Hi everyone! It seems as though everyone has been stumped by last week’s photo challenge. You may remember I had asked you all to identify the two names on the autographed Seals stick. They are definitely NOT easy names to figure out, and you really have to know your Seals history. Here is the stick again, and the two mystery signatures:

Someone by the name of Alan (sorry, I didn’t catch your last name…) was able to identify the second signature, which belongs to Bob Lemieux, who played just 19 games in Oakland. But what about that first signature?

OK, I’ll give you guys a hint… This mystery player never actually played an official game for the Seals, so there’s no use looking him up at HockeyReference.com or Hockeydb.com. Good luck, everyone!

I recently found another interesting photo that I wanted to share with you, and hopefully, someone will be able to shed a little light on it. It is a screen shot from an old TV show called the Old Grey Whistle Test, and it features perhaps the one and only time in human history when someone famous wore a Golden Seals (knock-off) jersey on national television.

The guy playing guitar is the legendary Mick Ronson, and he was the Frank Welker of axe strummers in the 1970s, playing with everyone from David Bowie to Lou Reed to Elton John to Bob Dylan. If Jesus Christ and Saint Peter had a prog rock band going in the day, he probably played with them too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an afficionado of all things classic rock. I’ve got a more-than-impressive CD collection that includes complete discographies of great bands, bootlegs, rare concerts, illegal Russian versions, and everything in between, but Mick Ronson’s career has completely fallen through the cracks of my collection. I really don’t know much about Ronson, so the reason he’s wearing Seals paraphernalia completely escapes me. Mad props to the dude for showing the Seals some love at a time when both they and the sport of hockey were almost complete afterthoughts to the average sports fans. I mean, it’s not like you could just go over to Amazon and pick up one of those green-and-gold badboys back in the mid-1970s. If anyone out there can fill me in on why he’s supporting the Seals on TV, please let me know. And if anyone can tell me why that lit-up guy in the top-right corner is karate-kicking that star where the sun don’t shine, I’d appreciate that too!

Before closing out today’s update, I invite you to vote for the nominees you feel are most worthy of a spot in the Seals Hall of Fame, class of 2021. You can click on the Jotform link here to cast your votes. There’s less than a month left before the voting closes, so if you haven’t already done your civic duty, I urge you to do so now.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Do I really need to explain the title of this week’s entry? Unless you’ve been living under a rock that has been buried six feet underground and covered in a thick layer of cement you know exactly what I’m talking about! That Montreal series win has to rank in my Top 10 favorite personal moments, ever. I barely slept that night, I was so drunk off that win. And the next day, I downloaded so many meme photos and so many Twitter quips, I actually had to tell myself, “OK, Steve, I think that’s enough for today.” I mean, too much of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing. I honestly felt like I ate an entire chocolate cake and then chowed down on a extra large pepperoni pizza. The whole experience left me feeling bloated. That said, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Making matters even better, I received a wonderful package in the mail from site visitor Kristie Kitchens, who while cleaning out her mother’s house, found a few vintage Seals items that had been acquired over the years. Her mother and step-father were big Seals fans, so they had picked up a few cool items, such as an awesome-looking lidless stein, a Seals puck, a Goal magazine featuring Gilles Meloche on the cover, a couple of pins, and Booster Club sticker. Thanks so much Kristie! Check out some of this cool memorabilia over in the photos section.

And for something a bit different this week, it’s quiz time! This one is a bit of a noodle-scratcher, so put on your thinking caps. During the 1967 pre-season, 16 members of California Seals signed this stick, which is now owned by Dave Martell of Global Vintage Sports Memorabilia. Thanks Dave for sending these shots of this incredibly rare piece of Seals memorabilia!

Most of the signatures are pretty recognizable. There’s Bobby Baun, Kent Douglas, Gary Smith, Bill Hicke, and many others, but there are two signatures that are not so easy to decipher.

The question I have for all of you is, “Whose signatures are these?” I think I’ve figured them out, but we’ll see who out there in Internet land can come up with the same answers. No prize for guessing the correct names, just an opportunity for someone out there to puff out their chest a little bit. Feel free to send me your guesses and we’ll see how many of you, if anyone at all, can correctly guess the two mystery signatures.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! It’s been one busy week! Getting ready to go on parental leave in June, so I’ve had to start delegating tasks to other people and training them to replace me, but it looks like that responsibility is now past me, and things should start calming down at the office before I head into the hectic world of child-rearing, handing out apple-guacamole-fig (or something like that) fruit pouches, and preparing Kraft Dinner for lunch Monday to Friday. I’m looking forward to spending the summer months taking care of my two kids, taking daily walks to the park, and eating popsicles in the middle of the day, but I do fear those days when all the neighbourhood kids congregate in our backyard and start combining the contents of our sandbox with the contents of my daughter’s water table and throwing the final product all over the place, breaking our toys and climbing all over our new $2,600 dollar fence.

That said, I’ve gotten past stage two of my manuscript submission (editing down magazine quotes, getting last-minute interview and photo permissions, and cleaning up sources), so at least that’s one more thing out of the way. It’s all in McFarland’s hands now until they send me an edited version of my work. I’m getting very excited about the new book, but I hope the next big stage of the process happens sometime in the fall once the kids go back to school/daycare and life returns to normal. All in all, things are good, and there is the feeling that we’re all moving on to another stage of life and career. And it’s the playoffs too!

Yes, that wonderful time of the year most Seals fans never got to experience. There were those eleven sad playoff contests in April 1969 and 1970, but nothing else. Most of those games have been forgotten, but there is one that stands out as being rather controversial: game one of the West Division semi-finals against Pittsburgh. Not many Seals fans are still around who remember that night, but those who do probably still curse Nick Harbaruk’s name. If you don’t know how the game ended and why it was so controversial, I invite you to head on over to the articles section and read all about it..

Before leaving, if you haven’t yet voted for who you believe should be inducted into the Seals Hall of Fame, you can do so by clicking on this link: https://form.jotform.com/210704845040244. Voting will remain open until the end of June, and the newest inductees will be announced in mid-July like we do every year.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! I’d like to start this week off by congratulating Mike Grier on becoming the advisor to hockey operations for the New York Rangers. I found this out only after checking my website stats and saw that I had got 1,873 hits in a 24-hour span! Now, I know my website is pretty awesome. I mean where else are you going to learn about hockey playing chimps, Tron-looking Maple Leaf uniforms, and the worst California Golden Seals replica jerseys of all-time? But seriously, 1,873 hits? What did I do to deserve that? So I did a little investigating, and found out that everyone suddenly took interest in the Mike Grier “pizza couch” card, a personal favorite of mine. Upon further research, I learned that Mike had got himself a new job. So, congratulations Mike! I wish you all the success in the world. You’re joining a great franchise with a great history, and a wealth of wonderful prospects.

Anyway, back to the reason you are all here… new Seals stuff! I have a brand new article up in the (duh!) articles section, and it is all about who ruined the Seals first couple of seasons in the NHL and almost led them out of town twice before year two came to an end. It is a great opinion piece from George Ross in the January 10, 1969 Oakland Tribune, which you can read all about here.

If anyone would like to add their vote to the tally already accrued for this year’s Seals Hall of Fame induction, you can do so by clicking here. The voting will continue until the end of June, and in July, as usual, I will reveal this year’s newest inductees.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! We’re back after a one-week hiatus. What a week this has been too! The week started with the little one completing a stretch of 16 straight nights without waking up wanting milk, a clean diaper, or comfort, so the wife and I, for the first time in a long, long time, literally slept like a baby… our baby. If you’ve ever been at my house any night the last 18 months, you know that “sleeping like a baby” is not something you strive for as it usually involves multiple trips to the kitchen or bathroom to get something or other that will soothe the little one. Things were going remarkably well and then something or someone broke my baby and she found herself unable to resist waking up several times per night, including the ungodly 4-5 a.m. time slot. What that means is that when baby finally does go back down, you have a magical 20-25 minutes of deep, deep sleep that gets ruined when your alarm rips you right back out of bed so you can get ready to go to work. Awesome times, I tells ya! How my five-year-old manages to sleep through all this crying every single night is a mystery that ranks right up there with how the pyramids were erected without the use of any mechanical tools. Anyway, I’m pretty exhausted right now. I thought going to bed an hour earlier yesterday would help in the likely event my daughter woke up mid-night once again, but wouldn’t you know it, the little one decided to start her late-night partying approximately 10 minutes after my head hit the pillow, and she kept partying ’til about 3 a.m. So much for going to bed early to catch up on sleep. Went to bed an hour early, yet didn’t actually fall asleep until hours after I normally go dodo.

Anyway, I’m back now. I needed to take one week off from the site to deal with some last-minute manuscript problems for my new book on the Washington Capitals, Kansas City Scouts, and the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup tournament. Nothing major, but important issues to deal with nonetheless. McFarland is still working on an official title, which should be coming pretty soon, so I’m looking forward to sharing that with all of you. I’m really stoked about the new book. It has a similar style to the first book, but some new twists I decided to try out. It also has some incredibly awesome rare photos which former players Ron Lalonde and Robin Burns shared with me. Some truly phenomenal stuff. Amazing behind-the-scene shots of the players sitting on the bench, pics of players fighting, rare program covers, posters, party photos, action shots, and ceremonial photos taken before and after the games of the Coca-Cola Cup series. Lots of stuff no one has ever seen. These photos truly tell the story of the quirky, long-forgotten NHL Japan series, which I think is one of the most fascinating events in NHL history even though almost no one has heard of it. I just can’t wait for this new book to be released, and I’ll be keeping you all updated as it publication date draws nearer.

In the meantime, I recommend you head on over to the articles section where I’ve added a new piece on former Golden Seal and Kansas City Scout Gary Croteau, a nominee for the 2021 Seals Hall of Fame. You can find the article right here.

If you want to vote for Gary Croteau, or any other of the eight candidates for this year’s Hall of Fame induction, I invite you to click on the link here which will take you to the survey. You can vote up to three times per device, so get clicking!

Until next time, stay gold, stay safe, and for God’s sake get some sleep so maybe some of it magically rubs off on me somehow!

Hi everyone! That’s right, folks! Good news for anyone who is a fan of the California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons, which, considering you are currently visiting a site about the California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons, I presume that means you. I’m very excited to read this one, entitled The NHL’s Mistake By The Lake by Gary Webster, but unfortunately it won’t be coming out for quite some time. That said, you can pre-order the book from the McFarland Press website for $35 US (https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-nhls-mistake-by-the-lake/).

There’s another interesting looking tome coming out in October all about the late, great Hartford Whalers, The Whalers: The Rise, Fall, and Enduring Mystique of New England’s (Second) Greatest NHL Franchise, which I will definitely be picking up since, as you know, I am a giant franchise-history nerd. I also don’t know a heck of a lot about the Whalers, whether it is their WHA years, their not-so-glorious early 1980s period, their winning years in the mid-to-late 80s, or their descent into oblivion in the 1990s, so I’m very much looking forward to this one, which you can pre-order on Amazon right now.

Why am I mentioning a book about the Hartford Whalers? Well, one of their best coaches – in fact the only coach they ever had lead them to a division title – was none other than former Seals and Barons bench boss Jack Evans, who is prominently featured in this week’s article about Jim Moxey and the much-improved Seals of 1975-76. You can read all about Moxey and Evans right here.

As I conclude this week’s entry, I’d like to thank all those who have cast their votes for the 2021 Seals Hall of Fame induction. Many of you have been clicking on the new Jotform ballot and there are some clear front-runners emerging in the race. If you haven’t voted yet, you can do so by clicking on this link.

Until next time, stay safe and stay gold!

Hi everyone! Another week has come and gone. Can’t say I’m upset about that. I’m thrilled it’s the weekend and I can put work behind me for a couple days. That was one tough week! At least next week is shaping up to be somewhat normal, and my schedule is looking much more relaxed. Besides, we’re supposed to have two nice weekend days, which means heading off to the park (with masks now), coffee in hand, and maybe even wearing short sleeves and sandles. So things are looking up. I even qualify for a Covid vaccine now! For once, it’s actually awesome gettin’ old! Suck on that, all you self-important thirty-somethings! But first, some new Seals stuff…

This week, check out a new article from December 22, 1973, a truly unhappy time for every Seals fan. At 4-20-7, the Seals were already eleven points out of seventh place. Seventh place! Not even Christmas yet, and the playoffs were already twenty points away! Yikes! Most everyone wanted Charlie Finley’s head on a platter. That’s understandable considering he bungled the players’ contract negotiations worse than Ontario’s government botched its handling of this Covid-19 crisis. Some, such as Nelson Cullenward of the San Francisco Examiner had other ideas, such as filling in for the often-overwhelmed Gilles Meloche. Little did anyone know that the Seals were only a few months into their bleakest period, a two-year span in which they won a grand total of 29 games.

The race to the Seals Hall of Fame is starting to heat up once again, with a few front-runners clearly starting to outdistance the rest of the pack. If you haven’t already done so, you can cast your votes by clicking on this link (https://form.jotform.com/210704845040244).

Until next week, stay gold and stay safe!

Hi everyone! It’s great to be back! It’s been a busy few weeks… a few months even. My deadline has come and gone and the new manuscript is now in the hands of McFarland Press. I feel great! If all goes well, book number two will see the light of day sometime in the next 9-12 months. Finally, one big job out of the way, and now I can get back to taking things slow. I feel like watching some TV, maybe a little hockey. It’s about time I caught up on some of my favourites on the small screen. And it’s about time I got caught up here too, so let’s get down to business!

This week, I’ve added a new article from May 24, 1968, the day after Fred Glover was introduced as the Oakland Seals’ new head coach. The media in attendance was very impressed, and it was indeed the dawn of a new era, the Seals’ playoff era. Sure, it didn’t last long, but it was a fun time for any Seals fan. You can read the article right here.

I also would like to direct your attention to a nice six-and-a-half minute clip from 1976-77 of the Cleveland Barons playing the Vancouver Canucks. You can find it here.

If anyone wants to cast some votes for the 2021 Seals Hall of Fame, you can click on this link (https://form.jotform.com/210704845040244). And if you’d like a little background on all the nominees, you can check out their bios here.

Until next time, stay safe and stay gold!

Hi everyone! As you know, I’ve been getting my new manuscript ready before my mid-April deadline, so I’ll be keeping the update short this week. That being said, I think you’ll enjoy knowing that I got my hands on a great hockey history book that spends a lot of time exploring our favorite defunct franchise, the Seals. You can read my review of John Robertson’s new book Hockey’s Wildest Season: the Changing of the Guard in the NHL, 1969-70 right here. This season may have sucked for the Seals, but the book sure doesn’t, so I urge you read my review and then head on over to Amazon to pick up your copy today.

Don’t forget to keep casting your votes for this year’s Seals Hall of Fame inductees. Just slide the scroll bar down slightly to reveal this year’s candidates and get clicking if you’ve got 20 seconds to spare.

https://form.jotform.com/210704845040244

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Just a quick update this week, I’m afraid, as I’m knee deep in words and photos involving two other NHL teams, the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts. The new book’s manuscript is due in a little less than a month, so I’ve got lots of work to do. All is well though, thankfully. Photos are rolling in from former players, and I can only hope the publisher thinks they are appropriate. I’ve got a few more interviews lined up for next week too, not to mention some editing to do, so I’ll be pretty busy, but I haven’t forgotten about you.

https://form.jotform.com/210704845040244

If you’re looking for something to do, you can always vote for who you think should be elected to the Seals Hall of Fame. The ballot is right up above, so go nuts!

In the articles section, I’ve added a new piece on the history of the Cleveland Barons. It includes some really nice photos and some interesting quotes as well, so go check it out.

Until next time, stay gold!