My name is Steve Currier, and I’m the creator and moderator of Golden Seals Hockey.  The California Golden Seals were one of the more curious chapters in NHL history. Back in the pre-Internet 1980s and 1990s, there was almost no trace of the team anywhere, and you really had to dig deep to find any kind of proof that this team wearing white skates, and later, Pacific Blue pyjama-like uniforms, actually existed.  For someone born in 1979, like me, the Seals were a long-lost piece of hockey history, but I wouldn’t and couldn’t just leave it at that.  I read everything I could find about the team, bought old hockey cards at the Cornwall Civic Complex just so I could learn more about what made the Seals so… well, I honestly can’t say “great”, but they were different… very different indeed, but fascinating too.  I finally connected with members of the Seals Booster Club and joined up in 2012, and it’s been a great way to get to know the people who were actually there when the Seals skated at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum. Through this site, I’ve also been able to connect with people who had forgotten about the Seals but who have had their love rekindled.

My first encounter with the Seals happened as I was leafing through an issue of Hockey Illustrated from May 1988. I must have asked my Dad to buy it from me at the local Pop Shoppe, but I honestly don’t remember; I was only nine at the time. There was an article on the twentieth anniversary of NHL expansion, and it featured photos of each of the “Next Six” teams. The Seals’ black-and-white photo featured George Swarbrick wearing the classic road uniforms from 1967-68. I was immediately drawn to the logo, which featured a seal with a hockey stick leaping out of a giant “C”. I found other photos of Seals players over the years as I collected more and more hockey cards, and I also read a mention of the Seals in an old Esso sticker album. There was a short text about expansion, and it featured a line like “the old Seals just disappeared entirely”. I had to find out what happened to the Seals, so I began searching. I wrote to the NHL head office and asked them to send me information on not only the Seals, but every other defunct franchise of the expansion era. Someone at the league office photocopied the entire Seals 1975-76 media guide, and sent me that, possibly to satisfy me, possibly to keep me from pestering them with more letters. Either way, I was thrilled to have the Seals’ entire history in my hands, and I read that guide from cover to cover at home and at school when I finished my work. I started piecing together the Seals’ history and started writing very preliminary drafts of what became The California Golden Seals: a Tale of White Skates, Red Ink, and One of the NHL’s Most Outlandish Teams. You can get a sneak peak at what’s inside right here.

I intend to update this site fairly regularly with news, articles, surveys, fun facts, and other goodies, so keep coming back to see what’s new.  Here are just a few of the pages you can visit on this site:

The Seals Hall of Fame: Members of the California Golden Seals never won a lot of awards during their time in Oakland, but here, the team’s very best players and builders will forever have a home.  Be sure to stop by and pay homage to those who once did the Seals proud.

For the biggest hockey nerds (like me) out there, check out the Stats section, where you will find information on every Seals and Barons game ever played, all-time player registers, and comprehensive record books for both the WHL and NHL Seals.  I can assure you, you have never seen a stats package quite like this!

Fun facts:  You will find here some of the most obscure facts about the Seals (and their descendants, the Cleveland Barons).

Photos: Seals and Barons fans have been kind enough to pass many great photos along to me so I may present them to you on this website.  There is some great stuff here that you have never seen before.

Articles: Over the years, I’ve written a few articles for the Society for International Hockey Research, and I’ve included them here so you may take a look at them.  There are also many newspaper clippings of key moments in Seals history that will stir up all kinds of memories.

Video and Audio clips: There isn’t a lot of game footage of the Seals that still exists, but luckily for us, some people preserved a few clips here and there, and most of them can be found on YouTube for your convenience. I’ve also added lots of links and mp3 files of various radio shows and podcasts featuring conversations about the history of the Seals. You can also hear me talk about my book on the Seals as I did a few radio and podcast interviews in 2017 and 2018.

Surveys: From time to time, I will be calling on fans to give their opinion on Seals-related matters.  The surveys are on the right-hand side of the page.

In Memoriam: Many members of the Seals family have passed away over the years, so please take the time to remember them and their legacy. If I’ve forgotten anyone, please let me know so I can add them to the list.

While you’re here soaking in some Seals history, here are a few other places that only sometimes have something to do with the Seals:

The Hockey Hall of Shame:  Here you will find inductions on some of the worst marketing strategies, mind-numbing decisions, and bone-headed blunders in the history of professional hockey.  Created in honour of Seals owner Charles O. Finley, the HHOS’s first induction was the infamous white skates he forced upon his poor hockey team.  There will be new inductions to the HHOS every so often, so keep coming back to see if the bane of your hockey existence makes the cut.  I’m open to suggestions if you think something truly awful deserves to be enshrined in the temple of terrible.

Don’t forget to check out the Overexposed wing of the HHOS.  Go back to the days of sticking cards in the spokes of your bike by taking an in-depth look (actually, it’s mostly me mocking goofy looking photos) at some of the worst hockey abortions ever printed onto cardboard.

In the Hockeywood Disasterpieces wing, we present to you some of the worst hockey-themed movies ever made.  If you actually have the guts to sit through any of the movies discussed here, I first recommend chugging a bottle of the hardest liquor you can find and then driving your head through your television screen.  You’ve been warned!

That’s about it… Kick up your skates, sit back, and dive into the California Golden Seals’ history.  Send in your comments and suggestions too.  If you notice any mistakes, if you think of something you’d like to see on the website, or if you have any photos or stories you’d like to share, don’t by shy, and send them my way.

Steve