The San Diego Gulls were a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team based in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, that competed in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

(WHL). The team, the first to use the ''Gulls'' nickname, was founded in 1966. The Gulls ceased operations in 1974, when the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

's Jersey Knights relocated to San Diego, becoming the San Diego Mariners. The team played its home games at the

San Diego Sports Arena Pechanga Arena is an indoor arena in San Diego, California. Opened in 1966, it is an example of New Formalism architecture and has been designated by the City of San Diego as a historic resource. The arena has been home to numerous athletic team ...

History

Prior to the Gulls, the very first hockey team came to San Diego in the 1940s. They were called the San Diego Skyhawks and played at Glacier Gardens downtown. Even though they were a hockey team, they weren’t considered a pro team until the San Diego Gulls came to town. The Gulls arrived in 1966 and the Sky Hawks went out of business in 2006. The Gulls were coached by

Max McNab Maxwell Douglas McNab (June 21, 1924 – September 2, 2007) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, and National Hockey League (NHL) general manager. He played in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings between 1947 and 1951, winning the ...

for six seasons from 1966 to 1972, and by Jack Evans for two seasons from 1972 to 1974.

Willie O'Ree William Eldon O'Ree (born October 15, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player from Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is widely recognized for being the first black player in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing as a winger ...

, the first black athlete to play in the NHL, was an All-Star for the team. His jersey is

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

Season-by-season results

Source:San Diego Gulls seasons (Western Hockey League)
/ref> ''Legend'': Pct=Winning percentage

References

External links

WHL San Diego Gulls Historical Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Diego Gulls (1966-1974) Ice hockey teams in San Diego Philadelphia Flyers minor league affiliates Western Hockey League (1952–1974) teams 1966 establishments in California 1974 disestablishments in California Ice hockey clubs established in 1966 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1974 Boston Bruins minor league affiliates

History

Season-by-season results

See also

References

External links