“Even Refs Bug the Seals” – Feb. 12, 1973 – download here
When things are going bad, it is human nature to blame it on something or someone else. To quote the legendary Curly Howard, “I’m a victim of soycumstance.” We’re the Seals’ victims of “soycumstance” once in a while? No doubt. Of course, every team can claim the same thing. Opponents are always getting away with murder, referees are blind as bats, and cameras are always failing to capture that one key angle that proves “that goal” went in. This Oakland Tribune article is about the Seals’ 3-1 loss to Atlanta, and Fred Glover was none too happy about the job done by referee (and supposed Seals tormentor) Ron Wicks.
“Meloche…. Mott…. MMmmm….” – 1972-73 – download here
Thanks to Jim Shattock for sending this awesome article from an old Seals game program. It is a great feature on Gilles Meloche, who had just opened up a new burger restaurant in Montreal, but it is also about the legendary Morris Mott fan club, and how it got started.
“Lots of Shots, But Seals Lose Opener” – Sep. 20, 1972 – download here
The Seals opened the 1972-73 pre-season in Kingston, Ontario, but came out on the losing end. You can check out a great shot from the game, courtesy of the Original Hockey Hall of Fame’s Larry Paquette, in the photos section.
“Hawks Nip Seals, 4-2” – Oct. 23, 1972 – download here
Only once in the history of the California Golden Seals was a game postponed, and it was because the Oakland A’s happened to be in the World Series at the time. There was one other postponed game a few years later, but that was while the team was still in Cleveland, and it was to accommodate a touring Czechoslovakian team from Kladno. In the former contest, the one featured in this 1972 San Francisco Examiner article, the Seals fell 4-2 to the powerful Chicago Black Hawks, dropping their overall record to 1-4-1.
“Seals’ Blanda Gets a Tie” – Nov. 10, 1972 – download here
In honour of Marv Edwards, who passed away May 20, 2023, here is an article about his one and only shutout as a member of the Golden Seals. Unfortunately, his teammates’ offensive skills were not on full display, and the game ended in a rare 0-0 tie. Edwards was sensational, however, not only in this game versus the Buffalo Sabres, but in his previous games that season as well.
“Westfall’s Goal Seals Islanders’ 3d Win, 4-2” (by Wes Gaffer) – Nov. 22, 1972 – download here
The New York Islanders became a great dynasty in the early 1980s, but the franchise’s beginnings were rather humble. That first year, the Isles won just 12 games. Somehow, they beat the Seals four times. This article is all about that second win, a 4-2 victory on Long Island, filled with grumpy coaches, slashes from goaltenders, and some lady named Basement Bertha longing for love. That late November contest had it all.
“Toronto Blitzes Seals, 11-0 – Nov. 26, 1972 – download here
Legend has it the great Jacques Plante was so bored during this game that left the ice and gave up the shutout with about 16 minutes to go in the third period. The official story is that he pulled himself from the game because of a bruised left hip, and since Plante passed away in 1986, we’ll probably never know for sure.
“Redmond Had Contract, Finley Wouldn’t Pay” (by Red Fisher) – Dec. 9, 1972 – download here
I wasn’t planning on posting a new article on the Dick Redmond contract fiasco of 1972, but once I read the legendary Montreal Star sportswriter Red Fisher’s piece on this bizarre moment in Seals history, I had to post it to the site.
“Hodge Sets Fast Pace” (by Frank Barrett Jr.) – Dec. 11, 1972 – download here
While Ken Hodge had himself a big night in Beantown, scoring three goals, the Seals’ Marsh Johnston also scored a hat-trick, the only one of his career, in California’s 8-4 loss. This article was published in the Lowell Sun (Massachusetts).
“Seals Win Fight But Lose Game” (by Nelson Cullenward) – Dec. 25, 1972 – download here
The game, a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles, did not seem terribly important or newsworthy at the time, but the Seals’ fans (or should I say lack of fans) may have played a part in convincing the NHL that scheduling games on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was, dare I say, stupid. Sure enough, only 1,796 fans bothered to show up to the Coliseum, the smallest crowd in Seals history until the Cleveland Barons’ last NHL season when a snow storm limited the crowd to just 972. The NHL realized the folly of its long-standing tradition of holding games on the biggest holiday of the year and abolished all games on December 24th and 25th from that point forward. Players everywhere could not have been happier.
“Bouchard Uses Head to Take Fight, Canadiens Win, Ivan Feels Terrible” (by Tim Burke) – Jan. 8, 1973 – download here
Two days earlier, the Seals travelled North to visit the Habs, and as expected, the East Division’s best team demolished the flu-ridden Seals 5-0, but the game was not without its controversy. Ivan Boldirev fought Canadiens’ behemoth Pierre Bouchard, but ended up getting his nose smeared across his face thanks to a headbutt from Bouchard. Of course, the big Bouchard had his own side to the story as well, as you will read. The Seals would get their revenge six nights later in Oakland playing the Habs to a surprising 3-3 draw.
“Seals, Canadiens Draw” (by John Porter) – Jan. 13, 1973 – download here
No, we’re not talking about breaking out the old Prismacolors and creating little houses with smokestacks and curly puffs of smoke… the Seals actually tied the 1972-73 Montreal Canadiens, a team that lost all of ten games and had a roster chock full of future Hall-of-Famers. In front of a sold-out crowd (coincidentally, after Charlie Finley decided to cut ticket prices), the Seals kept the game close, only getting outshot 26-23 and ending the game with a point in the bank.
“Seals and Laframboise Set Team Records in 11-3 Rout of Vancouver!” – January 1973 – download here
Thanks to Pete Manzolillo for sending this my way, a short article from one of those old Goal magazines the NHL used as game programs back in the 1970s. January 3, 1973 was quite a night for Pete Laframboise and the California Golden Seals as numerous offensive records were set. What makes this article worth glancing at is the awesome photo of Laframboise being congratulated by Charlie Finley, who I believe was attending his first and probably only game of the season. Of course, this happens to be the night the Seals look like the second coming of the 1972 Boston Bruins!
“Seals Near Point Record” (by Nelson Cullenward) – Jan. 18, 1973 – download here
While the 1972-73 season was not one of the Golden Seals’ best, there was still reason for optimism. They had a world-class goalie in Gilles Meloche, a couple of potential snipers in Joey Johnston and Reggie Leach, a good set-up man in Walt McKechnie, and a intriguing “Kid Line” made up of Stan Weir, Hilliard Graves, and Pete Laframboise. All in all, it wasn’t a bad roster. At times, they even managed to surprise their opponents with a first-class effort. One of those nights was January 17, 1973 when the Toronto Maple Leafs came to town and the Seals fought them to a 3-3 draw.
“Bargain Basement Seals Pick Up at Gate” – Feb. 4, 1973 – download here
It was no secret that the Seals were in pretty rough shape in the early weeks of the 1972-73 season. Coach Garry Young became the Seals’ coach and was dismissed long before Christmas. About half the team’s nucleus, including Wayne Carleton, Tom Webster, Paul Shmyr, Bobby Sheehan, and Gerry Pinder had bolted to the WHA. The team was predictably bad in the early weeks, with the exception of Gilles Meloche, Joey Johnston, and Walt McKechnie, but even they couldn’t rescue the Seals from sliding right into the West Division basement. So Charlie Finley cut ticket prices in half to entice more Bay Area residents to drive out to Oakland to watch the Seals. The result was a rather large increase in attendance, but not many more wins in the standings.
“Arena Fans Fight After Seals Routed” (by John Porter) – Feb. 5, 1973 – download here
The fact the Seals lost 6-1 to Montreal wasn’t the real story of the events of February 4, 1973. Rather, it was the brawl in the Coliseum stands that garnered the most attention in this Oakland Tribune article. This one guy, a Morris Mott fan, who apparently had it in for Ivan Boldirev and Bobby Stewart for some reason, started mouthing off at the Seals’ bench, but that was just the catalyst for this dude flying over a guard rail and getting his face all bloodied.
“Glover Fumes Over 7-0 Rout” (by John Porter) – Feb. 26, 1973 – download here
When Fred Glover stepped in behind the bench to replace the deposed Garry Young, he probably had no idea how much hurt he was in for. After all, if he had known how bad the Seals would be during his second tenure as coach, I have no doubt he would have turned the offer down, or at least, would have rushed to find someone to knock some sense into him. Neither of those things happened, so Glover was left to suffer and sulk. This game, a 7-0 humiliation to the up-and-coming Philadelphia Flyers, is just one of many examples of the Seals being clearly outmatched, but I include this article because of the many memorable quotes Glover uttered after the contest. We’ve got here some fog and murder metaphors, rule books, wall-pounding, suicide talk, and accusations of bullsh*t flowing from people’s mouths. This article has it all!
“Redmond – Finley Reneged on Pact” (by Phil Finch) – Mar. 11, 1973 – download here
One of the weirdest and most tumultuous moments in Seals history occurred in the first half of 1972-73 when it was discovered that Garry Young had signed star defenseman Dick Redmond to a two-year $180,000 contract. Young really had no choice but to sign Redmond to such a rich deal since just about everyone else on the club had taken off for the greener pastures of the World Hockey Association. Redmond should have remained a Seal for a few more years at least, but after just 24 games, Redmond was sent to Chicago for Darryl Maggs. Why did the Seals sour on Redmond? Well, they never really soured on him at all. It just so happened that Charlie Finley refused to pay Redmond at the rate he had signed for, and so Redmond realized pretty quickly that he was being short-changed. It didn’t take long for Redmond to squawk and it was only a matter of time before he was gone.
“Seals Trying for ‘Legal’ Win” (by Hugh McDonald) – Mar. 14, 1973 – download here
Not that it mattered much, the Seals lost a point in the standing in the most frustrating way: they got outsmarted by their opponent. And it could have all been avoided had Hilliard Graves kept his extra curvy stick at home.
“Seals in Surprise Outburst” (by Glenn Schwarz) – Mar. 24, 1973 – download here
If the Seals had played like this all season, they would have been shoo-ins for the playoffs. Not only did they spank the golf-course-bound Leafs 7-4, but they would also soundly defeat the above-.500 Red Wings 8-5 the next time out, and sweep a home-and-home series with the much improved L.A. Kings to close out the season with a four-game winning streak, a rare occurrence indeed. The win against the Leafs was so impressive that both fans and players were, for a short while, living in a euphoric state that seemed unexplainable.
“Seals Finish Los Angeles” (by Hugh McDonald) – Mar. 31, 1973 – download here
Had the Seals played all season the way they played their last four games, everyone, for decades to come would have talked about the 1972-73 California Golden Seals, Stanley Cup Champions. Unfortunately, a season in those days was 78 games, not four, and those other 74 games were… well… mostly crap. Sure, there was that 11-3 shockfest against Vancouver, and eleven other victories, but those were mixed in with 62 other games that did not result in “two points”. The L.A. Kings, however, were on the verge of making the playoffs for the first time since 1969, but really laid a couple of eggs in their inability to beat the Seals on both ends of their home-and-home series. As a result, they ended up missing the dance by three points. As an added bonus to this article, you can find out what hockey players did in the off-season back in the mid-1970s. Spoiler alert: it mostly involved golf.