San Diego Gulls (1966-1974)

Western Hockey League (1966-1974)

Gulls Gear

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San Diego Gulls
1966-1974 Replica Jersey

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• Each jersey individually handmade

• Any name and number

• Sewn tackle twill crest, numbers & letters

• 100% polyester

• Heavyweight fabric made to game standards

• Fight strap included

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Background

The original San Diego Gulls were a popular entry in the minor Western Hockey League in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The club was the brainchild of veteran San Diego sports booster Bob Breitbard, who oversaw construction of the San Diego Sports Arena in 1966 and owned both of its major tenants: the Gulls and the NBA’s San Diego Rockets.

Tax pressures on the Arena overtook Breitbard in 1971, forcing him to sell off the Rockets basketball team to Houston interests and relinquish control of the Arena to Canadian businessman Peter Graham.  But Breitbard held onto the Gulls for several more seasons and continued to nurture dreams of attracting a National Hockey League expansion franchise to San Diego. Meanwhile, the Gulls continued to pull strong crowds throughout the early Seventies, both for WHL play and for a pair of high profile international exhibitions against the Soviet National Team.

Gulls Culled

The death knell for the San Diego Gulls WHL franchise rang in the spring of 1974. The National Hockey League went to war with the upstart World Hockey Association over players and expansion markets. The NHL awarded expansion franchises to long-time WHL cities Denver and Seattle. Arena owner Peter Graham served an eviction notice on the Gulls to make way for the relocating Jersey Knights of the WHA. Without a building or a viable league to play in, the Gulls called it quits in June 1974.

The “Gulls” nickname has subsequently been revived by three different San Diego minor league hockey franchises. Most recently, the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls opened for business in the fall of 2015.

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ICE WARRIORS

The Pacific Coast/Western Hockey League 1948-1974

By Jon C. Stott

 

Between 1948 and 1974, more than 2,500 minor-league professional hockey players skated across the Pacific Northwest states and western Canada as part of the 23 teams that made up the Western Hockey League (known as the Pacific Coast Hockey League before 1952). Some of the young players went on to enjoy careers in the National Hockey League; others were former NHLers willing to extend their careers by returning to the minors. Many of the most colorful, however, were minor-league “lifers” who simply had hockey in their blood and built their reputations in the WHL and other minor pro leagues.Ice Warriors traces the WHL’s origins, rise and fall, and includes interviews with players, coaches and fans as well as statistical records and pictures from the era.

 

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In Memoriam

Gulls founder Bob Breitbard passed away on May 17, 2010 at the age of 91. San Diego Union-Tribune obituary.

Downloads

1972 Gulls vs. Denver Spurs Lester Patrick Cup Semi-Finals Scorecard

Links

Western Hockey League Media Guides

Western Hockey League Programs

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