also provided me with some great quotes, and several members of the Seals Booster Club, including John Bonasera, Greg Lamont, Larry Leal, Sandi and Dick Pantages, Scott Ruffell, Larry Schmidt, and Cathy White shared some great memories from a fan’s point of view.  With the help of hundreds of newspaper articles from the era, I was able to unearth some fantastic long-forgotten stories and quotes, and I was able to shed some light on several Seals tales that have been skewed over the years, including the identity of the famous 1974 streaker, and the person responsible for trading away the draft pick that would have brought Guy Lafleur to Oakland.

So that’s the big news this week.  I’ve also added an awesomely awful new card, featuring the surliest-looking hockey player since Tom Barrasso, to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame.  Also, in (dis)honour of the 45th anniversary of the Seals’ infamous 1972 debacle against Boston, where the Bruins overcame a 6-1 deficit to win 8-6, I have added an article detailing every horrific moment of that evening to the Articles section of the site.

If you like what you see on the site, don’t forget to sign up for regular updates.  I swear I won’t inundate your inbox with photos of me enjoying baloney sandwiches and hot fudge sundaes, and there won’t be any annoying pics of my little boy playing in the snow, playing with Tupperware and chasing our cats around the house (although he really is just the most adorable and photogenic kid!).  And if you have any sort of passion for the Seals (which I believe you must if you’re reading this right now), you can cast your vote for the player you believe most deserves to be inducted in the Seals Hall of Fame.

If you haven’t fallen asleep from this very, very long entry, I wish you all a great weekend!  Stay gold!

Hi everyone!

Have we got some treats for you today! The theme today is the three P’s of hockey: pucks, pants, and… uh… how about painted skates for the hat-trick. It’s been a long time, but we have inducted a brand new hockey catastrophe into the Hockey Hall of Shame, a fashion design so ill-conceived it makes me wonder how it took me so long to write something about it. I’m talking about the not-so-legendary Cooperall pants.  In the Overexposed wing of the HHOS, we have one of the strangest excuses for a card, Pro-Set’s puck from their inaugural 1990-91 set.

For you Seals fans, we have a brand new article that was featured in the January 14, 1972 Oakland Tribune.  The Seals were gearing up to face the Vancouver Canucks at the Coliseum that very night, but lo and behold this game meant a little more than keeping the Seals’ playoff hopes alive.  Oh, this was the night, Charlie Finley’s hockey dreams came true and got to see his NHL team wear the beautiful white skates he had envisioned ever since he joined the league.  Had the Seals lost the game, maybe Finley would have soured on the fancy footwear, but perhaps because the Seals looked so good in their 5-3 win, he decided to keep them around a little longer.  It’s no probably no coincidence that the team began to slide in the standings within about a month, probably because the skates were getting heavier and heavier from constant paint jobs to cover scuff marks.  It has to make you wonder that if Finley had not forced his players to wear the white skates, could the Seals have made the playoffs that year.  Would lighter footwear have made the difference?  Who knows.

Don’t forget about our Seals Hall of Fame vote, which can be found on the right-hand side of the screen.  The new inductees will be announced in July, to coincide with the date the Seals packed their bags for Cleveland.  If you’d like to subscribe to this page and receive e-mail updates from the site, you can sign up by typing in your e-mail address, also on the right-hand side of the screen, near the top.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone!  This is going to be a small update this week, unfortunately, as my baby boy and I are both feeling under the weather these days.  I had to post some interesting information about the mysterious ceramic seal photo I posted on the site last week.  I contacted the Seals Booster Club, and a few people sent me e-mails that have helped clarify the identify of “Laura”, the lady who painted the statuette.

Booster Bob Cuillerier wrote: “Laura was a great artist from San Francisco… I am a proud owner of several her work, around the house, and some of the Seal ceramic in storage.”  Unfortunately, he does not remember her last name, and she never included her last name in her works.  She was friends with many members of the Booster Club, and her son, who became a firefighter in San Francisco, bought the house of Booster Katharine Gauthier, who has since passed away.  If I find out any more information about the ceramic Seal, I’ll be sure to post it.

Today in the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame we have a special induction, the 1976-77 O-Pee-Chee Cleveland Barons team set.  This set has some truly bizarre cards, and might be the only team set in history that features five different uniform schemes, only one of which is right.  This set is not the right way to commemorate the final edition of the California Golden Seals, so I’m adding it to the Hockey Hall of Shame.

Until next time, stay gold!

 

Hi everyone! If you are a regular visitor to this site, you can probably deduce by the title of today’s post that Mark Greczmiel’s documentary, The California Golden Seals Story, has been completed, and as a contributor to the project (You can even see my name in the credits!), I was able to view the film early.  It’s a wonderful and accurate jaunt into the history of the franchise.  There are so many rare clips and photos that no one will be able to say, “Oh, yeah, I’ve seen this a hundred times on YouTube already.”  I was actually quite surprised that almost nothing from YouTube appears in the film, so Mark did a great job unearthing some never-before-seen game footage and photos. The documentary features interview clips with Seals stars such as Gilles Meloche, Gary Simmons, Stan Gilbertson, Reggie Leach, Rick Hampton, Walt McKechnie, Joey Johnston, as well as other members of the Seals’ entourage such as Oakland Tribune sports reporter John Porter, broadcasters Tim Ryan, Joe Miller, and Joe Starkey, former P.R. Director Len Shapiro, and Booster Club members Dick and Sandi Pantages.

The film itself is not available for purchase until February 6, but when the time comes, you can download it from iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/california-golden-seals-story/id1189538880?ls=1.  Please don’t be a dork and start distributing it to your friends, neighbours, great aunt Edith, and cousin Billy Bob.  If they want to watch it, let them download their own copy off iTunes.  This isn’t some big Hollywood blockbuster; it’s a passion project, so treat Mark and his work with some respect.

On the site this week, there is a brand new addition to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame, the classic 1968-69 Frank Mahovlich card.  I have to say, this is quickly becoming one of my favourite sets to mock as it contains so many goofy-looking cardboard disasters I can barely contain myself when I come across a new one.

As always, don’t forget to vote for the player you feel should be inducted into the Seals Hall of Fame in 2017.  The survey can be found on the right-hand side of the screen. You can also sign up to receive a weekly e-mail from the site, letting you know what new content has been added.

Thanks for your continued support!  Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone!  Just a small update today, unfortunately, due to an increase of work at the office and at the homestead.  First we have three interesting photos generously donated to the site by Mike Phelan.  Mike’s father Dick was a member of the Seals Booster Club way back in the 1970s, and he has some awesome never-before-seen (at least by us on the Internet) shots from his time hanging out with the team.  The first photo is from an award ceremony near the end of the 1973-74 season.  Here, Gilles Meloche is being presented the Most Popular Player Award (based on the fact that is the award he won that night, according to the same newspaper article, I assume that’s what the trophy was for).  Seals Booster Club president Ty Toki is the one handing him the award.  Mike’s Dad is the tall man looking on.  If you look really closely, you will see Garry Young standing to the left of Meloche.  Young had just been named the Seals’ new Director of Hockey Operations (basically a general manager who needs to ask the league permission to do almost anything) after the NHL bought the franchise from Charlie Finley.  He wouldn’t remain there long, however, as he resigned during the summer of ’74.

The other cool pictures are of this bizarre yellow ceramic seal.  Mike had no idea where it came from, so I’ve asked the Booster Club to shed some light on it for me, but so far the statue remains a mystery.  It has all of the players’ names on it, and underneath, it is signed “Laura”.  From the names on the statuette, it comes from the 1974-75 season, but that’s all I can tell you about it.  If anyone has any idea what this item is, please let me know, and if anyone has any personal photos relating to the Seals or Barons, please send them and I’ll post them in the photo section.

Also new this week, a brand new Overexposed featuring former Seals start Bobby Sheehan looking like he’s had too much sun.  Head on over to the Hockey Hall of Shame to check out his first and only card in a Seals uniform.

Don’t forget to sign up for regular e-mail updates, if you haven’t done so already.  Just type in your e-mail address on the right, and you’re good to go.  Also, voting is still open for you to choose the players you feel deserve to enshrined in the Seals Hall of Fame for 2017.  You can find the survey just over to the right.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone!  It’s Inauguration Day in the U.S. of A. and that means it is, of course, the day that will be forever etched in our children’s and grandchildren’s memory banks as the moment the only man more obsessed with “gold” than Charlie Finley took the oath of the highest office in the country.  As you know, old Charlie loved the colour gold so much he dressed all of his sports teams in it.  At one time, the Seals, Oakland A’s and ABA basketball footnotes, the Memphis Tams, all wore more gold than in the 45th President’s wildest dreams.  Yes, to celebrate the Donald’s love of all things “gold”, we have a couple new things to share that have a Trumpish theme. For those of you who consider the Prez “krazy” we got for you an awesome article about legendary Seals cheerleader Krazy George Henderson, which was published in Goal magazine back in October 1974.

Also, to commemorate the soon-to-be-45-year-old Jaromir Jagr moving into second place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list, we present you with a whole whack of Jagr cards from throughout his career.  Having played in the league for the better part of three decades, the poor guy has seen trends come and go, and he has been the victim of several card companies’ misguided attempts at producing cool-looking hockey cards, and now for your viewing pleasure, we present you “Jaromir Jagr: a life in cardboard,” and this expo can be found in the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame.

In case you haven’t got around to it, don’t forget to vote for the player you feel should be inducted into the Seals Hall of Fame in 2017.  Profiles of all ten candidates have been added to the 2017 Hall of Fame Nominees page to help you make your decision.  You can vote as many times as you want, but only once per device, and you can write in your own choice, if you like.  And if you enjoy reading the regular updates to this site, Hall of Shame entries, articles, etc., you can also subscribe to this website by writing down your e-mail address on the right side of this page.  I promise you won’t get bombarded with annoying e-mails fourteen times a day, but just one annoying e-mail a week letting you know what’s shaking on the site.

Until next time, stay gold!

Wow, what an incredible week at Golden Seals Hockey!  There was a major spike in traffic, and I was beginning to wonder if a few people’s New Year’s drinks had been spiked or something, but in fact the Bay Area’s Mercury News included a short shout-out to the site in its great article about Seals  Thank you very much Mark Purdy!  Fantastic article!  You can read it here: http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/04/purdy-sharks-to-honor-the-california-golden-seals-the-nhl-expansion-team-that-wore-white-skates-entranced-tom-hanks-and-employed-a-cobra/.  Thanks to everyone for their support.  Your loyalty will be rewarded, I can assure you.  Keep reading…

Seals Throwback night came and went January 7, and unfortunately, I was not able to witness it since the game was only televised on NHL Centre Ice.  From the 14 seconds of highlights of the opening ceremony I was able to catch the next morning on Sportscentre, it seems like everyone had a good time.  On a happier note, I received my game program perk from Mark Greczmiel a few days ago, and I thought I’d post a few of the articles found inside, many of which are about the Seals.  The first one is entitled “Gilbertson… California’s Favorite,” and the second is a profile of Craig Patrick, “Patrick Makes His Point.”  Interestingly enough, by Christmas neither Gilbertson nor Patrick would remain with the Seals having been shipped off to St. Louis for Dave Gardner and Butch Williams.  The third article was written by a woman named Regina Skinner, who had just become a Seals fan at the end of the 1973-74.  From what I’m able to gather from the address at the bottom of the page, she had a regular column that appeared in the Seals’ game programs starting in October 1974.  This interesting article is about the changes the Seals underwent before the 1974-75 season.

I’ve also added the pre-game notes for the infamous October 25 game in which the Philadelphia Flyers’ goon squad attacked the Seals Mike Christie in the penalty box.  I’ve also added the Seals and Flyers scoring and goaltending stats recorded up to that very day.  I debated whether or not these files should be placed in the photo section or the article section, but then I figured they fit best in the stats section, so that’s where you’ll find them.

Finally, there is as always a new induction into the Hockey Hall of Shame’s Overexposed wing, this time, a classic card featuring a perhaps tipsy, perhaps sleep-deprived Phil Watson, or maybe it’s Fred McMurray, I’m not quite sure.  You’ll have to see it to believe it.  Just go check it out, but before you do, don’t forget to vote for the player you believe deserves to be inducted into the Seals Hall of Fame.  It’s not a real Hall or anything, just a fun little thing to add to the site.  Oh, for chrissakes, just humor me and vote…

Anyway, stay gold everyone, and thanks again for supporting and subscribing to the site!

 

Hi everyone!  Yes, it looks as though 2017 is shaping up to be the year of the Seal, and to start things off, January is starting off with a huge bang!  Mark Greczmiel fell just $73 shy of his $11,000 Indiegogo fundraiser goal, so his documentary is going ahead as scheduled.  It is due to be released sometime this month, so stay tuned for that.

Also, for anyone living in and around the Bay Area, don’t forget Seals Throwback T-Shirt Night this Saturday, January 7th as the San Jose Sharks play host to the Detroit Red Wings.  Six former Seals greats, Bert Marshall, Gilles Meloche, Gary Simmons, Ernie Hicke, Norm Ferguson, and Dennis Maruk, will be in attendance. Mark Greczmiel will also be there to answer questions about his forthcoming film, so it will be a great night for all Seals fans, and for fans of 1970s hockey as well.

New on the site this week, we have a brand new Overexposed induction featuring former Phoenix Coyote Brad Isbister on a card that gives Mike Grier’s “pizza couch” a run for its money as weirdest piece of cardboard ever made.  I’ve also added two new articles that have almost nothing to do with the Seals or Barons but that some of you may find interesting.  The first article is one of my personal favourites, a piece I wrote on the four-game tournament the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts participated in for something called the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup.  This is without a doubt the strangest hockey competition that has ever taken place.  The other article is one I wrote about the old Ottawa Civics of the World Hockey Association, a team that lasted all of two weeks in Canada’s capital.  As you can see, I have kind of a thing for obscure hockey topics that no one remembers in the least.  Finally, in keeping with last week’s theme of Charlie Finley putting his finger prints all over the Seals, I’ve also posted an article from October 1970 when the Seals’ now-famous Kelly green and gold uniforms were unveiled to the public for the first time.  As you’ll read, that night didn’t go so well for our heroes.

Don’t forget to cast your vote for the person you believe should be inducted into the Seals Hall of Fame in 2017.  The ballot is on the right-hand side of the page, just under the subscription widget, which reminds me that if you would like site updates delivered right to your inbox (How sweet is that!  You don’t have to do nothin’ and news just appears on your screen!), type in your e-mail address and you’ll be the first to find out what’s shaking here at Golden Seals Hockey.  Like I said earlier, this is going to be a big year, and I promise there are going to be lots of cool surprises on the site in 2017!

Until next time, stay gold!