My parents used to go watch the Seals after they were married in San Francisco in 1968! That is how my family came to love hockey even though both my father and I grew up playing football and baseball. We have been watching the San Jose Sharks since day one and were more of a ice hockey family than a baseball or football family anymore even though my dad has has San Francisco 49ers season tickets since 1976. Thank you Shannon for the cool history lesson on the old California Seals!

I remember this team...and I remember the Flyers getting Conn Smythe winner Reggie Leach from them. So many of those teams from the 70s are long gone now....the Whalers, Scouts, North Stars, Atlanta Flames, Cleveland Barons (Seals earlier), Nordiques...lots of turnover in those days,

That was my team bro, a fan from 3,000 miles away in Long Island. Got so many stories...

Most interesting PR move they did was hire Charles Schultz (snoopy) to design a mascot for them.

Good Stuff. My uncle sold tickets at the Oakland Arena. as an 8 year old who just started playing In Hayward, I would stand in the ticket booth with him until he was done and then he get his money counted and the two of us would go into the locker room, see the players between periods. I would sit on a bench and see Meloche, Bobby Stewart, Joey Johnston, Walt Mckenie and Craig Patrick come in the locker room. We would then go into the arena and have our pick of seats and watch two periods of hockey. The Seals weren't very good, but because of them being in Oakland, I was able to see some of the greats in game play. Bobby Clark, Bobby Orr, Stan Mikita, both Esposito brothers, Henri Richard, Mahavolich, Dionne, Micky Redmond, Dryden. I kept playing because of those guys until my late 40's. Coach Fred Glover's step son played defense on my team. I was a top scorer in NorCal during that time,( for whatever that's worth in California hockey) He would give me tips here and there. I went on to play Juniors and then a little in The Army, before just enjoying rec and lunch time pick up hockey. But that crappy organization motivated me for 4 am or 10 pm practices for the next 10 years. I loved it and the game. Thanks Seals!

Carol Vadnais was a very good defenceman with offensive flair and also very tough. He was a solid player for the team but just got tired of all the losing. He had a very long career playing with Boston and the Rangers after the Seals. One of the best stories about the Seals is while they were drawing few fans at their games a fan called the team office asking what time the game started and the reply was, "What time can you get here?"

Ahh, but being a Seals fan was in its own way something very special. One night when the Seals shut out the mighty Montreal Canadiens 2 to 0. The energy in that building was like a playoff game. Great great memories.

A lot of good info there, Seals are an intriguing hockey story I know a player who was there '74-'76. Yes, Gilles Meloche was a stellar goalie as well.

Tom Lysiak was drafted #2 overall in '73 by the Flames -- after Denis Potvin. In '79 he was traded to Chicago in an eight player trade. Two of the players Atlanta acquired in that trade were Darcy Rota and Ivan Boldirev. When Charley O. bailed out, the new owners of the Seals changed the colors to teal and gold and got rid of the names. I have a teal authentic Joey Johnston #22 captain's sweater/jersey -- without his name. Johnston was traded to Chicago for a washed-up Jim Pappin after the '75 season. Johnston got in a car wreck that summer and played a grand total of 32 games for the Black Hawks, without scoring a goal.

Seattle could be the Seals? Interesting...I would like to see California or Oakland Golden Seals back, but I guess California has Sharks, Kings, and the Ducks already. Very informative, thank you.

Hardly mentioned Cleveland, yet so much nostalgia arose from that team transfer of local.

I had flyers season tickets but didn't go to the game when the seals Barry Cummins hit Bobby Clark over the head with a stick and a major brawl ensued. It must have been very frustrating for the seals players to have to go through all they did.

In 73-74 they had NO LOCAL RADIO COVERAGE.

Before the video...love that you would even broach something obscure as this. You the best Shannon!

My grammas cousin was Paul shmyr, was one of the first free agents of NHL.

They actually had FOUR different versions of colored skates -- their first year under Finley they had green skates with yellow trim, and yellow skates with green trim. After that they changed to white with green trim, and finally all white with green laces. AND when the team was sold back to the league in February 73-74 they finally got to wear normal skates with the green/gold uniforms. I saw their first game with normal skates as the Rangers were playing Friday night in Oakland televised here in NY at 11 p.m. You can read a short anecdote about it in the new book about the Seals by Steve Currier. And as for a movie... there was already a documentary done last year by Mark Greczmiel, look for it.

Poor stick boy.

i was very Proud to be an Original member of the Oakland Seals,and now 50 some years later am veryb proud to have played with the Seals ,four 4 great years.We did the best we could every night.Our fans were great,there just wasn,t enough of them ...and we had to show up when we played on the road,against teams that were much better than us,and we always did.Can you imagine going into the Montreal Forum or Madison Square Gardens ass the goalie for the Seals what it felt like?i am very proud of the time i spent with the Seals...I was traded for Gilles Meloche which was a great trade for Oakland as he was several years younger than me and atb that point i was shellshocked after having played over 200 games in the 4 years that i was with the Seals,In the 4 years that i was there we made the playoffs twice and i was the Only goalie with the Seals to ever win a playoff game .The year i left the Seals i shared the Vezina trophy with Tony Esposito in Chicago,went on to be selected to play in the All Star game in 1975 with Vancouver .that year i was voted 4th for the Hart Trophy,Bobby Clark won it and in his acceptance speech said Thank You Very much but Gary Smith Should have won it.Why don,t you say something nice about somebody?

Thanks for the Seals' story, because it needs telling. Your postscript regarding the Gund's homecoming to BA from Minnesota could use an episode of its own - Dallas included. Especially the revelation of how jersey and logo merchandising became a thing with the Sharks, lack of an adequate team notwithstanding. It wasn't just filling seats anymore, otherwise QC would have its team. SJ was the last 'learning module' for prospective NHL franchise owners as to how to market a team in the US, and if the WHA had learned that lesson early on, its story would have been different. What really needs telling, though, is the story of hockey in Cleveland. The Blue Jackets are nice, but the rust belt could use a Crusaders' revival - they were viable in the WHA for awhile, and Mileti made it so - and the Cincinnati Stingers were also prescient. Ohio will figure large in the NHL's future if it plays its cards right.

You glossed over Larry Patey at #130 in the draft, a good pick as he turned into a decent 2-way player and penalty killer in his career.

Great episode. Go Seals! I shook Ralph Klassen's hand at a NY Islanders game on L.I. circa 1976. I wrote it down. Still have a GOAL magazine cover in my archives with Gilles Meloche? I have to check. Also, in Central Park in NYC in 1992 I was wearing a new NY Islanders woolen cap. A very new cap. I passed a homeless guy, God bless him, wearing a green with gold stripes "Golden Seals" woolen hat. I traded him, he got a new NY Islanders hat, in NY Rangers country. I put the tired hat in my bag, washed it like 5 times, now it is in my old time hockey archive. Go Seals!!!

I think if the Seals came in when the Sharks did under better ownership and management they'd be better.

Ernie Hicke is my old coach. He's such a cool dude.

Great information on the Seals draft history. You are so right. When they got it right, they found a way to make it wrong. The names you mentioned that were passed over, they could have been a very strong team!

I had no idea the Lafleur deal happened the day i was born. Love it.

I have lived in the Bay Area all my life and Seals ownership was horrible! When I was a kid in the 70’s, they never advertised or anything. Sharks are so different

The Sharks are wearing Seals jerseys as reverse retros for 2022-23

Very interesting recount of the Seals history. I followed them as a teenager. I wished San Jose had picked the "Seals" name, as it would have completed the perfect circle back for the team. Wasn't even on the radar. I guess Seals aren't nearly as intimidating as Sharks, or they didn't want the negative Karma.

The owner of the Seals was Charles Oscar Finley AKA Charlie O the owner of the 3 time world champion Oakland As in MLB. He was a character to say the least. He was also notoriously cheap. He paid the As $1,000 to grow mustasches but when it came time to paying them for winning championships he didn't. The fact that the Seals were run poorly was no surprise with him as the owner. In fact a side note, he had this little kid working for him and his name was MC Hammer. He got his nickname from none other than Reggie Jackson because he looked like Hank Aaron.

You got me watching some other videos about the California Seals franchise which there's tons on KZfaq. You're right about making a movie which you wonder where they'll file it under what category. Still admit this team with the Los Angeles Kings opened up hockey in California. There's also a video showing the San Jose Sharks had a night recognizing members of the Golden Seals. Lastly if we can jump our DeLorean and go back in time, do wonder what if Guy LaFleur was a Golden Seal?

It seems the Seals Barons North Stars Stars and Sharks are all linked together

I'd like to see the Seals be Revived in some shape and form, but, it would have to take the Hockey Hall of Fame Route for Revivals and what is nuttier is the Los Angeles Kings, their Pacific Coast Rivals, Pre-Gretzky History has largely been unknown also compared to the Eastern Counterparts at the time.

San Francisco getting new arena for N.B.A. Warriors, would be cool if The California Seals joined the A.H.L. or other hockey league

Wow sounds like the worst management in NHL history great video

It helped simmer to play with great line mates

This is great thank you

There’s a pretty decent doc on them on iTunes.

The Seals played the Kings on Christmas Eve 1972 at rhe Coliseum- there may have been 2000 people at the game. Quietest crown I ever heard at a sporting event

Didn't think this was going to be that interesting but u are a great storyteller

funny you do this video now, i just met Dennis Maruk two days ago

Well, with the Raiders off to Las Vegas, Oakland could always resurrect the old Oakland Seals name next time they get a football team, similar to how Denver resurrected the Colorado Rockies (their old hockey team) name for their baseball team.

love the jersey,so cool

When you were discussing the trades the Seals made I was hoping you’d talk about the Hextall for Johnston and McKechnie trade. I didn’t like it - some of my buddies did. IMO Dennis Hextall is the type of player you try and get, not trade away. In the mid 70s it sounded like the Seals were extremely close to moving to Seattle. At least one player went for the ride and played in Oakland, then Cleveland and then Minnesota. Three cities, but not via trade or free agency. Theoretically a player could have been on all those teams that way and then back to the Bay Area when the Sharks demerged from Minnesota but it didn’t happen. After Mel Swig bought the team from the league he intended to move it across the bay to its original destination - San Francisco - but when the mayor refused to build a new hockey arena he took advice from the minority owners the Gund brothers and moved it to their home town of Cleveland. That ended up being more of a disaster than Oakland! Only lasted two years. Interesting how the Seals were one of the worst - if not THE worst American NHL franchise yet only 15 years later another team in the same metro area (only a half hour drive between arenas) turned out to be one of the best. The fans sure love their Sharks and support them 100%. When it first happened I thought they were crazy to put a team back in that area - they proved me wrong.

Don't forget about Gary "the cobra" Simmons, Gilles malone was one of my favorites too.

if its the same Larry Robinson who played for the Canadians he had great career i think he is in the Hall of Fame

There are three great episodes about the Seals at www.goodseatsstillavailable.com. More episodes touching on the Seals there than anywhere else! Also a new book called The California Golden Seals: a tale of white skates, red ink, and one of the NHL's most outlandish teams that can be found on Amazon.

move the flames to oakland , the jets back to atlanta and then the senators to new mexico and you have the best league ever

I met the all time leading scorer in Peterborough. Joey johnston. Great guy. Signed my seals jersey for me. I think he is still pissed abotthe whole wha thing

After sending those guys to Oakland - Just to make sure the Seals didn't do too good - we - (Montrea) l - sent Terry Harper to LA... ;o) BTW Sam Pollock says hello

When Charlie Finley bought the team ,he said he knew nothing about hockey

Someone should write a book on the Seals and title it "101 ways to ruin a sports franchise." It would be as big a read as Moneyball.

Where'd you get that jersey? Looks remarkably accurate compared to other versions I've seen for sale.

I knew that the franchise merged with Minnesota, but I thought that the merger was made so that Minnesota would be financially stable enough to support their current franchise at the time. This means that once the North Stars were moved to Dallas, wasn't the Seals franchise a part of Stars franchise moving? Wouldn't the Seals still be merged with the current Stars franchise as we know them today? And wouldn't the Sharks expansion team be a completely separate franchise from the previous franchise that was once the Seals?

Ted McAneely did play for the Seals for at least 3 years.. (off the top of my head)..

CALIFORNIA SEALS IN THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME 01. 1985: Rudy Pilous 02. 1985: Bert Olmstead OAKLAND SEALS IN THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME 01. 1979: Harry Howell 02. 1985: Bert Olmstead 03. 1995: Bill Torrey BAY AREA SEALS IN THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME 01. 1979: Harry Howell 02. 1995: Bill Torrey CALIFORNIA GOLDEN SEALS IN THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME 01. 1979: Harry Howell 02. 1995: Bill Torrey 03. 2001: Craig Patrick

Tom lysiac was draft pick of Atlanta flames in 1973 number 2 overall

I found out there is a movie of them on iTunes

Yasssssssssss

Bad ownership,management and horrible scouting which is again do to bad management,this franchise deserved to fail and yes Shannon,it would make a great movie,seeing those white skates again would be hilarious. Bob.

Could you do a video on the history of the Minnesota North Stars?

Go Seals!!!-Check!!!

Guy La Fleur would have never played for the Seals anyway if they didn't make that trade

Will Farrell will get picked, if there is a movie about the golden seals.....sounds like semi pro

Wearing TOOL under that one. Good man.

Liked the early '70's California Golden Seals for a year or two until team insubordination ruined any semblance of WATCHING a real game in the NHL ! 🤣🤣🤣

Charles O defined the gimmick puck

It is no wonder that the Seals failed so badly by drafting the wrong players for so many years. I would pay to see a movie about the franchise though :)

😊

You're using Vegas as if didn't happen there... I thought they went from Las Vegas Knights to Vegas Knights in or at beginning of season....lmk

Shame that the nice name and jersey went to waste

The coaching...

9:44 Randy and Darcy Rota are cousins

So essentially the Seals through bad trades and poor drafting helped win Stanley Cups for 2 different teams from 1974-1979. WTG Seals!

Go Oakland!

I had and probably still have a sign photo of Ted McAneeley . He did make the NHL - www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=3496

The Seals hired a hockey scout from California WTF? That's terrible drafting. I thought the Leafs were bad at drafting.