The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The Seals were one of six teams added to the league as part of the 1967 NHL expansion. Initially named the California Seals, the team was renamed the Oakland Seals during the 1967–68 season and then the Bay Area Seals in 1970 before becoming the California Golden Seals the same year.
Charles Oscar Finley, nicknamed "Charlie O" or "Charley O", was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas City, moving it to Oakland in 1968. He is also known as a short-lived owner of the National Hockey League's California Golden Seals and the American Basketball Association's Memphis Tams.
The San Francisco Seals were a minor league hockey team which played in the Western Hockey League from 1961 to 1967.
The Western Hockey League (WHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league based in Western Canada that operated from 1952 to 1974. The league was managed for most of its history by Al Leader, and had roots in the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League. The championship trophy of the WHL was the Lester Patrick Cup.
The Houston Aeros were a professional ice hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 to 1978.
The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1976 to 1978. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise that had played in Oakland since 1967. After just two seasons, the team merged with the Minnesota North Stars. As a result, the NHL operated with 17 teams during the 1978–79 season.
The 1972–73 NHL season was the 56th season of the National Hockey League. Sixteen teams each played 78 games. Two new teams, the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Flames, made their debuts. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating the Chicago Black Hawks four games to two in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The 1973–74 NHL season was the 57th season of the National Hockey League. The Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup championship, the team's first. The team was the first of the post-1967 teams to win the Cup.
William Arthur Torrey was a Canadian hockey executive. He served as a general manager in the National Hockey League for the Oakland Seals, New York Islanders, and Florida Panthers. He developed the Islanders into a dynasty that won four consecutive Stanley Cups. He was often called "The Architect", or "Bow Tie Bill" for the bow tie he wore.
The Columbus Owls were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League from 1973 to 1977. Prior to 1973, the team was known as the Columbus Golden Seals since 1971. After 1977, the team moved and became the Dayton Owls, and later the Grand Rapids Owls. The longtime owner of the team while it was in Columbus, British-born mortgage writer Al Savill, leveraged his ownership of the club to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1975, which he owned until 1977.
The Columbus Chill were a professional ice hockey team that played in the East Coast Hockey League from October 1991 through the 1998–99 season. They played at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum in Columbus, Ohio. The Chill left Columbus in 1999 and relocated to Reading, Pennsylvania, with the impending arrival of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League. The Columbus Chill are now known as the Reading Royals.
The 1970–71 California Golden Seals season was the Seals' fourth in the NHL, but their first as the Golden Seals. Oakland Athletics owner Charlie O. Finley bought the team in the offseason for approximately $4,500,000. He announced a name change in which his team would be called the Bay Area Seals. On October 16, after the first two games of the season, Finley changed the name once again. The team became known as the California Golden Seals in an attempt to draw fans from across the state of California, in particular from nearby San Francisco. Along with the name change came new green and gold colours, and a new logo and uniforms.
The 1971–72 California Golden Seals season was the team's fifth in the NHL. The Seals missed the playoffs again, but posted a solid improvement over the previous season and finished sixth in the West Division.
James William Jones is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman.
The 1972–73 California Golden Seals season was the California Golden Seals' sixth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Seals were hit particularly hard by defections to the new World Hockey Association, dropping 12 points from the previous year and returning to the basement of the West Division. The Seals had the second worst record in the league, the only team they finished ahead of was the expansion New York Islanders. Making things even worse was that they finished behind one of the two expansion clubs that season, the Atlanta Flames.
Garry Young was a professional ice hockey coach and executive. He was head coach and general manager for the California Golden Seals and head coach for the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League.
The 1973–74 California Golden Seals season was the Seals' seventh season in the NHL. With the continuing depletion of talent due to the World Hockey Association and a lack of interest from owner Charles O. Finley who put the team up for sale, the Seals had a miserable season and sank to a franchise low 36 points. In January 1974, the NHL bought the Seals from owner Charlie Finley for $6.585 million. With the league takeover, the players immediately returned to wearing black skates. The Seals would conclude the season with the worst record in the league.
Bruce Greig was a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who played nine games for the California Golden Seals of the National Hockey League and 60 games for the Calgary Cowboys, Cincinnati Stingers and Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association.
For the American musician, songwriter, and bandleader, see Wayne King.
The 1978 NHL dispersal draft was held on June 15, 1978. It was the result of the merger of two National Hockey League (NHL) teams, the Cleveland Barons and the Minnesota North Stars. The NHL granted majority ownership of the North Stars to Barons owners Gordon Gund and George Gund III, after their bid to buy the Barons' home arena failed, and as the League feared the ownership group of the North Stars, another team performing poorly amid waning fan interest, would cease that team’s operations. To prevent the North Stars from folding, the NHL allowed the Gunds to merge them with the Barons; the Gunds would be majority owners of Minnesota North Stars.
