What are your favorite version of the Seals uniforms?

Your favorite version of the Seals uniforms


  • Total voters
    41

DowntownBooster

Registered User
Jun 21, 2011
3,202
2,414
Winnipeg
Some of you have fond memories of the Seals and their uniforms and I thought it would be interesting to take a poll and get some feedback as to other posters preferences regarding the Seals uniforms and why a particular version was favored.

My earliest recollections of the Seals uniforms was the gold and green version. At the time I wasn’t even aware of the original uniforms worn by the team when they joined the NHL as an expansion franchise for the 1967-68 season. I have to admit that I really didn’t care too much for the gold and green version due to the fact that when I was playing community club hockey at the time, our team was gold and green and the colors seemed a little bland compared to the other teams we were playing.

I think the original Seals uniforms look pretty good but my favorite version was when they switched from the gold and green to the white and teal. I was never too fond of yellow as a jersey color (although for some reason I always liked the LA Kings all-yellow uniforms) and I thought the Seals change to white looked fresh and modern when the new jerseys were introduced for the 1974-75 season.

Below are the different versions of the Seals uniforms over the seasons. Some changes were minor such as going from a tie-down neck to a V-neck or the original logo changing from a ‘C’ to an ‘O’.

Seals0.png

California Seals 1967 - The team opened play in 1967 as the California Seals, and the crest was initially a "C" with a seal leaping out of it.

Seals1.png

Oakland Seals 1967-69 - With the team struggling at the gate, it would rechristen itself as the Oakland Seals on December 8, 1967 The ends of the "C" on the crest would close, forming an "O." Also around that time on the home green uniform, the team added a white inner layer to the existing blue number on the back to answer complaints from their fans that the numbers were hard to make out. The addition of the inner white layer created the double outline effect.

Seals2.png

Oakland Seals 1969-70 - The stripes and the shoulder yoke on the green (home) jersey undergo a slight change, as do the sock stripes.

GoldenSeals1.png

California Golden Seals 1970-73 - Flamboyant businessman Charlie O. Finley buys the team in 1970 and renames it the California Golden Seals. The uniforms undergo a complete redesign, and the colors become kelly green and gold. Those seemed to have been Finley's favorite colors, as he dressed the two other teams he owned -- Major League Baseball's Oakland A's and the American Basketball Association's Memphis Tams -- in the exact same colors. Not pictured: the white skates the team wore with these uniforms.

GoldenSeals2.png

California Golden Seals 1973-74 - The tie-down neck becomes a V-neck.

GoldenSeals3.png

California Golden Seals 1974-76 - Finley sells the team in 1974. With that sale, kelly green gives way to teal as the team's new primary color.

Note: all images and uniform descriptions are done by Andrew M Greenstein (www.nhluniforms.com).

:jets
 
Last edited:

Killion

Registered User
Feb 19, 2010
36,763
3,211
... :laugh: welp... no surprise there... nearly 70% going with the 70/73 version.

.... and why, yes, yes @quoipourquoi .... those 74/76 jerseys with the football like striping.... real swell.... love the color too..... wow.... say..... are you 4 hire, personal shopper for clothes?... on-line?..... I'm thinking new wardrobe, whole new look... send you my sizing, pre-paid credit card.... clearly you have a real eye for fashion. :rolleyes:
 

Tarantula

Hanging around the web
Aug 31, 2017
4,451
2,863
GTA
Love the grren and gold, especially the home unis. Going to be getting one soon.
 

tarheelhockey

Offside Review Specialist
Feb 12, 2010
84,980
137,347
Bojangles Parking Lot
I'm of two minds:

1974-76 is one of the most unique NHL jerseys ever, and something I could easily imagine being resurrected in a modern format. The teal and yellow is an unusual color combo that has only been used sparingly in any sport. Some teams have come close with light blue and yellow, but the Seals are the only team I'm aware of other than the Jacksonville Jaguars to go full teal-and-yellow. That plus the football-style shoulder stripes makes for a really intriguing look, and honestly it's kind of a tragedy that it died quietly. It was way ahead of its time and would probably have been hugely popular over time if the Seals had thrived.

1967-69 is also a nice look that kind of echoes the early Canucks in my mind. I think the green and blue look nice together, and the numbers look good on the shoulders rather than the sleeves. I don't care for the addition of a white yoke in later years, but the early uniforms were nice and crisp. The logo was unfortunately hideous.

IMO the green/yellow look just isn't great. It's always been an ugly color combo to my eye, dated in the wrong way.
 

Bluesguru

Registered User
Aug 10, 2014
1,957
823
St. Louis
I'm partial to the 74-76 because that's what I saw when I was a kid. But the 70-74 versions look good too. I thought California Golden Seals was a cool name when I first started following hockey. Loved it!
I still remember my Team Leaders hockey card that year. Dave Hrechosy or however you spell his name, he led the team with goals that year with 25.
 
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Wingsfan 4 life

Registered User
Oct 9, 2016
1,711
428
I like the teal the best, but don't really dislike any of the colours.

But that logo....definately says something about the Bay area in the late 60's-early 70's.
 

zetajerk

Registered User
Jan 1, 2015
738
589
It's a shame that no one makes the 74-76 jersey. I'd love to get that in a replica made in an era-accurate cut, not the super baggy CCM vintage kind. I can't stand wearing those.
 

SealsFan

Registered User
May 3, 2009
1,713
500
Oh I do love the green and gold, but that one-year version (69-70) of the original green threads with the white shoulder bars is my favorite if I could only have one Seals jersey.

Now as for the unique "football" shoulder stripes on the teal ones... when I went to a game at Nassau Coliseum I was by the railing watching the Seals come out of the tunnel and one of the security guards says, "here come the Miami Dolphins!"

Actually that jersey was in itself puzzling for several reasons -- they wanted to erase the memory of the disastrous Finley years... so why did they keep the same style "Seals" wordmark and just change the overall colors? And they wanted to get past the mockery of the white skates... so why go with a uniform color that was largely unused in sports at that time and would be sure to elicit some snickers? Or at least get some black in there to toughen it up a la the Sharks many years later. It would have been a good choice in my opinion to return to the original green/blue/white pre-Finley jerseys, a design that they went to the playoffs twice in!
 
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Bear of Bad News

Your Third or Fourth Favorite HFBoards Admin
Sep 27, 2005
13,343
26,510
I don't think there is an option to delete a post.

There is, but only if you work for "the man" like I do. :D

Anyhow, I deleted the duplicate. One option in the future is to just edit your post to say "Please Delete Mods" or something, and one of us will see it.
 

Killion

Registered User
Feb 19, 2010
36,763
3,211
How do I delete posts? I meant to edit my first post and it kept popping up as a new post!!

... I see..... celebrating this thread & all things Bay Area/Seals with a pitcher full of
Cable Cars again SF?... a little heavy on the Cap'n Morgans Spiced Rum perhaps?. :squint:
 
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SealsFan

Registered User
May 3, 2009
1,713
500
... I see..... celebrating this thread & all things Bay Area/Seals with a pitcher full of
Cable Cars again SF?... a little heavy on the Cap'n Morgans Spiced Rum perhaps?. :squint:
Aye matey, nothing stronger than Irish Breakfast tea with cream on this chilly April day... (I had to look up Cable Cars...)
 

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