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50 Years Ago Today

Related Topics: Jack Kent Cooke, Original Six

There was the Original Six.

Then came the Kings.

It all boiled down to a meeting on February 9, 1966, where the NHL’s Board of Governors scanned over their options for the league’s expansion to 12 teams, eventually awarding Jack Kent Cooke a franchise in Los Angeles.

50 YRS AGO TODAY: Expansion era began when Owners-Governors awarded 6 conditional franchises. From meeting minutes: pic.twitter.com/p5gPSdQ4sY

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 9, 2016

Cooke, who was the Lakers’ owner at the time and a native Canadian, exclaimed, “I feel like I’m now one echelon above the President of the United States.