BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Bakersfield Condors aren't the only hockey team with a history in Kern County, far from it. Recently, the front office was contacted by a man in Vancouver, B.C., who found a jacket belonging to a team that played at the brand-new Civic Auditorium (later renamed the Convention Center). And that rare find is now back in Bakersfield.
Right now, you can find the sport coat hanging on the back of Matt Riley's door in his office.
"Folks are always finding something from the early days of the Condors," said Riley, the team's president.
But this rare find dates back 60 years, long before the Condors, Oilers or Fog arrived in town. It's a sport coat belonging to a member of the Bakersfield Kernals. The first hockey team to play inside the Civic in the 1962-63 season.
However, this jacket wasn't found in some local closet. It was located in a thrift shop in Chilliwack, B.C., about 45 minutes east of Vancouver by a guy looking for something green to wear for St. Patrick's Day.
"I saw the jacket on the rack and said it's not going to fit," said Nick Thomas, "but it had the embroidered logo. So I paid 10 bucks and it was a good deal."
It wasn't until he started driving away that he realized what he had.
"I recognize Bakersfield, the farm team for the Edmonton Oilers, but I also know Mosrite Guitars are from there, and the country music scene," said Thomas.
Nick sent an email to Matt Riley, president of the Condors AHL club, who jumped at the chance to acquire the only known memorabilia from the Kernals.
"We offered to make it whole, like swapping merchandise or inviting him to a game," said Riley, "but he said he was just happy to do a good deed."
"I envisioned this jacket sitting in a glass display case for all to see, I hope they appreciate it," said Thomas.
But how it arrived in a small shop, in a small town, in British Columbia remains a mystery. A roster of the 1962-63 Kernals on line did show a number of players from north of the border.
You can see the jacket worn by players in several photographs of the team posted in one of the Condors' early programs.
On the inside of the jacket is a patch from Coffee's University Shop, that was part of Harry Coffee's Clothing Store on 19th Street in downtown Bakersfield.
It's unknown, however, who actually wore the jacket, or if it was even a player.
"It's a small jacket," said Riley, "maybe one of the stick boys? I know that no current Condors player can fit in that jacket."
While the front office decides where to display this artifact, one thing is for sure, the guy who found it would like to see it again one day.
"I would love to come visit the jacket some time in the future," said Thomas.
And the Condors hope a discovery like this one will lead to more people digging through closets and trunks to see if any other 'Kernals' of history still exist.
