Hockey History Books

[tommygunn]

Non-players
Gabby (Confessions of a hockey lifer) - Bruce Boudreau
The King's Story - King Clancy

These two played..

 

[KaylaJ]

Personally my favorite Dryden book was the one he coauthored with Roy MacGregor called "Home Game: Hockey and Life in Canada ". I've gone into detail on other parts of the boards, so I won't repeat myself on it or others here. Truthfully the ones I've read so far have been good time wasters except Gretzky's Tears. Read it last summer and was quite disappointed with how little meat there was to it.

 

[Nalens Oga]

I found this book today called 1995-96 Hockey Scouting Report by Sherry Ross. It has a report on 420+ players and isn't a magazine, at least 450 pages long and an actual book.

It lists a scouting report on each player in terms of the finesse game/physical/intangibles and some other stuff. Impressive because back then they obviously didn't have internet or gamecentre though I'm sure there was some satellite centre ice type package. I don't think it has a large writing team either.

This was the time period in which I started watching hockey so I look forward to going through it and reading about some of those players. I'd love to find a few more like it from maybe around 99 or 2000 and 2004 or 2006 if they're cheap somewhere.

 

[Habsfan18]

I found this book today called 1995-96 Hockey Scouting Report by Sherry Ross. It has a report on 420+ players and isn't a magazine, at least 450 pages long and an actual book.

It lists a scouting report on each player in terms of the finesse game/physical/intangibles and some other stuff. Impressive because back then they obviously didn't have internet or gamecentre though I'm sure there was some satellite centre ice type package. I don't think it has a large writing team either.

This was the time period in which I started watching hockey so I look forward to going through it and reading about some of those players. I'd love to find a few more like it from maybe around 99 or 2000 and 2004 or 2006 if they're cheap somewhere.

http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/C...ibrary/z-others_Hockey Scouting Report?page=1

The Hockey Scouting Reports were published from 1986-1987 through 2003-2004. I definitely recommend picking these up if you can find them. The earlier ones the better, as through the years they tended to recycle basically the exact same scouting report for most players with a few words added in.

 

[KaylaJ]

http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/C...ibrary/z-others_Hockey Scouting Report?page=1

The Hockey Scouting Reports were published from 1986-1987 through 2003-2004. I definitely recommend picking these up if you can find them. The earlier ones the better, as through the years they tended to recycle basically the exact same scouting report for most players with a few words added in.

I have several of those myself. Pretty nifty considering they had the player's "intangibles". Was that also the book that had a basic goalie picture and the weaknesses blacked out?

 

[Nalens Oga]

There's a book I found called Hockey All-Stars from 2001 by Chris McDonell. It's a coffee size table book which gives a half page profile of every player to earn a 1st or 2nd team all-star with some nice photos.

The nice thing is that it profiles players like Leo Reise or Wally Stanowski who were great players but largely ignored now. The bad thing is that it omits many others like Sakic who had not earned a 1st or 2nd team all-star at the time being due to Lemieux or Gretzky or whomever despite being stars.

My question is if there's a similar book with as many written profiles as possible on good hockey players and not just the big names.

 

[donnie pfaster]

One of the best and funniest hockey books is "Open Net" by George Plimpton.

One that I bought fairly recently which I regret buying is Dave Hanson's book "Slapshot Original."

 

[sr edler]

Putting a Roof on Winter: Hockey's Rise from Sports to Spectacle by Michael McKinley

Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game by Arthur Farrell

 

[Habsfan18]

I've come up with some pretty nice finds with my last few trips to used book stores.

Tretiak: The Legend
20th Century Hockey Chronicle (Stan and Shirley Fischler)
Twenty-Seven Days In September: The Official Hockey Canada History Of The 1972 Canada/U.S.S.R. Series
The Great Gretzky (Terry Jones)
Hockey's Hall Of Fame: The Sensational Stories Of Hockey's All-Time Greats (Tim Moriarty)
Offside: Hockey From The Inside (Stan Fischler)
Hockey Night In Moscow (Jack Ludwig)
Why Is The Stanley Cup In Mario Lemieux's Swimming Pool? How Winners Celebrate With The World's Most Famous Cup (Kevin Allen)
Shutout: The Legend Of Terry Sawchuk (Brian Kendall)
Red Fisher: Hockey, Heroes, And Me
The World Cup Of Hockey: A History Of Hockey's Greatest Tournament (Joe Pelletier, Patrick Houda)
The Game I'll Never Forget: 100 Hockey Stars' Stories
Great Book Of Hockey: More Than 100 Years Of Fire On Ice (Stan and Shirley Fischler)

 

[reckoning]

I've come up with some pretty nice finds with my last few trips to used book stores.

Tretiak: The Legend
20th Century Hockey Chronicle (Stan and Shirley Fischler)
Twenty-Seven Days In September: The Official Hockey Canada History Of The 1972 Canada/U.S.S.R. Series
The Great Gretzky (Terry Jones)
Hockey's Hall Of Fame: The Sensational Stories Of Hockey's All-Time Greats (Tim Moriarty)
Offside: Hockey From The Inside (Stan Fischler)
Hockey Night In Moscow (Jack Ludwig)
Why Is The Stanley Cup In Mario Lemieux's Swimming Pool? How Winners Celebrate With The World's Most Famous Cup (Kevin Allen)
Shutout: The Legend Of Terry Sawchuk (Brian Kendall)
Red Fisher: Hockey, Heroes, And Me
The World Cup Of Hockey: A History Of Hockey's Greatest Tournament (Joe Pelletier, Patrick Houda)
The Game I'll Never Forget: 100 Hockey Stars' Stories
Great Book Of Hockey: More Than 100 Years Of Fire On Ice (Stan and Shirley Fischler)

I think that's the book with the infamous story about Pete Peeters.

Used book stores are great. The books may not look brand new, but they're usually inexpensive. If you're unloading old books you don't want anymore for store credit, then it might end up costing nothing. I've found lots of out of print stuff in used book stores over the years.

 

[Habsfan18]

I think that's the book with the infamous story about Pete Peeters.

Used book stores are great. The books may not look brand new, but they're usually inexpensive. If you're unloading old books you don't want anymore for store credit, then it might end up costing nothing. I've found lots of out of print stuff in used book stores over the years.

You have me intrigued now. I'll have to read that one next.

And yes, used book stores are extremely handy when it comes to finding out of print hockey books. It's much better coming out with 5-10 books from a single visit at $2-$5 a piece, rather than having to pay for shipping costs online.

 

[VMBM]

I just purchased Valery Kharlamov's autobiography (written/compiled in 1979) from an antiquarian bookshop. Glad to finally own it.

Too bad they don't translate books like these into Finnish anymore.

Many interesting stories - about himself, coaches, opponents, his linemates and other teammates. Especially interesting is the part where he talks about young Vyacheslav Fetisov, with whom he had played already e.g. in the 1978 WC. Kharlamov has a very high opinion of the young man (his skills & attitude), and, as we know, he was proven right.

And oh, he is soooooo modest ("I don't consider myself a star" yeah right!).

Accidentally, I also came across Kevin Lowe's "Champions: The making of the Edmonton Oilers". Looking forward to reading it, when I have the time.

 

[nutbar]

Two books about international hockey in 1987:

Gretzky to Lemieux: the story of the 1987 Canada Cup - Ed Willes

When The Lights Went Out - Gare Joyce

Gretzky to Lemieux is much better written although Joyce deserves credit for managing to track down the referee of the Piestany Punch Up in his book.

 

[yave1964]

Lots of great books out there, here are some of my favorites:

1. The Game by Ken Dryden. The best bar none hockey book ever written.

2. Blood Feud. The story of the Avalanche/Wings rivalry, some very, very funny and cool stuff in there.

3. Scotty Bowman, a life in Hockey.

4. The rebel league, the story of the WHA

5. Playing with fire, the Theo Fleury story

6. The greatest game, the story of the Canadiens/USSR hockey game

7. Net Worth. The eye opener about the business of hockey

8. The Hammer by Dave Schultz

9. The Code about fighting rules in the NHL, both written and unwritten

10. Brian Mcfarlanes world of hockey. Wonderful reminiscing by a true great

I am sure I missed some, just picked up the Roenick book finally but haven't read it yet.

 

[reckoning]

Looking through Joe Pelletier's blog at http://www.hockeybookreviews.com/, there are a lot of interesting books on the horizon. Mark Howe, Pierre Pilote, Darren McCarty, Brent Petersen, and Chris Nilan all have autobiographies coming out. Most of those have the potential to be very interesting reads about both their hockey careers and their private lives.

And of course the big one, which will be a popular Christmas gift, is the Bobby Orr autobiography due to be released in October.

 

[Nalens Oga]

Anyone here wanna recommend three books from the following?

Bernie - Bernie Parent
Boss: The Mike Bossy Story
Calling The Shots - Bruce Hood (referee)
Clear The Track - Eddie Shack
Cyclone Taylor A Hockey Legend
Dit Clapper and the Rise of the Bruins
Doug: The Doug Harvey Story
Fire On Ice - Eric Lindros (written in his 2nd or 3rd season not after retirement)
Forever A Blackhawk - Stan Mikita
Future Greats and Heartbreaks: A Year Under Cover in the Secret World of NHL Scouts – Gare Joyce
Gamble in Goal: Bruce Gamble's Life in Hockey
Golly Gee It's Me - Howie Meeker
Hockey Night In Canada 60 Seasons – Michael McKinley
Howie Morenz (Hockey's First Superstar)
I Play to Win: My Own Story - Mikita
In the Bin: Reckless and Rude Stories from the Penalty Boxes of the Nhl
Jean Beliveau: My Life In Hockey – Jean Beliveau
Jonesy Put Your Head Down - Keith Jones
Lower The Boom - Bob Baun
Money Players – Bruce Dowbiggin
Net Worth: Exploding The Myths Of Pro Hockey - David Cruise
Open Net – George Plimpton
Our Life With The Rocket
OVERTIME : The Legend of Guy Lafleur
Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else – Michel Roy
Pavel Bure - The Riddle of the Russian Rocket
Pelle Lindbergh - Behind The White Mask
Putting A Roof On Winter – Michael McKinley
Remembering The Rocket
Robinson For Defence (Larry Robinson)
Sawchuk - The Troubles and Triumphs of Hockey's Greatest Goalie
Searching For Bobby Orr – Stephen Brunt
The Art of Scouting – Shane Malloy
The Game of Our Lives – Peter Gzowski
The King's Story - King Clancy
The Patricks (Patrick family, Lester, Lynn, etc).
The Power of Two: Carl Brewer's Battle with Hockey's Power Brokers – Carl Brewer and Susan Foster
The Red Machine: the Soviet quest to dominate Canada's Game - Lawrence Martin
The Rocket
The Third Best Hull - Dennis Hull
Triple Crown - Marcel Dionne
Who's Who in Hockey
Why The Leafs Suck and How They Can Be Fixed – Strachan
Without A Trace - Bill Barilko
Without Fear - Hockey's 50 Greatest Goalies (Bob Duff/Kevin Allen)
Glenn Hall - The Man They Call Mr. Goalie
Over The Boards: The Ron Ellis Story

 

[reckoning]

There's lots of good ones in the above list, but if I could only recommend three, I'd pick:

Doug: The Doug Harvey Story
Net Worth: Exploding The Myths Of Pro Hockey - David Cruise
Robinson For Defence (Larry Robinson)

 

[Nalens Oga]

Oh wait...take out the Beliveau and Roy book along with Net Worth because I want to read those anyways.

Books like Power Players, Net Worth, Future Greats and Heartbreaks, and How The NHL Conquered Hockey are my favourite because they provide insight into the game without focusing too much on one player.

 

[Killion]

There are tonnes' of great hockey books out there. Theresa Tedesco's Offside:The The Battle for Control of Maple Leaf Gardens detailing to the nth' degree the triangulations of Harold Ballard (Yolanda, Bill & Harold Junior)... on & on. The best of them tending to be limited runs', odd or vanity pieces. Hard to find rarities. The best never really surfacing. Eccentrics'. Banquets of blogspots for those interested in the seriously arcane & unusual can be found by the curious.

 

[doug hamilton]

Do yourselves a big favour and check out any or all of the following

The Last Season - Roy Macgregor
King Leary - Paul Quarrington
The Original Six - edited by Paul Quarrington
The Age of Longing - Richard B. Wright

A word of warning - they're fiction - but don't let that scare you off, they're great books.

 

[Killion]

A word of warning - they're fiction - but don't let that scare you off, they're great books.

Too late Doug... already cant stand the authors. Reality is far more entertaining than fiction. Dont you know that yet?

 

[LeBlondeDemon10]

There are tonnes' of great hockey books out there. Theresa Tedesco's Offside:The The Battle for Control of Maple Leaf Gardens detailing to the nth' degree the triangulations of Harold Ballard (Yolanda, Bill & Harold Junior)... on & on. The best of them tending to be limited runs', odd or vanity pieces. Hard to find rarities. The best never really surfacing. Eccentrics'. Banquets of blogspots for those interested in the seriously arcane & unusual can be found by the curious.

I will definitely find a copy of this. Sounds like a fascinating read.

 

[Nalens Oga]

I've read Original Six (through part of it anyways, it's pretty small). It's not really fiction, it's written by three different authors (including Bidini whose writing style I can't starnd). It's based on real events, it's not fiction. I did read a few Screetch Owls when I was young but I also prefer non-fiction when it comes to hockey.

 

[Killion]

I just recently read The Devil & Bobby Hull. Hell of a book actually. The author Gare Joyce did an excellent job of it I thought. Didnt pull any punches, frank, honest, hard hitting. Delving into socio-econ, genetic disposition, parental influence & motivation, possibility of CTE (concussion) etc etc etc. Historically accurate, critical, objective, dispassionate, at time's cruel sure but Id rather read the unvarnished truth than further fictions.

 

[InjuredChoker]

Anyone here wanna recommend three books from the following?

Bernie - Bernie Parent
Boss: The Mike Bossy Story
Calling The Shots - Bruce Hood (referee)
Clear The Track - Eddie Shack
Cyclone Taylor A Hockey Legend
Dit Clapper and the Rise of the Bruins
Doug: The Doug Harvey Story
Fire On Ice - Eric Lindros (written in his 2nd or 3rd season not after retirement)
Forever A Blackhawk - Stan Mikita
Future Greats and Heartbreaks: A Year Under Cover in the Secret World of NHL Scouts – Gare Joyce
Gamble in Goal: Bruce Gamble's Life in Hockey
Golly Gee It's Me - Howie Meeker
Hockey Night In Canada 60 Seasons – Michael McKinley
Howie Morenz (Hockey's First Superstar)
I Play to Win: My Own Story - Mikita
In the Bin: Reckless and Rude Stories from the Penalty Boxes of the Nhl
Jean Beliveau: My Life In Hockey – Jean Beliveau
Jonesy Put Your Head Down - Keith Jones
Lower The Boom - Bob Baun
Money Players – Bruce Dowbiggin
Net Worth: Exploding The Myths Of Pro Hockey - David Cruise
Open Net – George Plimpton
Our Life With The Rocket
OVERTIME : The Legend of Guy Lafleur
Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else – Michel Roy
Pavel Bure - The Riddle of the Russian Rocket
Pelle Lindbergh - Behind The White Mask
Putting A Roof On Winter – Michael McKinley
Remembering The Rocket
Robinson For Defence (Larry Robinson)
Sawchuk - The Troubles and Triumphs of Hockey's Greatest Goalie
Searching For Bobby Orr – Stephen Brunt
The Art of Scouting – Shane Malloy
The Game of Our Lives – Peter Gzowski
The King's Story - King Clancy
The Patricks (Patrick family, Lester, Lynn, etc).
The Power of Two: Carl Brewer's Battle with Hockey's Power Brokers – Carl Brewer and Susan Foster
The Red Machine: the Soviet quest to dominate Canada's Game - Lawrence Martin
The Rocket
The Third Best Hull - Dennis Hull
Triple Crown - Marcel Dionne
Who's Who in Hockey
Why The Leafs Suck and How They Can Be Fixed – Strachan
Without A Trace - Bill Barilko
Without Fear - Hockey's 50 Greatest Goalies (Bob Duff/Kevin Allen)
Glenn Hall - The Man They Call Mr. Goalie
Over The Boards: The Ron Ellis Story

The bolded.