A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional

A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey

Drawing on extensive archival records and illustrations, histories of the sport, and newspaper files, Canadaâ€™s Prime Minister delves into the fascinating early years of ice hockey.

In the tumultuous beginnings of hockey, the fights were as much off the ice as on it. A Great Game is about the hockey heroes and hard-boiled businessmen who built the game, and the rise and fall of legendary teams pursuing the Stanley Cup. With a historianâ€™s perspective and fanâ€™s passion, Stephen Harper presents a riveting and often surprising portrait of the early years of hockey, capturing everything from the physical contests on the rinks to the battles behind the scenes.

A Great Game shows how much about hockey has stayed the same. Rough play, fervent hometown loyalties, owner-player contract disputes, partisan news coverage, and big money were issues from the get-go. Was hockey to be a game of obsessed amateurs playing for the love of the sport, or was it a game for paid professionals who would give fans what they wanted?

A century ago rinks could melt, and by halftime the blades screwed to the playersâ€™ shoes could be sinking in mud, but the hockey pioneers were unstoppable. Teams sprang up across North America, from Victoria to Winnipeg, Halifax to Montreal, and Detroit to Pittsburgh. In the Queen City, in spite of the fanatical opposition of amateur hockey leaders, early teams such as the Toronto Professionals of 1908 and the Toronto Blue Shirts of 1914 took turns battling for Torontoâ€™s very first Stanley Cup. These â€œforgotten Leafsâ€ would lay the groundwork for the worldâ€™s most profitable hockey franchise.

In A Great Game, Stephen Harper brings alive the history of hockeyâ€™s first decades and pays passionate tribute to the earliest star players of the game. This entertaining and original book will captivate fans from start to finish.
Country USA
Brand Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer Simon & Schuster
Binding Hardcover
ReleaseDate 2013-11-05
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781476716534

Country	USA
Brand	Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer	Simon & Schuster
Binding	Hardcover
ReleaseDate	2013-11-05
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781476716534

A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey

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