The California Golden Seals were a team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967–76. Initially named California Seals, the team was renamed Oakland Seals part-way through the 1967–68 season, and then to California Golden Seals in 1970. The Seals were one of six teams added to the league as part of the 1967 NHL expansion. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena. However, the Seals were never successful at the gate, and eventually moved to Cleveland to become the Cleveland Barons in 1976.

In 1966, the NHL announced that six expansion teams would be added as a new division for the 1967–68 season, officially because of a general desire to expand the league to new markets, but just as importantly to squelch the Western Hockey League's threat to turn itself into a major league. The San Francisco Seals were one such team from the WHL, and after it was purchased by Barry Van Gerbig and moved across the Bay to a new arena in Oakland, the Seals joined the NHL. The Bay Area was not considered a particularly lucrative hockey market, but the terms of a new television agreement with CBS called for two of the expansion teams to be located in California.

California (pronounced ⁱ/kælɨˈfɔrnjə/) is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third most extensive (after Alaska and Texas). It is home to the nation's second- and sixth-largest census statistical areas (Los Angeles Metropolitan Area and San Francisco Bay Area), and eight of the nation's fifty most populated cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach and Oakland). The capital city is Sacramento.

California's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west, to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east – from the Redwood–Douglas-fir forests of the northwest, to the Mojave Desert areas in the southeast. The center of the state is dominated by Central Valley, a major agricultural area. California contains both the highest and lowest points in the contiguous United States (Mount Whitney and Death Valley), and has the third-longest coastline of all states (after Alaska and Florida). Earthquakes are a common occurrence due to the state's location along the Pacific Ring of Fire: about 37,000 are recorded annually.

Billy Lee (William Lee Schlenaker) (March 12, 1929 – November 17, 1989) was a child actor who appeared in many films from the mid 1930s through the early 1940s.

Lee's first role was in the Our Gang comedy Mike Fright as a tap dancer in a sailor suit. His first significant role was in Wagon Wheels when he was just four years old, though he is probably best remembered for his performance in The Biscuit Eater. He also did the voice of "The Boy" character in the animated portion of the Disney film, The Reluctant Dragon. In addition to being an actor, he was also a singer and dancer, appearing and singing with Bobby Breen in Make A Wish. Lee continued acting throughout the 1930s, appearing in a number of movies and working alongside some of Hollywood's finest, including, Lon Chaney Jr., Roy Rogers, Charles Boyer, Randolph Scott, Olivia de Havilland, and Broderick Crawford. Lee retired from film in 1943.

Lee died on November 17, 1989, of a sudden heart attack.