The San Francisco Seals were a minor league hockey team from 1961 to 1967.
The Seals were one of six teams added to the league as part of the 1967 National Hockey League (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.
The Seals were the second professional sports team in Oakland after the Las Vegas Raiders arrived in 1960, while the Athletics arrived in 1968 and the Golden State Warriors arrived in 1971.
The Seals played 10 seasons in Oakland and never won a Championship. The owner lost patience with the struggling franchise and ended up selling the team back to the NHL. They ended play in 1976, 15 years before the San Jose Sharks.
