Hi everyone! What’s this? Steve updating his site on a Monday? Has Hell frozen over? Nope, just wanted you all to know that my interview with Tim Hanlon of Good Seats Still Available is now up and available for download. We had a great conversation (over an hour and a half!) about my new book, When the NHL Invaded Japan: the Washington Capitals, the Kansas City Scouts, and the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup, 1975-76. If you haven’t picked it up yet, maybe this interview will get your fingers clicking that old mouse or laptop touchpad, or if you’re not a virtual dinosaur like myself, your cellphone. Just click right here and you’ll be magically transported over to Tim’s site. I have also posted the interview to the Video and Audio section of this here website as well. Hope you enjoy it!

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Well, it’s surprise time! I promised all of you a treat this week, and I’ve come to deliver on that promise. If you head on over to the Video and Audio section of the website, you will find a truly rare piece of Seals history, something you might not have come across in almost 50 years. I’m talking about 12 minutes of the Seals post-game recap show immediately following their historic 11-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks! Much, much thanks to Jim Shattock who graciously transferred this clip to a digital audio format, and for allowing me to post this clip to the site for all of you to enjoy.

In case you would like to read up on what was undoubtedly the most lopsided victory in the history of the Seals, head on over to the 1972-73 season articles and scroll down to “Charlie O’s Angry Blast,” a piece penned by the Oakland Tribune‘s John Porter the day after the massacre. If any of you reading this were at the game, I’m sure the audio clip and article will bring back some warm memories.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased my new book When the NHL Invaded Japan: the Washington Capitals, the Kansas City Scouts, and the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup. Not much of it is Seals-related (at least not much that wasn’t already mentioned in my book on the Seals), but need to promote it anyway I can. And this is my site, after all, so I’m going to bend the rules of the site just a bit. The good news is that Amazon seems to have got a bit of a stock now, so you shouldn’t have any problems ordering it now. If you do buy the book, from Amazon or from somewhere else, I would really appreciate it if you left some feedback. Amazon, of course, is a great place to do so, but anywhere else is also greatly appreciated and only helps promote the book. If you have any questions about the book, you can head on over to HF Boards where the Society for International Hockey Research has given me a place to interact with hockey fans. Just click on this link to my book forum and ask away!

Finally, be sure to check out my interview with Tim Hanlon of Good Seats Still Available, where we talk about the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup, how the whole thing went down, why the Capitals and Scouts were chosen to represent the NHL, and why in the world I keep writing about teams that never seemed to go anywhere (unless you mean the cities to which they uprooted themselves in the hope of finding solid financial ground). The interview (episode #269) will be posted early Monday morning so mark your calendars (by that I mean the alarm on your cell phone or some other doo-dad on Facebook). Until then, head on over to Tim’s site to check out some of his other episodes.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Well, it’s that time of year again, time to find out who is going to become the newest members of the Seals Hall of Fame. The vote was close again this year, but three candidates stood out as clear winners: Krazy George Henderson, Fred Glover, and Charlie Burns. All three men are indeed worthy, and long-overdue candidates who greatly contributed to the Seals’ history. You can find their Hall of Fame biographies here.

In case you are interested in how the entire vote ended up, here is the final tally:

Krazy George Henderson – 22%

Fred Glover – 17%

Charlie Burns – 16%

Bob Murdoch – 14%

Doug Roberts – 9%

Wayne Connelly – 5%

Nick Mickoski – 5%

Al Nicholson – 4%

Len Haley – 2%

Tom Thurlby – 2%

Rick Smith – 1%

Charlie Finley – 1%

Ralph Klassen – 1%

Charlie Hodge – 1%

Thanks to everyone who voted this year! Thanks for helping make this site the success it has been! It has been a great six-year ride, so let’s keep it going!

And now, it’s promo time! As you all know, my new book When the NHL Invaded Japan: the Washington Capitals, the Kansas City Scouts, and the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup, 1975-76 was released some three weeks ago, and it is starting to gain some momentum. I’ve already recorded an interview with Tim Hanlon at Good Seats Still Available (more on that in the coming days!), and I’ve got another interview scheduled for next week, not to mention a member bio in the next Society for International Hockey Research newsletter, and a guest spot on the History of Hockey forum of HFBoards this Sunday (link here, scroll down to the very bottom), so I’ll be posting updates on all of these happenings in the next few weeks. If you haven’t picked up your copy of my book, you can find it on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com. I have been informed that there is a bit of a paper shortage in the United States, so if you can’t get order yourself a copy today, let me know; I may have a couple copies kicking around at the homestead.

Next week, I’ve got a real surprise for all of you, but you’ll have to check back next week to find out what it is. I can tell you that it is a true Seals rarity that some of you may remember, but have not been able to locate in decades. Thanks in advance to Jim Shattock for passing the surprise along to me and for allowing me to share it with you.

Until next week, stay gold!

Hi everyone! This won’t be my usual light, casual update, I’m afraid, as I’m having trouble celebrating and rejoicing after the week I’ve had, but I promise it isn’t all bad, and that the summer is shaping up to be much brighter. I’ll start off with the bad. For one thing, my father passed away yesterday morning at the age of 75, which took us all by surprise, despite his terminal cancer diagnosis exactly one month earlier. We had been expecting 8-12 weeks more with Dad, but we only got four, the last of which was marred by my entire family’s Covid diagnosis. Our symptoms were never severe, more like a mild flu or cold, and we are all doing better now, but it was hard not being allowed to see Dad the last seven days of his life, but I at least got to see him twice the week before, and he was in good spirits, and surrounded by loved ones as he prepared to enter into hospice care. My mother also spent the last days of her life there, and the staff and volunteers were absolutely wonderful, making all residents feel comfortable and allowing them to die with dignity. I would have liked Dad to be able to read my new book (the gratis copies of which I received from McFarland Press the day he died), but I know he would have been proud. R.I.P. Dad.

Also, I should not forget to mention that the Seals lost another member of its family yesterday with the passing of former NHL great, and Stanley Cup winner, Jim Pappin at the age of 82. I would like to wish his family and friends my very best and express my deepest condolences. Not only did Pappin share the same given name as my Dad, but they also passed away within 24 hours of each other, so I’ll always remember the link between them when I think of either. I’ve posted an article from the November 11, 1975 San Francisco Examiner, which talks about the expectations the team and fans had for Pappin, and while he indeed had his moments, scoring a few goals here and there, he never became the player the Seals thought they had acquired. He did retire as a 2-time Stanley Cup champion and a 278-goal scorer over the course of his 767-game career. Pretty nice numbers indeed!

As usual, I’ll be taking next week off to prepare for the Seals Hall of Fame inductions, which are scheduled for July 15 this year. Voting is now officially closed. Thank you to everyone who voted this year! This year’s vote had, by far, the best turnout ever! I still haven’t calculated the results, but from what I can see, the votes are well spread out among all the nominees, and I haven’t the slightest idea who will be inducted this year, so I’m looking forward to finding out myself.

Finally, my new book, When the NHL Invaded Japan: the Washington Capitals, the Kansas City Scouts, and the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup, 1975-76 has been officially released, and is available in many online book retailers across North America, notably Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. If you liked my book on the Seals, I truly believe you’ll enjoy this one just as much. I will also be guesting on Tim Hanlon’s Good Seats Still Available podcast next Saturday, so I will let you all know when the interview is posted to his website. Like I said, June was a bummer, but the rest of summer is shaping up to be much better.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! This week, in anticipation of my new book, When the NHL Invaded Japan: the Washington Capitals, the Kansas City Scouts, and the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup, 1975-76 (whose release date, by the way, has been pushed up to July 2nd! Visit Amazon.com or Amazon.ca to pre-order your copy today!) I’ve uploaded an article from the February 10, 1975 San Francisco Examiner. The night before, the Scouts were in Oakland looking for win number 12, and their timing couldn’t have been any better as the Seals’ were in the midst of a 2-11-1 stretch that ultimately killed their playoff chances. It didn’t help matters that the once-potent Wrecking Crew Line of Dave Hrechkosy, Butch Williams, and Ron Huston was no longer connecting, and neither was the rest of the roster. The Seals did rebound after this game going 6-6-3 in their next 15 games, but by that point the Leafs were miles ahead in the standings. You can read all about the Seals-Scouts game right here.

This will also be the last time I will be inviting you to cast your votes for this year’s inductees to the Seals Hall of Fame. The voting closes July 1st, mainly because I will be heading out of town that weekend and I won’t be taking my computer with me. Besides, I’ve been posting this Jotform link on this here site the last several months now, so you’ve had your chances to exercise your democratic rights. That said, if you are new to the site, you can still get your votes in under the wire by clicking here. The new inductees will be announced July 15, so make sure to head on back to see if your favorites made it in.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there! I hope you get to enjoy yourselves a relaxing weekend, and that summer-ish weather hits your town. As for me, the family and I will be heading to tiny Brockville, Ontario to enjoy some outdoor activities, ride a little train through the downtown core, and swim at the hotel pool. It will be the first time in almost three years that we will be spending the night someplace where we know absolutely no one. For our daughter Laura, it will be her first-ever overnight trip that doesn’t involve visiting friends or family, and for our son Emmett, he has very little recollection of having visited this same hotel way back in 2019. Needless to say, he is very excited to get going and will probably be up at the crack of dawn wanting to start packing his bags.

So, before we leave for our little weekend getaway, I just wanted to make a quick update to this site, and do a little promotion for my new book, When the NHL Invaded Japan: the Washington Capitals, the Kansas City Scouts, and the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup, 1975-76, whose release date has been moved up to July 11! If you haven’t done so already, you can read all about the book here.

The book is all about the Capitals and Scouts’ first two NHL seasons and their April 1976 exhibition series in Japan, so I thought it would make sense to post an article about a very rare Capitals victory, this time at the expense of the California Golden Seals. The 19-24-4 Seals were just coming off a huge 5-3 win over Toronto, a fourth-straight win overall. The Seals were on literally the hottest streak in their history, and it seemed as though this would finally be the year they would claim a playoff spot, but alas, the victory over Toronto would be as close as they would get as their next match against Washington January 28 would become the start of a 9-game winless streak. The Seals played their heart out in D.C. that night, but came up short, and they never really recovered from the loss. You can read all about the game right here.

If you haven’t done so already, you can still cast your votes for this year’s inductees into the Seals Hall of Fame. Just click on the Jotform link here and make your choices. Only two weeks left folks, so get crackin’!

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Well, it’s finally done! Book number two is in the can, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m very much looking forward to holding an actual copy in my hands, but for the time being, just seeing a .pdf version of the book feels very satisfying. I hope you all will agree that this book stands up well against other hockey history books, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it (and that you enjoy WAAAAAAYYYYY more than I enjoyed creating that bloody index). For anyone who is interested, When the NHL Invaded Japan: the Washington Capitals, the Kansas City Scouts, and the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup, 1975-76 is due to be released August 3, and you can pre-order it now at Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.

And hey, check this out! You can be the first on your block to own (OK, download) the official When the NHL Invaded Japan bookmark and poster. Sure, you’ll have to print it out at your home, but hey, it’s free! And the great thing about these things is that they can be posted just about anywhere! On bulletin boards at the office, on street lamps, on dumpsters, on old plywood surrounding construction sites. Anywhere I tells ya! So if you’ve got the ink and the time, please go risk getting arrested for littering to help me out! I can’t say I’ll pay your bail money, but you will earn my eternal gratitude, and really, when you think about it, isn’t that what’s most important.

Of course, this is a California Golden Seals tribute site, so this week we’re heading back to December 1971, and the Chicago Black Hawks are in Oakland to take on the soon-to-be white-skated Seals. The Seals are in the running for a playoff spot, and are in need of the two points, but the Hawks prevailed thanks to two very controversial goals by Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita. You can read all about the game right here.

Finally, I need to remind all of you that there is only three weeks left to cast your vote for this year’s Seals Hall of Fame induction. The final day to vote will be June 30, and the newest Hall of Fame class will be announced July 15, the day after the Seals announced they were moving to Cleveland way back in 1976. If you haven’t voted yet, you can do so by clicking on this link.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Due to an unexpected family emergency this week, I have had to request an extension to my deadline to complete the final edits and index of my new book, so I’ll be using the rest of the week to get all that in order. Some of you may remember my thoughts on what it’s like to create an index for a book, but for those of you who are new to this site, I’ll enlighten you a bit. Creating an index is quite possibly the most soul-sucking, headache-inducing, mind-numbing, beat-your-own-head-against-a-brick-wall part of writing a book, which is otherwise a rather pleasant experience, assuming of course that writing is your bag. But creating an index? It’s like having a very low-level data entry position at the Ministry of Nuts and Bolts, or Shoelaces, or Bowties, or some other boring as s#!t object you don’t really need to have a deep and intimate relationship with, but are forced to sift through and track in a Word document. It’s also the very, very last step in completing a book, so essentially, the worst and most tedious step comes at a time when you are getting tired of rereading the same pages over and over and over, and you just want to get this thing in the can, and move on to playing Animal Crossing again.

That said, I’m getting very excited about my new book on the Kansas City Scouts, Washington Capitals, and their 1976 exhibition series in Japan. I feel it includes some of my best writing, and McFarland Press did a great job editing the manuscript. I’m looking forward to unleashing it on the world next month, so stay tuned for more news.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to give you a quick update on where I’ve been the last few weeks. I recently received the proofs for my new book, When the NHL Invaded Japan: the Washington Capitals, the Kansas City Scouts, and the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup, 1975-76, which means I’ve been busy with the final edits and, of course, the dreadful task of creating an index. It’s all due in about 5 days, so that’s been my priority for the last few weeks, but next week all will be back to normal, which means catching up on the playoffs, playing Asphalt 9: Legends, and updating this site again.

Have a great weekend, and stay gold!

Hi everyone! Now that the playoffs are here, we are seeing first hand how teams are seeking revenge on their opponents, whether it is the game after having suffered a humiliating shutout or the match-up after a horrible cheap shot took out one team’s star player. Yes, the playoffs are all about intensity and ruggedness, and it is not for the faint of heart. Bones will be broken. Tears will be shed. And Stanley Cup droughts will drag on one more year.

Of course, the Seals rarely made the playoffs in their history, so there isn’t much to talk about in the way of revenge, but there were indeed a few moments when the Seals redeemed themselves with a much-improved second effort against a team that had humiliated them. This week, we head back to October 24, 1973 as the Seals are still smarting from an 11-2 thrashing at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings just three nights earlier. The Wings really should have saved a few goals for the return match-up in Oakland, because on this night, the Seals outshot the Original Sixers 40-19 and pumped seven goals past the overwhelmed rookie Doug Grant. The Seals were definitely flying unusually high early in the 1973-74 season staying at the .500 mark for six games, an accomplishment that (in 1970s Bay Area hockey terms at least) rivalled reaching the summit of Mount Everest wearing nothing more than bikini briefs and a pair of sandals. It is almost unbelievable, based on the early results at that point, that the Seals would finish the campaign 13-55-10. On this night at least, the Seals could look down from the summit and smile at the defeated Red Wings languishing at the foot of the mountain. You can read all about the Seals’ big night right here.

Before you go, don’t forget to cast your vote for this year’s entrants to the Seals Hall of Fame. You can find their bios right here and the link to the ballot is here.

Until next week, stay gold!