The Los Angeles Kings are one of six teams that gained entrance to the league in 1967. The NHL operated with only six teams from 1942 until 1967. At this time, the league granted franchises to Los Angles, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Oakland and Philadelphia. These six new teams made up the West Division. The original six made up the East Division.
Jack Kent Cooke, a Canadian entrepreneur was able to convince the league to allow him to have a franchise. The city of his choice was Los Angeles. Cooke knew that there were a number of Canadians living and working in the area and he strongly believed that they would be a great start to building a loyal fan base.
One of the first obstacles that this new team faced was finding a place to play. Cooke’s first thought was to have his new team play in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. This facility was already home to the Los Angeles Lakers, a team, which was also owned by Cooke. Sadly, Cooke and the commission which owned and operated the arena were unable to come to an agreement. Frustrated with the negotiations, Cooke decided to construct his own facility where his NHL team could play.
One of the decisions that Cooke made was the colors for his new team. Cooke decided to go with purple (which was later dubbed “forum blue”) and gold. These were the same colors that were worn by his Lakers.
The new facility would not be ready for the team’s first season, so the King’s were forced to play the first part of the 1967 season in the Long Beach Arena. The King’s very first opponent was the Philadelphia Flyers. With head coach Red Kelly behind the bench, the King’s fans were treated to a victory. They defeated the flyers with an impressive score of 4 -2.
The brand new “Fabulous Forum” was finally ready on December 30th, 1967. Once again the King’s faced off against the Flyers on opening night. Sadly, the home team was not able to repeat its previous performance; they were defeated by the Flyers 2 – 0. The King’s posted a remarkable 31-33-10 by the end of the season. This record is one of the best opening seasons of any sports team in any league.
