Book Feature The Bruins in 25 Games: Boston's Most Unforgettable Wins and Heartbreaking Losses (by John G. Robertson and Carl T. Madden)

[John Robertson]

Hello! This is a message from co-authors John G. Robertson and Carl T. Madden. Thanks for giving us the chance to present another hockey history book for your enjoyment. The title of this one is The Bruins in 25 Games: Boston's Most Unforgettable Wins and Heartbreaking Losses. It is available from Amazon or through our publisher, McFarland.

Released in January 2023, it chronicles 25 of the most famous games in Boston Bruins history from the early days of the club in the mid-1920s all the way to the third decade of the 21st century. Many of these contests will be familiar to hardcore Boston fans--but a lot of them will present new information. (Who remembers Bobby Bauer's spectacular one-game comeback in 1952 or Chris Oddleifson's four-goal game in 1973?) One thing to keep in mind: The famous Bobby Orr overtime goal game is not included nor is the too-many-men-on-the-ice fiasco of 1979. Why not? Each was thoroughly covered in a previous book separately by author John G. Robertson.

Here is a portion from one of the book's chapters. It deals with the infamous 1933 game between Boston and Toronto in which Toronto's Ace Bailey suffered a life-threatening head injury:

The movement to remove violence from hockey is not new. Reformers have forever been asking for fighting and rough play to be abolished from the sport. Although the voices have been growing steadily louder in the past half century, the entire crusade to clean up hockey began with the events of Tuesday, December 12, 1933. That night a National Hockey League game at Boston Garden got out of hand. A visiting player in the prime of his career nearly died.

The Boston Bruins-Toronto Maple Leafs rivalry was among the NHL’s greatest during the 1930s. Both teams were loaded with stars and usually could be found near the top of their respective divisions. The two clubs had engaged in a titanic, best-of-five playoff series the previous spring which was decided, in Toronto’s favor, on Ken Doraty’s tally in the sixth overtime of the fifth game. When the 1933-34 season opened, the Bruins uncharacteristically slumped, losing their first three games. By mid-December Boston was reposing near the cellar of the American Division and was clearly in trouble. Eddie Shore, the Bruins’ rugged defenseman, believed his team was playing too passively. On December 12, Shore informed Boston’s sports journalists that he would no longer refrain from engaging in rough play. That statement would haunt Shore for the rest of his life.

Shore was a late bloomer a far as hockey was concerned. The son of a Saskatchewan rancher, he never thought much about the sport as a youth. According to one tale about Shore, his attitude changed abruptly when an older brother, Aubrey, began to question his younger sibling’s toughness. Eddie responded by joining the hockey team at the school where they both attended: Manitoba Agricultural College. Aubrey was already on the squad. With almost zero experience, Eddie Shore won a spot on the team and got a place in the lineup for its final three games of the season. It was the beginning of a remarkable, albeit checkered, hockey career for the eventual Hall-of-Famer.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were the Bruins’ opponents that Tuesday night at Boston Garden. They had begun the 1933-34 NHL season well, having lost just twice in 12 games. Both teams behaved as if the game were a war. J.W. Mooney of the Boston Post described the contest as the most vicious ever played in that city. Odie Cleghorn, a referee who had a reputation of being overly lenient, was in charge of the game. In the two-official system commonly used by the NHL at the time, he was accompanied by linesman Eusebe Daigneault.

Despite a rash of dirty checks and slashes by both clubs, Cleghorn whistled just one penalty in the first period. “With only one penalty called when a dozen were warranted,” wrote Mooney, “the game completely got out of the grip of the referee. The players started to take things into their own hands.”1

With the score tied 1-1 and seven minutes left in the second period, Toronto’s Red Horner boarded the volatile Eddie Shore. When he realized that no penalty to Horner was forthcoming, Shore became incensed. In an interview decades later, Horner described what happened:

Shore was having a frustrating night. He was playing great, but it wasn't getting the Bruins anywhere. They couldn't score on us. Dick Irvin sent out King Clancy, me, and Ace Bailey to kill off the penalties. Bailey was [an] expert stickhandler. He ragged the puck for a while. Eventually, Shore got the puck and made a rush deep into our end. Shore came down my side. I gave him a very good hip check.



As play moved back into the Boston end, Shore, dazed by the hit and searching for revenge, skated aggressively towards Toronto’s Irvine (Ace) Bailey, perhaps thinking that he was charging toward Horner—or just to take out a random Maple Leaf player. Only Shore will ever know the truth. As he skated toward his defensive position on the Boston blue line, Shore deliberately tripped Bailey from behind. Bailey was one of Toronto’s talented offensive stars. As a rookie, he had surprisingly led a poor Maple Leafs team in scoring in 1926-27. By his third NHL season, 1928-29, Bailey topped the entire league in scoring. Upon impact, the unsuspecting Bailey awkwardly toppled over backwards. His head slammed heavily against the Boston Garden ice surface. “Bailey fell with a sickening thud,” wrote Lou Marsh in the next day’s edition of the Toronto Star.

Click to read more...

 

[John Robertson]

Do you have any questions for the authors? Fire away! We'll be glad to answer them!

 

[McGarnagle]

As a Bruins fan I'm assuming this is going to be 4 unforgettable wins and 21 heartbreaking losses

 

[Theokritos]

Nice to have you back, @John Robertson. For those who don't know you yet: Two years ago you've presented your book Hockey's Wildest Season: The Changing of the Guard in the NHL, 1969-1970 here.

John, would you have included Game 7 of this year's EC First Round if the book was yet to be published?

 

[John Robertson]

As a Bruins fan I'm assuming this is going to be 4 unforgettable wins and 21 heartbreaking losses

Actually, the reverse is true. The 25 games are twenty wins and five losses.

 

[John Robertson]

Nice to have you back, @John Robertson. For those who don't know you yet: Two years ago you've presented your book Hockey's Wildest Season: The Changing of the Guard in the NHL, 1969-1970 here.

John, would you have included Game 7 of this year's EC First Round if the book was yet to be published?

I'm sure one of the games from that series would have been included. I'd probably lean toward including Game #5 when Brad Marchand could have won the game and the series on his breakaway chance in the final ten seconds of regulation time. He failed to score...and then the game was lost on a stupid goaltending blunder in overtime.

 

[CTMadden]

Actually, the reverse is true. The 25 games are twenty wins and five losses.

We also have a chapter titled "And 12 Games That Are Best Forgotten" which touches on some more painful moments in Bruins history to somewhat balance out the wins and losses presented in the book.

 

[CTMadden]

I'm sure one of the games from that series would have been included. I'd probably lean toward including Game #5 when Brad Marchand could have won the game and the series on his breakaway chance in the final ten seconds of regulation time. He failed to score...and then the game was lost on a stupid goaltending blunder in overtime.

We likely would have had to consider many games from this season such as their record setting 63rd seasonal victory, Pastrnak's 60th goal, and Ullmark's goal just off the top of my head.

 

[Theokritos]

Thanks for joining us, @CTMadden. We've had books with two co-authors before, but this is actually the first time that both authors are participating in the feature here!

Was there a designated divison of labor between the two of you or how did co-authoring the book work?

 

[CTMadden]

Thanks for joining us, @CTMadden. We've had books with two co-authors before, but this is actually the first time that both authors are participating in the feature here!

Was there a designated divison of labor between the two of you or how did co-authoring the book work?

Glad to be here. John has been writing a lot longer than I have and I had edited some of his earlier work. One day he suggested we start collaborating as something to fill our days during the Covid pandemic and this book is the fourth piece we have put out together. (three previous ones on Baseball). We do have another hockey one on the way on the 1976 Super Series that should be available shortly. As the lead author John does the bulk of the writing and other heavy lifting. I offer editing advice and stylistic suggestions in hopes to improve the overall feel. Sometimes John rolls out of bed and seemingly pens half a book then sends it my way for my thoughts.

 

[CTMadden]

Hello! This is a message from co-authors John G. Robertson and Carl T. Madden. Thanks for giving us the chance to present another hockey history book for your enjoyment. The title of this one is The Bruins in 25 Games: Boston's Most Unforgettable Wins and Heartbreaking Losses. It is available from Amazon or through our publisher, McFarland.

Released in January 2023, it chronicles 25 of the most famous games in Boston Bruins history from the early days of the club in the mid-1920s all the way to the third decade of the 21st century. Many of these contests will be familiar to hardcore Boston fans--but a lot of them will present new information. (Who remembers Bobby Bauer's spectacular one-game comeback in 1952 or Chris Oddleifson's four-goal game in 1973?) One thing to keep in mind: The famous Bobby Orr overtime goal game is not included nor is the too-many-men-on-the-ice fiasco of 1979. Why not? Each was thoroughly covered in a previous book separately by author John G. Robertson.

Here is a portion from one of the book's chapters. It deals with the infamous 1933 game between Boston and Toronto in which Toronto's Ace Bailey suffered a life-threatening head injury:





View attachment 716975

https://www.amazon.ca/Bruins-25-Games-Unforgettable-Heartbreaking-ebook/dp/B0BTW8DFBN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39M39Y6HU1QTG&keywords=john+robertson+bruins&qid=1686538504&sprefix=john+robertson+bruin%2Caps%2C349&sr=8-1

The Bruins in 25 Games - McFarland

The Bruins in 25 Games Boston’s Most Unforgettable Wins and Heartbreaking Losses John G. Robertson and Carl T. Madden 978-1-4766-9103-9 978-1-4766-4898-9

mcfarlandbooks.com

 

[John Robertson]

Carl is understating his value to these book projects. He's very good at doing research and suggesting ways of presenting the narrative.

Among the famous Boston games in this book are Rick Middleton's 1976 debut game for the Bruins where he scored a hattrick; Cam Neely's seven-point game in 1988; The big Game #7 comeback versus Toronto in 2013; the three shorthanded goals on one penalty versus Carolina in 2010; and many others. Both Carl and I would love to discuss any or all of these games with any fans out there.

 

[Theokritos]

I hope the authors don't mind if I post a list of the 25 games covered in the book:

1. March 29, 1929: Bruins Capture Their First Stanley Cup
2. March 14, 1933: Bruins Defeat Chicago by Forfeit
3. December 12, 1933: The Eddie Shore–Ace Bailey Incident
4. March 26, 1936: Eddie Shore Loses Cool; Bruins Lose Playoff Series
5. April 2, 1939: Mel Hill Scores His Third Overtime Goal in One Series
6. March 16, 1944: Bruins Score Nine Times – But Lose
7. Januar 21, 1945: Bruins Rout Rangers, 14-3
8. March 18, 1952: Bobby Bauer Scores in One-Game Comeback
9. April 8, 1952: The Rocket's Greatest Goal Sinks the Bruins
10. January 18, 1964: The Ultimate Outlier – Boston 11, Toronto 0
11. April 2, 1969: Playoff Brawl and Blowout – Boston 10, Toronto 0
12. April 24, 1969: Bruins Fall to Habs in De Facto Cup Final
13. April 26, 1970: The Afternoon the Bruins Really Won the 1970 Cup
14. March 11, 1971: Phil Esposito Sets Single-Season Scoring Record
15. February 23, 1972: Bruins Rally From Five Goals Down to Defeat Seals
16. April 30, 1972: The One That Nearly Got Away
17. December 30, 1973: Chris Oddleifson's Four-Goal Game
18. October 7, 1976: Rick Middleton's Debut Hattrick
19. December 23, 1979: Bruins Battle Rangers Fans
20. February 26, 1981: Boston's Biggest Brawl
21. May 8, 1988: Doughnut-Gate
22. October 16, 1988: Cam Neely's Seven-Point Game
23. April 11, 1990: Four Goals in Third Period to Salvage Playoff Series
24. April 10, 2010: Bruins Score Three Shorthanded Goals on One Penalty
25. May 13, 2013: Bruins Erase a 4-1 Deficit to Oust Maple Leafs

@John Robertson and @CTMadden: Do you have any particular favourites among the 25 games? Stories that you love the most or that were the most fun to research?

 

[CTMadden]

I wasn't born for most of these games so for me, I particularly enjoy delving into the past and researching the history. However, in doing so, there are some moments that stick out more than others. When I think back to this book, two games jump out, the Eddie Shore - Ace Bailey incident (from which the passage we included is from) which essentially gave birth to the NHL All-Star game and the game where the Bruins battled the Ranger fans. The former sticks with me for the impact it had and still has on the game today and the latter for the absurdity of the incident. I mean removing a fan's shoe and beating him with it is hilarious.

 

[John Robertson]

Thanks for adding that list of games in the book. Personally, I like the 1964 game where the last-place Bruins throttled the defending Stanley Cup champion Leafs 11-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens. (Maybe it is because I was eight days old when it happened.) It really is unexplainable. I also like the chapter about Rick Middleton's debut game with the Bruins in 1976 because Nifty was always a favorite of mine. The 1952 Bobby Bauer one-game comeback is also a very interesting story.

 

[VMBM]

I hope the authors don't mind if I post a list of the 25 games covered in the book:

1. March 29, 1929: Bruins Capture Their First Stanley Cup
2. March 14, 1933: Bruins Defeat Chicago by Forfeit
3. December 12, 1933: The Eddie Shore–Ace Bailey Incident
4. March 26, 1936: Eddie Shore Loses Cool; Bruins Lose Playoff Series
5. April 2, 1939: Mel Hill Scores His Third Overtime Goal in One Series
6. March 16, 1944: Bruins Score Nine Times – But Lose
7. Januar 21, 1945: Bruins Rout Rangers, 14-3
8. March 18, 1952: Bobby Bauer Scores in One-Game Comeback
9. April 8, 1952: The Rocket's Greatest Goal Sinks the Bruins
10. January 18, 1964: The Ultimate Outlier – Boston 11, Toronto 0
11. April 2, 1969: Playoff Brawl and Blowout – Boston 10, Toronto 0
12. April 24, 1969: Bruins Fall to Habs in De Facto Cup Final
13. April 26, 1970: The Afternoon the Bruins Really Won the 1970 Cup
14. March 11, 1971: Phil Esposito Sets Single-Season Scoring Record
15. February 23, 1972: Bruins Rally From Five Goals Down to Defeat Seals
16. April 30, 1972: The One That Nearly Got Away
17. December 30, 1973: Chris Oddleifson's Four-Goal Game
18. October 7, 1976: Rick Middleton's Debut Hattrick
19. December 23, 1979: Bruins Battle Rangers Fans
20. February 26, 1981: Boston's Biggest Brawl
21. May 8, 1988: Doughnut-Gate
22. October 16, 1988: Cam Neely's Seven-Point Game
23. April 11, 1990: Four Goals in Third Period to Salvage Playoff Series
24. April 10, 2010: Bruins Score Three Shorthanded Goals on One Penalty
25. May 13, 2013: Bruins Erase a 4-1 Deficit to Oust Maple Leafs

@John Robertson and @CTMadden: Do you have any particular favourites among the 25 games? Stories that you love the most or that were the most fun to research?

So no game 7 of the 1979 SC semi-final? Interesting choice (to not include it), as it is arguably the most famous & heart-breaking loss in the Bruins' history. Has that game been analysed to death or something? Or is the rivalry vs the Habs generally sort of covered elsewhere?

 

[Fire Sweeney]

So no game 7 of the 1979 SC semi-final? Interesting choice (to not include it), as it is arguably the most famous & heart-breaking loss in the Bruins' history. Has that game been analysed to death or something? Or is the rivalry vs the Habs generally sort of covered elsewhere?

Check out by the same author

Too Many Men on the Ice: The 1978-1979 Boston Bruins and the Most Famous Penalty in Hockey History​

 

[John Robertson]

So no game 7 of the 1979 SC semi-final? Interesting choice (to not include it), as it is arguably the most famous & heart-breaking loss in the Bruins' history. Has that game been analysed to death or something? Or is the rivalry vs the Habs generally sort of covered elsewhere?

In an earlier post to the thread I wrote, "One thing to keep in mind: The famous Bobby Orr overtime goal game is not included nor is the too-many-men-on-the-ice fiasco of 1979. Why not? Each was thoroughly covered in a previous book separately by author John G. Robertson."

 

[VMBM]

 

[CTMadden]

Honestly we likely could have have filled a book with 50 such games. There is a lot of history, heartbreak and heroics for Boston's fandom. So in deciding which games to choose we immediately omitted anything we have previously covered and opted for some of the lesser known stories out there as there is quite a few.