WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CALIFORNIA GOLDEN SEALS? // DEFUNCT: A CALIFORNIA GOLDEN SEALS DOCUMENTARY
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- Опубликовано: 11 июн 2024
- In this All Sports History video, we'll take a look back to late 1960's NHL. When in 1967 the California Golden Seals story began when they were included as part of a legendary expansion to the National Hockey League, placing NHL teams on the west coast for the first time. So why after nine seasons did the Seals leave the San Francisco Bay Area and move to Cleveland? In today’s video we’ll take a look back at how financial turmoil and failed relocation attempts doomed the Seals almost from the very beginning.
This "California Golden Seals Documentary" Includes
In their final season in the WHL, the Seals moved from the aging Cow Palace arena to the brand new Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena (known today as Oakland Arena). Due to the team now playing in Oakland, Van Gerbig decided to rename the team the “California Seals” to try and widen the team’s appeal throughout the bay area and state. However, in a way, the team rebrand backfired. The Seals first season in the NHL was disastrous on the ice. And making matters worse, people who lived across the bay in San Francisco had little interest in commuting to the East Bay to attend Seals games. A frustrated Van Gerbig decided to drop the name California, and simply call the team the “Oakland Seals” instead. Van Gerbig on many different occasions also threatened to move the team to another city, if the Seal’s fortunes didn’t turn around. Bert Olmstead, the Oakland Seals hockey head coach and general manger publicly backed the idea of the team moving to Vancouver, while an ownership group from western New York offered to buy the Oakland Golden Seals and move them to Buffalo. However, the NHL blocked the team's efforts to relocate.
By the club's third season Van Gerbig was looking to offload to a new ownership group, and briefly sold the Seals to a group financially backed by football announcer Pat Summerall among others. But, the deal fell apart when the Summerall backed company known as Trans-National Communications failed to pay ownership installments for the Seals. Van Gerbig then took control of the team back, and later sold the franchise to the Oakland A’s owner Charlie O Finley, setting up the second chapter to the Seals time in the Bay Area. Charlie Finley Oakland A's ownership made him Known for his eccentric behavior, and he immediately set out to put his stamp on the Seals franchise. Finley decided to change the team’s name to the “Bay Area Seals” for the 1970-71 season, but ended up changing the name again just two games into the season, to the “California Golden Seals”.
In one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history, the Seals traded away their first round draft pick for the 1971 draft to the Montreal Canadiens for a first round pick in the 1970 draft. Because of how bad the Seals played in 1970, the Canadiens were able to select future hall of fame player Guy Lafleur with the first pick in the draft. During the summer of 1975, a new ownership group headed by San Francisco hotel magnate Mel Swig swooped in and bought the Seals with the intention of keeping the team in the bay area. Swig wanted the team to move into a proposed new arena in San Francisco. Unfortunately, plans for the new arena fell through after the election for mayor of San Francisco in November of that year. With no new prospects of a future arena getting built anytime soon, an exasperated NHL at this point threw their hands up and essentially greenlit owner Swig the option to relocate out of the Bay Area.
The Seals minority owners, George and Gordon Gund convinced Swig to move the team to their hometown in Cleveland, Ohio. That summer the NHL formally approved of the Seals relocation to Cleveland, where they would rebrand as the “Cleveland Barons”. With the approval, and move done so hastily, the club had little time to set up a marketing campaign in Cleveland to announce their presence. After yet another last place finish, and Melvin Swigs inability to cover in basic necessities like the team’s payroll, he decided to sell his ownership stake to the Gund Brothers for $5.3 million. the Gund Brothers pitched the idea of merging the Barons with the equally struggling Minnesota North Stars franchise, which the NHL reluctantly went along with.
Throughout their brief existence, the California Golden Seals left an indelible mark on the NHL. In 2022, as part of Adidas’ Reverse Retro jersey series, the San Jose Sharks even honored Bay Area hockey history with a California Golden Seals NHL 22 inspired design. Today, the California Golden Seals remain a nostalgic reminder of a bygone era in hockey, serving as a testament to the enduring passion and enduring allure of the sport.
So what did you guys think about the Golden Seals moving to Cleveland and becoming the Barons, and then eventually being folded into the Minnesota North Stars? And should the San Jose Sharks do more to honor the old California Golden Seals teams? Let me know in the comments below! 
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Hey everyone! What did you guys think about the Golden Seals moving to Cleveland and becoming the Barons, and then eventually being folded into the Minnesota North Stars? And should the San Jose Sharks do more to honor the old California Golden Seals teams? Let me know in the comments below!
Wish the Barons never folded. They had a great logo and uniforms. 'Barons' is a great name for an NHL team, definitely better than Golden Knights, Kraken, and whatever bad name Utah eventually chooses (Was hoping they'd trademarked the name Utah Eagles in honor of the Salt Lake Golden Eagles). It's also a shame Columbus got the expansion Blue Jackets instead of the NHL returning to Cleveland and bringing back the Barons.
The North Stars went from the worst team in the NHL in '77-'78, to going to the Stanley Cup finals a mere three years later. That merger had a lot to do with the team's change in fortunes. By adding Gilles Meloche Al MacAdam, Mike Fidler, Greg Smith, Don Edwards and others, the North Stars were an improved squad on the ice. Drafting Bobby Smith, Steve Payne + Neal Broten also did wonders for the club. Before the merger, Tim Young, Glen Sharpley + Brad Maxwell were the only reasons to really watch the Stars. Especially after swapping Bill Goldsworthy to the Rangers for Nick Beverly and Bill Fairbairn.
North Stars even managed to bring former Barons' top-liner Dennis Maruk back into the fold from the Washington Capitals.
Love the added context around the North Stars, great info to know!
Hated that they moved, I was a huge Seals fan even when they were in the Western Hockey League
When the Barons and North Stars merged that made the team good enough to make one Stanley Cup Final in 1980-81 and some good seasons until 1986 then they fell back into mediocrity and financial problems
Nice story. I grew up in that area and went to at least a 100+ games between 1972 to their leaving. They had poor teams but it was still great. The last year they started to win more and have some good young players like Denis Maruk. I still have 3 game used sticks from Ivan Boldirev, Joey Johnston, and Dave Gardner. Final fun fact. During that era their was a phenomenon called, "streaking", where people would show up out of nowhere...naked. Through shopping malls, stores...anywhere. Even a hockey game. Somehow a lady "streaked-skated" on the ice. No lie! I was maybe 15 years old.
I was at the first Barons game at the Richfield Coliseum. October 1976.
Nice, got to see them before they disappeared!
Thanks for this one. A lot of people forget about the Oakland Seals and don't mention them when talking about Oakland losing all of their pro sports franchises..first the Seals in 1976, the Warriors in 2019, the Raiders in 2020, and soon the Athletics at the end of the season. Hopefully you'll do the Kansas City Scouts/Colorado Rockies before they relocated to New Jersey.
I definitely want to do one on the KC Scouts soon!
@@AllSportsHistoryShame The City Of Oakland Will Longer Have Teams Once The A’s Move After This Season in The MLB!
I saw a Minnesota North Star vs Kansas City Scouts pregame at Hilton in Ames Ia back in the day. Good stuff.
Or the Quebec Nordiques move to Colorado.
It’s because Oakland is a sanctuary ghetto shithole. More focused on other problems than fixing their city,
I was a young kid attending Seals games in Oakland, too young to understand what happened to the franchise. It turns out it was a convoluted mess, as this great video explains.
Thanks! Yeah its a shame the Seals ownerships couldn't get their act together.
Great Video. As a kid, in The early 1979s, I remember well The California Golden Seals. Great History
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video!
@@AllSportsHistory The poor Seals couldn't win for losing although they did have some pretty good players play for them like Reggie Leach, Gilles Meloche, Carol Vadinais, Al MacAdam, Charlie Simmer, Dennis Maruk and the like ! I remember them well ! 🏒🥅
The Sharks honored the Seals with that jersey, and also had a 50th anniversary night of bay area hockey back in 2017. Don't really know how much more they can honor a franchise not a lot of people remember existing, let alone one that did so poorly.
Good point, not exactly a lot of great memories with the Seals to celebrate!
So glad you finally did the California Golden Seals!
Len Frig and Bob Stewart were the defensive pairing that I've ever seen.
Haha yeah finally got around to it!
I was becoming a huge California Golden Seals and hockey fan when they moved. Very disappointing. Goalie Giles Meloche was very underrated.
Definitely underrated!
Wow never knew Flyers great Reggie was a Seal ..awesome vlog...Thanks for posting I was in high school in the late 70"s I dont remember the Barons, I was even playing high school hockey..no internet and like 10 channels on TV lol...
The seals were the reason I became a RED WING fan. I grew up in the bay area and the team was so bad, it wasn't till I saw Gordie Howe play that I knew how the game was supposed to be played.
What I remember, when I was 10 years old my Dad took me to the "new" Madison Square Garden during the 1967-1968 season (the first year of expansion) to see the New York Rangers play a new team, the Seals, who were called the Oakland Seals at that time. I remember. It was November, 1967, and the Oakland Seals lost 5 to 3. They changed their name to the California Golden Seals for the 1970-1971 season.
First game I ever saw was the Seals playing the St Louis Blues. Early 70’s believe the Seals won.
they practiced before the season started in Oshawa Ontario. We use to go seem them at the Civic. Harry Howel was the captain. Back then NHL had preseason games at the Civic. Red Wings , Philly and St. Louis played the Seals.
10:24 Nice photo of Ace Bailey. Sadly lost on 9/11 R.I.P. #14
I remember them as a kid. Thanks for this
You’re welcome!
Two things stimulated hockey in the U.S. which in my opinion saved the NHL from almost certain collapse. The merger with the WHA, which added additional talent to the league and the rise of the Philly Flyers with their rough & tumble style becoming a Stanley Cup winner 2 straight years. Those things at least in the northeast area of the U.S. were enough to generate every youth interest in hockey, creating street hockey teams in neighborhoods and stimulating nationwide interest. The Flyers beating the Russians touring team didn't hurt either. Hockey in the U.S. got an additional boost in the 80's when the U.S. Olympic team won the gold medal.
Love your videos.
Patiently waiting for videos on the mid-century MLB telocations:
-Braves
-Browns
-A's
-Dosgers/Giants
Thank you! All those are great ideas, I'll probably get to the A's one first since they'll be moving to Sacramento next year and then hopefully the others after that.
@@AllSportsHistory their moving history is just insane. Had a deal to stay in Philly, then one of their owners scuttled it. Became basically a Yankees farm team in KC. Finlay tried to move the team to a cornfield. Blocked from going to San Jose. Insanity...
Another great job bud , really enjoyed it...great photos ..thanks ! appreciate your quality work..........
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
OMG been waiting for this one! Great job as always!
Thank you, appreciate it!
Very enjoyable and I was at Rapt attention. This was at a interesting and cool period of time for beloved Hockey! Free Agency+ Rival League. ❤. Bruins had a lotta Departures!, were ready 4 More CUPS! ❤
I am an Oilers fan but I live in California and have been to San Jose and Oakland before and when I passed by the Oakland Arena I thought about this team.
Love your content. Subbed.
Thank you, appreciate it!
Thanx for the history lesson. 😎👍
You’re welcome!
I remember after the Barons folded how good the North Stars got! The Stars got really good in the playoffs by knocking off the Habs.
Yeah pretty much turned the franchise around!
I loved the Oakland/California Seals when I was a kid. Living in Detroit the Wings games in Oakland and LA were never televised on TV. Every other teams away game were. They were a great mystery. Hockey Night in Canada never televised them either. The Seals and Kings never got exposure.
I can imagine the mystery aspect of them made them seem cooler!
@@AllSportsHistory Those all good gold jerseys and pants the kings wore and the gold jerseys the seals wore were the coolest.
true
I'm a Kings fan myself, so I'm biased towards those old purple and gold jerseys haha.
@@AllSportsHistory My favorite jerseys of all time. The gold pants just made them look so cool and unique to every other uniform in the NHL. The 1974-75 squad are my favorite team of all time. I have a Kings gold jersey in my Closet.
My first game was watching my SEALS skate to a 2-2 tie against the red wings.
@All Sports History It’s a Shame The Fans Didn’t Show Up For Home Games For The Golden Seals at Times and This Team Was Bad Which Was a Shock Since The Ownership Sucked!
Yeah it would be interesting to see what would have happened had the Seals turned around and not had to relocate. Obviously there would be no Sharks, but what other teams might there be?
@@AllSportsHistoryTrue and Glad The Sharks Brought Hockey Back To The Bay Area Which Was Fantastic For The Fans!
So in a roundabout way the Gunds Seals ownership ended up being the reason for the North Stars relocation to Dallas. So we have three people to blame in Minnesota the Gunds and Norm Green.
haha unfortunately yeah thats about right. The Gunds would have found a way to relocate the Stars somewhere, if they couldn't get another team.
What a hockey rink you had in Minnesota. I miss the old MET..
My very first NHL game was January of 1971 in Pittsburgh. The Penguins played the Seals. It was Stick Night. Everyone including adults received an actual hockey stick.
lol oh boy that’s like the bat giveaways some of the old baseball stadiums used to do 😂
@@AllSportsHistory Later that same year. I went to Bat Day at a Pirates game. All of us kids were told to hold up our bats during the seventh inning stretch.
I was at that game.
The 1974-75 Golden Seals became the second major pro sports team to incorporate Teal/Aqua Marine as a uniform color after the Miami Dolphins in 1966. Another unique feature were the Baltimore Colts style shoulder trim.
Ahead of their time really, by the 1990's lots of teams would suddenly use teal and purple as their colors lol
No hockey team has done that since with the with the Baltimore Indianapolis Colts style stripes over the shoulders probably because of the Seals failure
I was born in S.F. and witnessed the sport of my life at the age of 7.54 years later love the game better,although it was a better game when nobody knew about it...
Hockey is the best in person!
Oakland seems to have a history of failed franchises.I dont know why.I remember the team as the California Golden Seals.The other ones I remember were the Atlanta Flames and the Colorado Rockies.
I saw them play the Islanders in 1973.
Please do one on the Vegas Golden Knights
Looking back, it's strange to think that the Dallas Stars hold the histories and records of the North Stars, Seals and Barons. But if they're not going to do anything with the old logos and colors, why not give them to the Wild, Sharks, and Blue Jackets respectively?
I recall seeing them playing in pittsburgh when I was a kid my first jersey was a seal jersey given to me by my uncle..
Hopefully you still have the jersey somewhere!
When it comes to the Penguins possible move to Seattle that was mentioned at 6:53, the owners behind it (which included entertainer Danny Kaye) would back out of that deal & instead invest their funds into the new MLB franchise that would begin play in 1977 in the Mariners. Apart from this, the only other time Seattle would be involved in NHL relocation talks was in 2009-10 when the Coyotes were rumored to move there due to ownership instability at the time. The NHL ultimately decided to keep the Coyotes in Arizona where they remained until a few weeks ago when they moved to Salt Lake City. Seattle would have to wait until 2018 to get an NHL team when they got an expansion team in the Kraken that would begin play in 2021.
Great info to know!
what a shame the NHL didnt pan out in the bay area the first time
Agreed!
I love that blue and white jersey of the seals
Yeah they were pretty cool!
Love how these classic hockey players didn't wear helmets. Those all wild wild West. Some watch just see a hockey fist fight
2:10 that logo 🥴😄
Do one on The Milwaukee Braves. 😀👍⚾️
Yeah that’s a good one to do!
Please do one on the Seattle Kraken
I think Gilles Meloche was a great goalie, kept them in games. Used to watch on tv , when Seals were on or against Blackhawks on radio. Too bad what happened. Why the Sharks have no problem with attendance but the Seals did ? Thanks, greetings from Wisconsin. Is Milwaukee ever been considered an NHL town ? I think we are too close to Chicago, this is Blackhawks territory on the northern fringe, and we have the AHL Admirals. Too small a market.
It drives me crazy that Milwaukee is never seriously considered as an NHL expansion city. They support every other sport, it doesn't make sense to me.
@@AllSportsHistory I think that we would have to pay compensation fee to Chicago. This is the northern part of influence of Backhawks territory fan base, as there are some here. But there is Wisconsin Badgers hockey, with great tradition. and Milw Admirals of the AHL. We're just too close to Chicago, but being a smaller market, can only support so many teams like Bucks, Brewers, Packers, Admirals, college teams. That's my guess. Lloyd Pettit tried once , but no go. Thank you for your reply, keep up the good work, I enjoy it.
The NHL should've intervened and bought the seals/barons franchise in 1976 so that way there wasn't an uneven number of teams.
Yeah, maybe so. It seems like the NHL was dealing with a lot of struggling teams at the time plus the growing threat of the WHA which would have made that even more difficult.
ANY team owned by Finley was doomed to fail.
@@csnide6702The A's were great until Finley got rid of his players in 1976 as free agents
Growing up in Arizona I never saw a hockey game despite a cousin who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs (Ron Ellis). My first ever exposure to hockey was a TV game in '67 when the Seals played someone (foe long forgotten) to a 1-1 tie. I thought hockey was the dumbest game I had ever seen.....until I moved several years later and became a fan of the Rangers. To this day I love hockey above all other sports. Unfortunately, Arizona just lost the Coyotes so apparently the NHL's instability is still around.
Hockey is the best, especially in person. Just watching it on TV, doesn’t do it justice.
I just saw on the CBC that Ron Ellis passed away yesterday, May 11, at the age of 79. I'm a Torontonian and watching Ron play for the Leafs was very much a part of my childhood. I believe he started "Teen Ranch" on Hwy. 10 as a place where underpriviledged kids could have a summer vacation. This must have been at considerable expense to himself, as he played most of his career before NHL salaries began to skyrocket. By all accounts a very decent man who gave back to the community. My condolences to you and your family.
apparently some were semi pro.
You planning to do a video on the Arizona coyotes?
Yeah my next hockey video will most likely be on the Coyotes :)
@@AllSportsHistoryI Feel Bad For Arizona Hockey Fans!
That first year Philadelphia and Pittsburgh played in the WEST division..... WTF?
Maybe even crazier is that Vancouver was in the East when they first came into the league.
@@AllSportsHistory NHL didn't own a map......
The 6 expansion clubs was the West division
The Seals were a semi-disaster, they then moved to Cleveland to become a bigger disaster. The Gund family wanted to keep the lights on more nights in the Richfield Coliseum to supplement the Cavalers. It was an edifice in the middle of a sheep pasture, now part of a national park. San Jose was a better place, with a dedicated building for hockey. Not as much competition with MLB, NFL and Warriors. But San Jose still has that dense No Cal population. They also benefited from Gretzky in So Cal which made the KIngs much more NHL profile entertainment in California.
Instead of the San Jose Barracuda, the Sharks should have resurrected the California Golden Seals name and colors for their AHL affiliate. The Stars might still own the rights, but I'm sure a deal could be worked out.
Yeah and the Stars aren’t even using the Seals name.
My cousin played for the Seals
That's awesome!
Perfect illustration of how bad ownership doons an franchise
Yep exactly!
@@AllSportsHistory I got a few more suggestions
Why is Michigan Stadium so special?
How did the Florida Marlins win the 2003 World Series?
The short career and life of Ricky Bell
What made Roberto Clemente a legend in the MLB?
The tragic death of Par Tillman
The story of the 1992 USA Men's Olympic Basketball team.
The Coyotes are the most recent example of a mismanaged franchise.
All good ones, especially the 2003 World Series. The Bartman episode will forever live in infamy!
Actually they were the Oakland Seals the first year.
Yeah my bad, I should have clarified that the team began the season in 1967 as the "California Seals" and were changed to the "Oakland Seals" in November of '67.
I think if the seals were in San Francisco instead of Oakland then they may have stayed a little bit longer.
Yeah I think so too, they could just never get a new arena deal in SF!
@@AllSportsHistory That's the problem, and the reason why San Jose got an NHL team instead of San Francisoo
Yep exactly
The Clapping seals
So the Golden Seals ultimately became the Dallas Stars?
In a roundabout way, yeah.
Barons had the best jersey!
It was a cool jersey and logo combination for sure!
@@AllSportsHistory You spelled Blackhawks wrong!! #RedandBlack
The Chicago Blackhawks ❤have the best jerseys in ALL of professional sports
A team today would be called the San Francisco Steals, or the Bay Area Crappers.
Or something like the SanFran Dragkweens...
Charles O. Finley knew nothing about hockey and it showed.
Yep pretty much!
That's why baseball was his passion and guess what...dynasty! Three World Series titles in a row in the early 70s!
You ask what happen to the Golden Seals. White skates is what happened.
Exactly! 🎯
I followed the NHL in the 60s and 70s. The Seals never won anything...awful team...
Unfortunately true, never had decent ownership.
Bring back the Hartford Whalers!
Agreed!
Never happening it's a different NHL world since 1997
A new arena in San Francisco would be called the encampment
A failure as a team. A failure as a frachise. And sharks are no different. We suck!
Haha yeah, at least the Sharks have the top pick for the draft!
Arizona coyotes coming next
Yep, for sure the next hockey video I do :)
They moved to Cleveland and became the Cleveland Barons. Which in turn merged into the Minnesota North Stars. End of Story!!! I just saved you all 11 minutes which you could not otherwise get back! Your Welcome!😎😎
Thanks pretty sure the video was boring anyways!
The North Stars were one of the second six. Perhaps you could learn something by ,actually, watching the video.
just another troubled franchise
The Golden Seals 🦭 never got any respect.
Agreed!
The Rodney Dangerfield of hockey
Oakland gets no respect to close to S.F. ; ITS a shame all their teams have left the city the A;S are next.🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲😫
Sad but true!
Respect is earned...Oakland lost the opportunities that were handed them on a silver platter
@@cousinit718 How’s that the N.F.L is full of greed ; that’s why they are selling televised games to pay streaming channels. TOTAL GREED. PERIOD
The Oakland Coliseum is a subpar facility. The City and County have not really been able to fix or replace. What do you want them to do?
Oh yeah, just stay.
You wouldn't.
@@cousinit718 I’m old school they will always be the OAKLAND RAIDERS to me. LOL. SAD I seen Jim Otto just passed my hr rest in peace.
Please do one on the Cleveland Rockers