Hockey History Books

[tarheelhockey]

Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925
George & Darrill Fosty
2004

So, I have two negative critiques of this book. Before I get into that, I just want to say: if there is one hockey book that everyone should read right now, this is the one. It is flawed as a written history, but it is really an important book in the scheme of things. Don’t let the flaws get in the way of that.

The two critiques:

1) I read the Kindle version, and I’m really hoping it was some sort of unedited first draft with mistakes that didn’t make it into the print version. There are major typographic/editing issues that are just hard to explain in a finished product.

2) Despite the title, the book’s focus is only on hockey for a fraction of the time. There are long excursions to talk about the Underground Railroad, Black military service, Halifax urban development, and more. An Amazon reviewer said it well — this is a Black Canadian history with hockey as an occasional touch point, not vice versa. And much of that history is told in a loose editorial style, with a focus on local pride at the expense of rigor.

Now... that being said. The portions of the book which aren’t problematic are richly detailed, eye-opening, and as far as I know unique within the hockey history genre... even 16 years on.

At its best, the book achieves something we usually only see in histories of the Montreal Canadiens — a richly woven fabric of hockey, religion, race, economics, and culture. To achieve that level of texture on such an unheralded topic as 19th Century Black Maritimes amateur hockey is no small feat. To achieve it, the authors dive DEEP into the details of the time and place. We end up knowing the personal lives of the players. Their jobs, their children, what street they lived on. Rarely do we see that depth of research given to non-NHL hockey. Between the personal detail and the extensive historic context, we end up with an impressively meaningful tour through a phase of hockey history that has otherwise gone untouched.

If you’re going to read it, now is a good time. It touches a lot of the same issues that are in the headlines today. How often does that happen in a hockey history book?

 

[JMCx4]

Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925
George & Darrill Fosty
2004

So, I have two negative critiques of this book. Before I get into that, I just want to say: if there is one hockey book that everyone should read right now, this is the one. It is flawed as a written history, but it is really an important book in the scheme of things. Don’t let the flaws get in the way of that. ...

At its best, the book achieves something we usually only see in histories of the Montreal Canadiens — a richly woven fabric of hockey, religion, race, economics, and culture. To achieve that level of texture on such an unheralded topic as 19th Century Black Maritimes amateur hockey is no small feat. To achieve it, the authors dive DEEP into the details of the time and place. We end up knowing the personal lives of the players. Their jobs, their children, what street they lived on. Rarely do we see that depth of research given to non-NHL hockey. Between the personal detail and the extensive historic context, we end up with an impressively meaningful tour through a phase of hockey history that has otherwise gone untouched.

If you’re going to read it, now is a good time. It touches a lot of the same issues that are in the headlines today.

Thanks for the pointer to this title, and for your honest review. If someone is on the fence about buying/borrowing the book to read, they may get a better feel of the content & the authors' motivations by reading and viewing this 2018 article they wrote for The Canadian Encyclopedia website. It's got me interested enough to look for a copy.

 

[kaiser matias]

Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925
George & Darrill Fosty
2004

So, I have two negative critiques of this book. Before I get into that, I just want to say: if there is one hockey book that everyone should read right now, this is the one. It is flawed as a written history, but it is really an important book in the scheme of things. Don’t let the flaws get in the way of that.

The two critiques:

1) I read the Kindle version, and I’m really hoping it was some sort of unedited first draft with mistakes that didn’t make it into the print version. There are major typographic/editing issues that are just hard to explain in a finished product.

2) Despite the title, the book’s focus is only on hockey for a fraction of the time. There are long excursions to talk about the Underground Railroad, Black military service, Halifax urban development, and more. An Amazon reviewer said it well — this is a Black Canadian history with hockey as an occasional touch point, not vice versa. And much of that history is told in a loose editorial style, with a focus on local pride at the expense of rigor.

Now... that being said. The portions of the book which aren’t problematic are richly detailed, eye-opening, and as far as I know unique within the hockey history genre... even 16 years on.

At its best, the book achieves something we usually only see in histories of the Montreal Canadiens — a richly woven fabric of hockey, religion, race, economics, and culture. To achieve that level of texture on such an unheralded topic as 19th Century Black Maritimes amateur hockey is no small feat. To achieve it, the authors dive DEEP into the details of the time and place. We end up knowing the personal lives of the players. Their jobs, their children, what street they lived on. Rarely do we see that depth of research given to non-NHL hockey. Between the personal detail and the extensive historic context, we end up with an impressively meaningful tour through a phase of hockey history that has otherwise gone untouched.

If you’re going to read it, now is a good time. It touches a lot of the same issues that are in the headlines today. How often does that happen in a hockey history book?

Another book on a similar topic actually does exist: Breaking the Ice: The Black Experience in Professional Hockey by Cecil Harris (2003). The subtitle is pretty self-explanatory, as Harris talks to nearly every black NHL player, past and present, as well as other figures like Herb Carnegie and so on. I haven't read it in years, but do remember it to be quite eye opening as a teenager to read such a perspective, and while I won't comment on the quality of the book because it's been so long, I am interested why it isn't more widely noted, especially as the topic has become more mainstream since 2003.

 

[Bondurant]

It's a wrap! Concluded reading Icing on the Plains: The Rough Ride of Kansas City's NHL Scouts by Troy Treasure.

Straight forward chronicle of 2 seasons of bad hockey (27 wins in 2 seasons). Peppered in along the way is background on the players, coaching staff, front office and other associated persons. The book is reasonable. Given the short time span of the NHL dabbling in Kansas City there is not much to work with. Aside from being a bad team it's simply not the most interesting story. Not much endearing to the contemporary reader. This, of course, is no fault of the author. I would argue Treasure made the most of the material at hand. Icing the Plains likely would not have much appeal to an average reader but more suited to the surviving 6-7k folks that comprised their average paid attendance and hockey history junkies.

I would love to know if there is anyone one HF Boards, aside from Mr. Treasure, that attended a Scouts game.

 

[kaiser matias]

I've read a couple books on the business side of the NHL recently, and wanted to share my thoughts:

Net Worth: Exploding the Myths of Pro Hockey by David Cruise and Alison Griffiths (1991):

This was a great book. Cruise and Griffiths are not sports writers at all, but have written several books on a variety of topics, and I think this distance really helps them be honest about things. They open by covering the meeting Carl Brewer launched in 1990 over pension payments, which culminated in 1994(?) with the NHL paying retired players millions in missing payments. Just by diving in like that it shows they were not afraid to get into things. They then start looking at Jim Norris and how the NHL became the "Norris House League". They show that the owners have been their own worst enemies over the past century. They show that the league has always had issues getting the fabled national TV contract in the US, and that infighting on the Board of Governors has helped keep that going.

They also look at the NHLPA, and more specifically Alan Eagleson. This is all old news now, but coming as it did in 1991 I'm sure it must have been revelatory and controversial (Russ Conway's articles would have come out within a few months of this, so it was not that widespread). They don't hold anything back, and are rightfully critical of nearly everything Eagleson was doing. It really should be required reading for anyone trying to understand the business side of the NHL, and it's a shame a proper sequel that covers everything since 1990 exists, which brings me to my next book:

Money Players: The Amazing Rise & Fall of Bob Goodenow and the NHL Players Association by Bruce Dowbiggin (2011):

This is an updated version of Dowbiggin's 2003 book Money Players, which has a different subtitle (I've also seen other 2011 versions with different subtitles as well, ). I read the original one back during the 2004-05 lockout, as I wanted to get a better idea of what was going on, and recall finding it worthwhile (though I was also 16, and not as well-versed as I am now).

This is a terrible book. Despite coming out in 2011 it barely covers Goodenow's exit from the NHLPA, and none of the subsequent infighting that lasted until Don Fehr took over in 2010. This is some important stuff, and you'd think that with 6 years to cover it Dowbiggin could have written something. Instead he briefly touches on the July 2005 meeting where the NHLPA voted Goodenow out and then makes vague threats towards Trevor Linden and Ted Saskin about it.

The rest of the book is more laudatory of Goodenow's efforts as NHLPA head. While there's no doubt that he was an improvement over Eagleson (not exactly a difficult task), Goodenow does no wrong in Dowbiggin's view. Everything he does seems to have been good for the players, conveniently ignoring that Goodenow's adamant refusal to discuss a salary cap cost the league the 2004-05 season, only to see a cap implemented and many of the NHL's initial proposals ultimately accepted.

But even that can be explained. Dowbiggin is not afraid to hide he is pro-labour, and has another book out critiquing salary caps in general and how they are going to ruin everything (Cap in Hand: How Salary Caps are Killing Pro Sports and Why the Free Market Could Save Them; disclosure, I have not read it). He also gives some rough opinions on how the NHL could have saved itself (writing from a 2003 perspective); one includes a promotion and relegation system, and he tries to argue that fans would not mind watching lower-level teams. This has been proven false by nearly every metric in North America, aside from being near impossible. Other than that, he doesn't provide anything new that Cruise and Griffiths didn't cover 15 years before him. While this can be seen as an epilogue to their work, Dowbiggin's writing is nowhere near as good as theirs, and while they write more analytically, he tries to be more persuasive, and fails at it.

Even so, what really got me was the copious factual errors. Now having the odd date wrong or fact slightly off is annoying, but can be understandable at times. But there was far too many here, and far too many obnoxious ones, that I started keeping track:

- He claims Gilles Leger was an NHL general manager. Leger was GM of Birmingham in the WHA, but never in the NHL.
- Argues St. Louis had no hockey history prior to the Blues: even if one discounts the Eagles as an aberration, the minor league Flyers and Braves had been playing in St. Louis for decades prior to 1967.
- Claims Bettman joined the NBA in 1970. Bettman was 18 in 1970, and did not start working for the NBA until 1981.
- Says Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson signed with the Rangers in 1979; it was 1978.
- At one time says Lindros was traded to the Flyers in 1993, a year after the fact.
- Says Lou Lamoriello became GM of the Devils in 1988; it was 1987.
- Claims the Hamilton Tigers went on strike in the 1930s; it was 1925, and the team became the New York Americans that year.
- Claims Mark Messier played for the Birmingham Bulls in the WHA (one of the "Baby Bulls"); he of course was signed by the Indianapolis Racers to replace Gretzky, then joined the Cincinnati Stingers when the Racers folded.
- On several occasions claims the first Stanley Cup Final to be cancelled was in 1917; this would be news to Seattle, who won the Cup that year. It was the 1919 Final, the rematch between Seattle and the Canadiens, that was cancelled due to the Spanish Flu.

There was likely more errors, but those are just ones I caught on a quick read-through. It frankly was embarrassing that someone who's job is to be a sports reporter (specifically hockey) could make so many mistakes, and not even catch them when updating a book.

A history of the labour history of the NHL post-1990 deserves to be written, and unfortunately this is not that book. Maybe one day someone will do so, but I would not recommend anyone to bother with this mess.

 

[LeBlondeDemon10]

Thanks. Nice review. Incidentally, Hedberg and Nilsson signed in 78 as they were part of the Rangers Cup run in 78-79.

 

[kaiser matias]

Thanks. Nice review. Incidentally, Hedberg and Nilsson signed in 78 as they were part of the Rangers Cup run in 78-79.

Of course, thanks for catching my own mistake. I got the numbers mixed up on myself, but fixed the post.

 

[JMCx4]

This weekend I finished reading Kirk McKnight's The Voices of Hockey - Broadcasters Reflect on the Fastest Game on Earth. My reading was interrupted on several occasions, so it took me about 8 weeks to complete the book; but the relatively short chapters with each focusing on a different NHL team's history (comprising approx. the first 200 pages of the book) made it easier to consume the content in separate reading sessions. I was always drawn back to the stories when time allowed, as the author has a fluid writing style that kept my reading attention with minimal distractions.

I was somewhat worried that this would be a book of too many dry recounts of teams & games, but instead Mr. McKnight does a very good job of weaving together the reminiscences of several dozen NHL broadcasters to keep the reader engaged. The last part of the book was a pleasant surprise to me, as the author used additional broadcaster interview content to address the topics of NHL franchise relocations & old vs. new NHL arena designs & remembrances of NHL broadcast legends. So The Voices of Hockey are given plenty of opportunities to share their fond memories on various topics with NHL fans across several eras, with each broadcaster's personality coming through to help entertain the reader.

 

[reckoning]

I bought the KC Scouts book because it kept popping up on my "recommended for you" Amazon list (which is not a good reason to buy something).

I liked it because I love 70s hockey, but the main focus of the book is obviously on the Scouts, and there's not much to say about a bad team that had two unmemorable seasons. The recaps of the games start to sound the same after awhile. What I loved about the book was all the references to other 70s hockey incidents that were non-Scout related. I was never aware of Bep Guidolin's claim that Phil Esposito gave up during the 1974 Final and was more concerned about whether to jump to the WHA or not. Or how Wilf Paiement never apologized to Dennis Polonich for smashing him across the face with his stick.

Even if your not a Scouts fan, there's enough to keep you interested.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Mr. Hockey: My Story
Gordie Howe
2014


This is Gordie Howe's autobiography, written near the end of his life. It reads exactly the way you might expect -- conversational, casual, lovable. I assume it was ghost-written but you can clearly perceive Gordie's voice in the narration.

One benefit to reading about Howe specifically is that you're not just getting a window into an era, you're getting a window into two or three eras. He gives us an idea of what it was like to be a young prospect at the end of WWII, what it was like to be a star in his prime during the Original Six, what it was like to be a WHA has-been. It covers a lot of ground and would even make a good general-audience book for someone unfamiliar with the broad strokes of hockey history.

I was a bit surprised at how candid Howe was willing to be. He pulls no punches about people that got under his skin, including figures like Jack Adams and Ted Lindsay. He talks about turning down the chance to unionize in the 50s, and then being cheated by management soon thereafter. He shares excerpts from love letters to Colleen. He talks about playing dirty hockey. He doesn't get into anything too spicy -- the most PG-13 moment is a young kid asking him for a goddamn autograph -- but he doesn't lionize himself or anyone else.

I'm glad he had a chance to finish this project before he passed away. In the end you walk away feeling like you kind of knew the guy.

 

[Bondurant]

Thin Ice by Jim Silver

Found this in the limited hockey section at Half Price Books. It had been sitting on the shelf for over 2 years undetected by me. Jim Silver was part of a group that was fighting against the Winnipeg Jets feeding at the public trough to stay in Winnipeg. This is his history of the Winnipeg to Phoenix saga. Still in the opening chapters where is setting the stage about the financial corruption and scheming among the former barons of the NHL. Surely, this is not the most objective work but it reads well and I find Silver to be credible.

This came out in '96 and I suspect he had been documenting the saga for quite some time. After I wrap up Thin Ice it will be time for a dive into the Google machine to see how it holds up with history as years have passed.

 

[seventieslord]

Ever wondered what seventieslord's office looks like? Well I finally finished a small renovation project I've wanted to do for a few years, and the end result of it was that I finally had a uniform back wall to put all my books on. So I took them all off of the four old ikea shelves they were on, and built this baby last night.

 

[kaiser matias]

Ever wondered what seventieslord's office looks like? Well I finally finished a small renovation project I've wanted to do for a few years, and the end result of it was that I finally had a uniform back wall to put all my books on. So I took them all off of the four old ikea shelves they were on, and built this baby last night.

Did I only see two Trail of the Stanley Cup books there?

And I had the same tin when I was younger. Came from popcorn, then became a trash bin.

 

[seventieslord]

Did I only see two Trail of the Stanley Cup books there?

And I had the same tin when I was younger. Came from popcorn, then became a trash bin.

Nope, all three are there. Dark blue, white, beige.

And yes, you're right! My brother bought it for me in 1997 for Christmas full of popcorn. It's been my garbage ever since.

 

[Boxscore]

Ever wondered what seventieslord's office looks like? Well I finally finished a small renovation project I've wanted to do for a few years, and the end result of it was that I finally had a uniform back wall to put all my books on. So I took them all off of the four old ikea shelves they were on, and built this baby last night.

Awesome library! What were the red books on the top shelf?

And I just preordered Brian Burke's book.

 

[seventieslord]

Awesome library! What were the red books on the top shelf?

And I just preordered Brian Burke's book.

That's the complete run of THN from 1947 through 1998. The loose magazine start where those end, up to the current date.

At 0:22, those two beige books before the tall white one are indexes covering all of 1947 through 1987, put together by James Duplacey. With those I can find any article I need.

 

[JMCx4]

Mr. Hockey: My Story
Gordie Howe
2014

This is Gordie Howe's autobiography, written near the end of his life. It reads exactly the way you might expect -- conversational, casual, lovable. I assume it was ghost-written but you can clearly perceive Gordie's voice in the narration. ...

S/T to you @tarheelhockey for bringing this book to my attention. I ordered a copy the day I read your review, and finished reading it last night. In the Acknowledgement section, Gordie included the following attribution: "A sincere thanks goes to Paul Haavardsrud, who helped to take the thoughts in my head and put them down on paper." I'd say the collaborative works of the two Mr. H's yielded one helluva'n entertaining book.

I was especially moved by the inclusion of several love letters between Gordie & his wife Colleen, and by the Afterword written by son Marty on behalf of his siblings. Beyond those deeply personal touches, the inside hockey memories of Mr. Hockey's very long career were a treat to read and enlightening to hear from the guy who lived them. The personal & unique photographs included as plates in two central chapters of the book also brought smiles to my face. I am seldom drawn to biographies (hockey players or otherwise), and rarely enjoy reading them, but this one is now on my Highly Recommended List for any fan of hockey & its second-half 20th Century history in North America.

 

[DeysArena]

Ever wondered what seventieslord's office looks like? Well I finally finished a small renovation project I've wanted to do for a few years, and the end result of it was that I finally had a uniform back wall to put all my books on. So I took them all off of the four old ikea shelves they were on, and built this baby last night.

That's what my shelves used to look like until one of them collapsed under the weight of the books.

 

[seventieslord]

That's what my shelves used to look like until one of them collapsed under the weight of the books.

Yikes! Well the math says that these brackets should support the weight of the books and the shelves are solid wood - not MDF, plywood, etc. So I think I'll be ok, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about that.

 

[JMCx4]

Yikes! Well the math says that these brackets should support the weight of the books and the shelves are solid wood - not MDF, plywood, etc. So I think I'll be ok, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about that.

Did your math include the weight of the solid wood shelves? And the weight of the moisture absorbed by the book pages? And those solid platinum bookmarks you got for your last birthday?

 

[JMCx4]

I was convinced that an HFB member pointed me to the following title, but I couldn't find it mentioned in searches of the more likely threads. Anywho, thanks to whomever for the tip.

Last night I finished reading Tim Harwood's The Legion Team: Forgotten Hockey in Waterloo, 1927-1930. The subject matter is about as niche as you'll find in a book - amateur ice hockey in a small town in Eastern Iowa in the 3rd decade of the 1900s - but the author's writing style made the reading engaging & enjoyable. He relied heavily on local newspaper archives to tell the stories of Waterloo's Becker-Chapman American Legion-sponsored team, who rostered players from across North America & managed to bring a wide variety of competition to town to play in Waterloo's National Cattle Congress exposition space (aka, "The Hippodrome") and entertain surprisingly large crowds (up to 2,000 fans per weekend game). The opening chapter sets the historical tone for the rest of the book, by explaining who "Becker" and "Chapman" were who inspired the local Legion post and their work in the community. Harwood kept a good pace with his writing, and as I read I felt increasingly familiar with an era that pre-dates me & a town that I've never visited. I'd recommend The Legion Team to any hockey fan looking for an easy & entertaining read about a short but intriguing chapter in the development of the sport in Small Town America.

 

[Chili]

A lot of background info on the various stops of his career and key relationships including Lou Lamoriello, Pat Quinn & Gary Bettman. He explains the drafting of Pavel Bure (who appeared to be ineligible the year the Canucks drafted him) and the complications in getting him signed to a contract. Goes into the feud with Kevin Lowe. Takes the reader behind the scenes breaking down some key trades and his philosophy on team building. Did not know that he actually played pro hockey one year for the Flyers AHL team who won the Calder Cup that season. There is a touching chapter on his son Brendan. Prepare for a lot of colourful language. Great book.

 

[dkitson16]

I bought the KC Scouts book because it kept popping up on my "recommended for you" Amazon list (which is not a good reason to buy something).

I liked it because I love 70s hockey, but the main focus of the book is obviously on the Scouts, and there's not much to say about a bad team that had two unmemorable seasons. The recaps of the games start to sound the same after awhile. What I loved about the book was all the references to other 70s hockey incidents that were non-Scout related. I was never aware of Bep Guidolin's claim that Phil Esposito gave up during the 1974 Final and was more concerned about whether to jump to the WHA or not. Or how Wilf Paiement never apologized to Dennis Polonich for smashing him across the face with his stick.

Even if your not a Scouts fan, there's enough to keep you interested.

Does the book cover how KC beat out other cities like Cleveland and Cincinnati for a 1974 expansion team? Apart from being a bad team does the book cover reasons why the team failed in KC?

 

[JMCx4]

Does the book cover how KC beat out other cities like Cleveland and Cincinnati for a 1974 expansion team? Apart from being a bad team does the book cover reasons why the team failed in KC?

As a bonus for being a member of this Board, you can have those questions answered directly by the author @Troy Treasure.

 

[reckoning]

I just finished reading Rick Vaive's autobiography Catch-22. It's an easy read, but very entertaining and full of great stories and anecdotes, then takes a serious turn with the last chapter about his alcoholism. I love the fact that he doesn't pull any punches when it comes to coaches or others that he disliked. He gives his honest opinion, but at the same time makes an effort to be fair to them.

The two main things that stand out for me: 1) it's amazing that Borje Salming played as well as he did, because apparently he really really liked to party, 2) Don Cherry's constant preaching about how coaches should be free to coach their way without interference from ownership seems to be hypocritical, as the book claims Cherry interfered a lot when Vaive coached Mississauga.