They were doomed from the start. They limped through nine seasons of NHL infamy and remain, arguably, the most beloved failed franchise in the history of sports. The California Golden Seals, who were born as the California Seals, were a disaster both on the ice and at the cashier’s cage but their misery is a favorite part of hockey lore and history.
As it turns out, the Seals failure was much more a reflection on their constant ownership problems and the WHA-NHL salary wars than it was on hockey’s potential in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The San Jose Sharks were founded in 1991 and have proven that hockey can thrive in Northern California, as evidenced by Saturday night’s Stadium Series game that will be played in front of a sellout crowd of 70,000 fans at Levis Stadium, home of the NFL San Francisco 49ers.
We would be remiss if we didn’t take a look at those beloved Golden Seals, the Bay Area’s first NHL team that may be gone but will never be forgotten.
What Should have been a San Francisco Treat
In 1966 the NHL announced what is now known as the Great Expansion in which it would double from six to 12 teams. All of the expansion teams would be placed in the United States with two teams in California that would operate in Los Angeles and San Francisco. This franchise placement strategy was part of the NHL getting a major TV contract with CBS.
The minor league San Francisco Seals were a popular draw in the Western Hockey League. Those Seals played before big crowds at an ancient building known as the Cow Palace. The building was considered below NHL standards, but a new arena was being built across the bay in Oakland, so the Seals were placed there until a new arena in San Francisco could be built. It proved to be a catastrophic mistake. San Francisco never built that arena and Oakland was ill-suited for an NHL team.
San Franciscans then and now have a haughty attitude of sophistication and no city could be more opposite to that than Oakland, a classic workingman’s town. San Franciscans considered it beneath them to cross the Bay Bridge to Oakland for games. The few that did quickly did the math, which was that the Seals were worse than the old minor league team and NHL prices were much higher. The Oakland Coliseum Arena was mostly empty as a result.
The Seals were originally named the California Seals to try and help unite the fan base and to attempt to hide the stigma of uncouth Oakland. But with empty seats galore, ownership’s strategy quickly changed and decided to go all-in with Oakland. The California Seals became the Oakland Seals halfway through the first season.
Of course the gimmick was doomed to fail. Ownership took a bloodbath of red ink and wanted to sell the team to Vancouver interests. CBS told the NHL to keep the team in the Bay Area. That’s when things went from bad to worse.
Revolving Door of Owners
The Seals original ownership group was led by a young Ivy league trust funder named Barry Van Gerbig. Legendary crooner Bing Crosby was among the partners. Van Gerbig and his group would continually try and sell the team, only to have the hot potato fall back into their laps. A group called Trans National Communications, which included former NFL star Pat Summerall and retired Yankee pitching ace Whitey Ford, bought the team from Van Gerbig. They quickly got out after huge financial losses and Van Gerbig was stuck trying to find another buyer.
CBS was adamant about keeping the team in the Bay area. The NHL was desperate for a permanent solution. They were about to learn the classic lesson about being careful for what you wish for.
Charlie O
Oakland A’s baseball owner Charlie Finley seemed to the NHL leadership to be the perfect solution as owner of the Seals. He would be able to cross-sell the A’s and Seals so it was thought. Finley had other ideas, however, as he wanted to move the team. He had to settle for changing the name of the team to the California Golden Seals. He also changed the team uniforms to the same flashy green and gold combination of his baseball team. He also took things a step beyond that by having his Seals wear white skates, just as his Swingin’ A’s baseball team flashed white shoes. The white skates would wash out on the ice and need constant painting from puck marks. It was one of many bad ideas with Finley.
End of Promise
The Seals were semi-competitive as a playoff team in 1969 and 1970. Finley’s first Seals team finished with a respectable winning percentage of .385 and barely missed the playoffs. General Manager Bill Torrey, who would go on to build a dynasty with the New York Islanders, was quietly building a contender. Defensemen Dick Redmond and Carol Vadnais were highly impressive prodigies and goaltender Gilles Meloche was showing great promise. Forwards such as Gerry Pinder, Bobby Sheehan, Ivan Boldirev and Norm Ferguson kept the Seals in games, But the World Hockey Association was launched in 1972 to compete directly with the NHL. Players now had options. Finley didn’t want to write big checks to keep the talent that Torrey was assembling. The cheap Finley blew up the promising young Seals. It was the beginning of the end.
The End
The Seals began to lose games at a rapid rate but lost even more money. Rock bottom was reached in 1973-74 when they finished 13-55-10 with a win percentage of .231. Finley wanted out. The NHL was stuck with having to buy the team to keep it afloat, similar to what was recently done with the Arizona Coyotes. Local San Francisco hotel magnate Mel Swig bought the team with the idea of building a new San Francisco arena.
Local politics prevented the arena from being built and Swig sold the team to Cleveland interests just as attendance was actually starting to pick up in Oakland and the team was becoming competitive. The final edition of the Seals finished with the second best winning percentage in franchise history at .406. But like all things associated with the Seals, the timing was off and the team finally moved.
Legacy
The Seals were so bad for so long that they carry a special place in the hearts of hockey fans. The gaudy uniforms, the constant ownership issues and ultimate failure simply add to their lore as a team that was doomed from the start but also a beloved part of NHL history. The Seals failure and Sharks success all point to the importance of ownership in the ultimate success or failure of a hockey team. The Sharks are a huge success. But the Seals laid the groundwork for NHL hockey in Northern California.
