Hi everyone! If you’re a Canadian hockey fan, it’s been a bit of an up-and-down couple of weeks. Just when it seemed like the Edmonton Oilers had momentum on their side, and were going to finally put an end to the country’s ridiculously long Stanley Cup drought, it all fell apart rather dramatically. And now the season is over, and there are 31 teams trying to figure out how they are going to take down the Florida Panthers next years. It is the time of year when some teams, if not all, feel like they have hope for the future, and that in a few months, they will be starting down the same road the Panthers took to get where they are now.

In sticking with the “hope” theme, I’ve posted a new article from the Seals’ last season in the Western Hockey League, and in reading it, you can feel the enthusiasm that was enveloping the entire team. Subscriber Bob Marceau sent me this piece about the Seals’ attendance, and how it was on the rise after the club moved from San Francisco to Oakland, and its brand new Coliseum. I had forgotten the impact the arena had on the club’s fortunes. One one hand, the Coliseum was a NHL calibre rink, and a first-class facility that everyone loved. On the other hand, the rise in attendance likely gave everyone false hope that the Seals were going to succeed in the NHL. We all know how that turned out. During that fateful season of 1966-67, however, it certainly looked as though this NHL thing could be a rousing success. I invite you to read this piece, especially if you are a bit of a stats nut like me.

As an added bonus this week, I’d like to share a few interesting photos of a typewriter (remember those?) once used in the Seals’ office. Thanks to Michael Han for sending them to me, and for allowing me to post them for all of you. Here are a few details regarding the typewriter (quoted from Michael’s last email): “The owner said that he inherited it from a man named Art Biddlecomb (or maybe Bittlecomb) who was a huge hockey fan and bought this off the team’s press agent. The typewriter itself is a 1948 Royal Quiet De Luxe. Its case had an “Air Canada” luggage tag on it. Interestingly, to me, several of the old typewriters I’ve picked up have had luggage tags or even postal/address tags directly on the case. To think that there was a time that you should mail or check something as delicate as a typewriter & it would arrive in working condition.”

Sadly, even after looking through the media guides from the Finley era, I wasn’t able to pinpoint the owner of the typewriter, but if anyone out there knows anything about it, or who owned it, please drop me a line and fill me in!

Until next time, stay gold!