The original San Diego Gulls team was founded in 1966 as part of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major 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 h ...

. The Gulls played at the

San Diego Sports Arena Pechanga Arena (historically known as the San Diego Sports Arena) is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California. The arena seats 12,000 for indoor football, 12,920 for ice hockey, indoor soccer and ...

Willie O'Ree Willie Eldon O'Ree (born October 15, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, best known for being the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL). O'Ree played as a winger for the Boston Bruins. O'Ree is referred t ...

, the first black athlete to play in the NHL, was an All-Star for the Gulls. 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 ...

. 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. The Gulls ceased operations in 1974, when the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

's Jersey Knights relocated to San Diego, becoming the

San Diego Mariners The San Diego Mariners were an ice hockey team based in San Diego that played in the World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1977 at the San Diego Sports Arena. Previous to being in San Diego, the team was known as the New York Raiders, New York ...

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

Season-by-season results

See also

References

External links