California-oakland Seals

OLYMPIA STADIUM

Registered User
Apr 20, 2007
368
8
DETROIT MICHIGAN
groups.yahoo.com
The seals were part of the 1967-68 expansion that brought philadelphia, st louis, minnesota, los angeles and the pittsburgh penguins in the NHL.in the seals first couple of years they had good teams and even made the playoffs a couple of times.but when the 1970s came the team fell to last place and stayed there until they moved to cleveland after the 1975-76 season.do we have any seals fans out there still.
 

OLYMPIA STADIUM

Registered User
Apr 20, 2007
368
8
DETROIT MICHIGAN
groups.yahoo.com
Gilles Meloche

Here is a photo of seals goaltender Gilles Meloche taken at the detroit olympia stadium.Meloche was a very good goaltender who played on very bad teams in oakland.he moved with the team when they relocated to cleveland after the 1975-76 season.
 

Steelhead16

Registered User
Jan 29, 2005
1,610
3
Boise, ID
I grew up in the Bay Area and was a Seals fan when I was a kid. My girlfriend scoured the internet last fall to try and find me an old teal jersey for Christmas. Only ones she could find were at auctions for in the 3K range. The Green and Gold ones still exist but the teal ones are hard to find. She did end up getting me a tee shirt with the original logo on it which was really cool. The father of a kid I played peewees with was the head of security at the Oakland Coliseum at the time they moved and gave me a pair of the white skates and a pair of the teal pants that were Al MacAdam's. Stan Gilbertson was also a friend of my parents. I remember back in squirts and peewees that twice a year we would play full games in the Coliseum before the Seals games. Both teams got tickets to the games that followed and many of the visiting teams used our home rink for practices. I remember my mom letting me skip school to watch the Montreal Canadiens practice once in the early 70's................Good Times!!
 

OLYMPIA STADIUM

Registered User
Apr 20, 2007
368
8
DETROIT MICHIGAN
groups.yahoo.com
Seals

I grew up in the Bay Area and was a Seals fan when I was a kid. My girlfriend scoured the internet last fall to try and find me an old teal jersey for Christmas. Only ones she could find were at auctions for in the 3K range. The Green and Gold ones still exist but the teal ones are hard to find. She did end up getting me a tee shirt with the original logo on it which was really cool. The father of a kid I played peewees with was the head of security at the Oakland Coliseum at the time they moved and gave me a pair of the white skates and a pair of the teal pants that were Al MacAdam's. Stan Gilbertson was also a friend of my parents. I remember back in squirts and peewees that twice a year we would play full games in the Coliseum before the Seals games. Both teams got tickets to the games that followed and many of the visiting teams used our home rink for practices. I remember my mom letting me skip school to watch the Montreal Canadiens practice once in the early 70's................Good Times!!

Checkout the hockey news for those mid 1970s teal seals jerseys. there are places up in canada that i am sure still sell those.
 

Ogopogo*

Guest
Checkout the hockey news for those mid 1970s teal seals jerseys. there are places up in canada that i am sure still sell those.

It is hard to find Seals stuff up here as well. One day, when I have a few more shekels than I do now, I want to buy a Seals jersey - perhaps a Meloche or Maruk.

I am in a lifetime hockey pool and my team is called the California Seals. I also usually have a Seals logo as my avatar and I have a Seals hat that I wear regularly.

I love the forgotten 70s teams. I like to see how many people know who the Seals are. I have been wearing my Seals hat for 2 years now and I have only had 4 people comment that they knew it was the Seals. This is in hockey-mad Canada. Definitely a forgotten team for most.
 

arrbez

bad chi
Jun 2, 2004
13,352
261
Toronto
It is hard to find Seals stuff up here as well. One day, when I have a few more shekels than I do now, I want to buy a Seals jersey - perhaps a Meloche or Maruk.

I am in a lifetime hockey pool and my team is called the California Seals. I also usually have a Seals logo as my avatar and I have a Seals hat that I wear regularly.

I love the forgotten 70s teams. I like to see how many people know who the Seals are. I have been wearing my Seals hat for 2 years now and I have only had 4 people comment that they knew it was the Seals. This is in hockey-mad Canada. Definitely a forgotten team for most.

Here's your chance homie:

http://cgi.ebay.com/CALIFORNIA-GOLDEN-SEAL-3-HARRY-HOWELL-JERSEY-XL_W0QQitemZ150110595592QQihZ005QQcategoryZ2871QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And a Norris winner no less.
 

Lowetide

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
13,281
11
They were always a favorite of mine because the Bruins (my team as a kid) kept trading players to Oakland. I loved following them because despite losing a lot they never had a team without some exceptional young talent.

The Seals demise probably began shortly before the expansion draft, when owner Barry Van Gerbig fired Rudy Pilous (who was GM of the WHL Seals in 66-67) shortly before the draft and gave Bert Olmstead little time to prepare for it.

A team like Philadelphia had a splendid draft AND purchased the Quebec Aces of the AHL, whereas the Seals had their expansion players and very few other bodies available (they had several WHL Seals, among them Gerry Odrowski, Charlie Burns and George Swarbrick).
 

Wetcoaster

Guest
Before there was the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim there was:

California Seals 1967/68 (December 7, 1967 - name change)

Oakland Seals 1967/68 (December 8, 1967) -1969/70

California Golden Seals 1970/71-1975/76 - The Charles O. Finley years (well three years). First NHL team to put player names on the sweaters and yellow skates. The next season they went white skates which drove the trainers nuts as they were constantly covering up puck and black tape marks.

They then morphed into the Cleveland Barons who would fold two years later and merge with the Minnesota North Stars and then de-merge in 1991 to become the San Jose Sharks.
 

captainpierce

Registered User
Feb 1, 2007
234
2
They then morphed into the Cleveland Barons who would fold two years later and merge with the Minnesota North Stars and then de-merge in 1991 to become the San Jose Sharks.
Does that mean the Sharks are officially a continuation of the Barons in the same way that the Barons were a continuation of the Seals?
 

OLYMPIA STADIUM

Registered User
Apr 20, 2007
368
8
DETROIT MICHIGAN
groups.yahoo.com
Seals

Does that mean the Sharks are officially a continuation of the Barons in the same way that the Barons were a continuation of the Seals?

The sharks are a expansion team and have nothing to do with the Seals-Barons.when the barons mergered with the minnesota north stars that was the end of that franchise.i dont know where this thing about the sharks being the seals-barons came from.
 

NJrocket24

Registered User
Oct 19, 2005
286
1
NJ
It comes from the fact that the Gund Family has been in the owner ship group from cleveland barons to Minnesota- and the offspring spur of the Sharks. They were all a continuation in some form as a Gund owned operation.
 

OLYMPIA STADIUM

Registered User
Apr 20, 2007
368
8
DETROIT MICHIGAN
groups.yahoo.com
It comes from the fact that the Gund Family has been in the owner ship group from cleveland barons to Minnesota- and the offspring spur of the Sharks. They were all a continuation in some form as a Gund owned operation.

If you look at the NHL records when the cleveland barons mergered with minnesota in 1978 the seals-barons franchise ended.the san jose sharks have nothing at all to do with the seals or barons.
 

OLYMPIA STADIUM

Registered User
Apr 20, 2007
368
8
DETROIT MICHIGAN
groups.yahoo.com
I just checked out a Dallas Stars media guide and it still lists in the guide Minnesota North Stars facts and stats going back to 1967.and as we all know the cleveland barons mergered with the Minnesota North Stars after the 1977-78 season.
 

Trottier

Very Random
Feb 27, 2002
29,232
14
San Diego
Visit site
Fun Seals memories...

Craig Patrick played for them.

They played at the Cow Palace.

The white skates, of course, thanks to Charlie O'Finley.

Habs ripping them off for draft picks (I think they got Guy Lafleur by way of the Seals).

A wretched on-ice product, including the two seasons after the moved to the Richlands Coliseum in Cleveland and morphed into the Barons.

NYI Hall of Fame GM Bill Torrey started out as an exec with the Seals.

They briefly had a netminder named Bob Chapoux ("shampoo), which I found funny as a young kid.

And the most obscure of information: when the Seals came into Madison Sqaure Garden for their annual visit in the early 70s, NYR fans rolled out the "Morris Mott Fan Club," celebrating the most anonoymous of player on the most anonymous of teams. Repleat with banners, etc. (Ranger once demolished the Seals 12-2 at MSG, circa 1972, for their most lopsided win ever, if I'm not mistaken.)
 

OLYMPIA STADIUM

Registered User
Apr 20, 2007
368
8
DETROIT MICHIGAN
groups.yahoo.com
Fun Seals memories...

Craig Patrick played for them.

They played at the Cow Palace.

The white skates, of course, thanks to Charlie O'Finley.

Habs ripping them off for draft picks (I think they got Guy Lafleur by way of the Seals).

A wretched on-ice product, including the two seasons after the moved to the Richlands Coliseum in Cleveland and morphed into the Barons.

NYI Hall of Fame GM Bill Torrey started out as an exec with the Seals.

They briefly had a netminder named Bob Chapoux ("shampoo), which I found funny as a young kid.

And the most obscure of information: when the Seals came into Madison Sqaure Garden for their annual visit in the early 70s, NYR fans rolled out the "Morris Mott Fan Club," celebrating the most anonoymous of player on the most anonymous of teams. Repleat with banners, etc. (Ranger once demolished the Seals 12-2 at MSG, circa 1972, for their most lopsided win ever, if I'm not mistaken.)

The sharks played at the Cow Palace the seals played at the Oakland Coliseum.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->