HOH Book Feature (presented in association with the Society for International Hockey Research)

[Theokritos]

It has taken a few years from the idea to the realization, but finally we're able to get this project off the ground:

In association with the Society for International Hockey Research (SIHR), HFBoards presents the History of Hockey book feature. The SIHR will offer their writing members the opportunity to introduce new publications of theirs directly to our board and answer questions by our community. Thus, we will always be up to date on interesting new books and we will also be able to interact with the authors right here in our forum. The long list of publications by SIHR authors include books by Todd Denault (@Canadiens Fan) and Ty Dilello (@nabby12) who already happen to be members of our forum. Stay tuned for the first edition of the HOH book feature.

Of course you're also invited to join the Society for International Hockey Research if you like.

About the SIHR:

The SIHR is a non-profit corporation which is overseen by an elected board of directors and its activities are entirely operated by members who volunteer their time. Through membership dues, donations and grants, the group hosts events, organizes special projects, produces a quarterly newsletter, an annual research journal and maintains their web site.

Objective of the SIHR:

The objective of the Society shall be to record and preserve the history of hockey by collecting, cataloguing, and preserving historical information and records, and by making them available to the public through presentations, articles, journals, books, exhibits, website and social media.

History of the SIHR:

The Society was founded in 1991 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, by a group of seventeen men attending the Canadian Association of Sports Heritage meeting. Click here to read a brief history of SIHR. The Society is governed by a constitution, which was adopted in Montreal on May 22, 1993, and amended on May 28, 2016, in Kingston, Ontario.

List of books featured so far:

• 2019 presentations:
  • Helen Edwards: The History Of Professional Hockey in Victoria B.C 1911-2011
• 2020 presentations:
  • Greg Enright: The Pittsburgh Penguins: The First 25 Years
  • Don Pillar & Aubrey Ferguson: The Golden Years: Bee Hive Golden Corn Syrup Hockey Picture Promotion 1934-68
  • Steve Currier: The California Golden Seals
  • Ty Dilello: Manitoba Hockey: An Oral History
  • Daniel Mahoney: The Most Wonderful Times: Memories of New York Rangers Alumni
  • Stewart Roberts & Kevin Wilsher: Brighton Tigers: A Story of Sporting Passion
  • Alan Bass: Professional Hockey in Philadelphia: A History
  • Andrew C. Holman: A Hotly Contested Affair: Hockey in Canada
  • Pam Coburn: Hitch, Hockey's Unsung Hero: The Story of Boston Bruin Lionel Hitchman
  • David S. Gordon & Martin C. Harris: Lion in Winter: A Complete Record of Great Britain at the Olympic, World and European Championships
  • Bruce Berglund: The Fastest Game in the World: Hockey & the Globalization of Sports
  • Mike Leonetti & Paul Patskou: 100 Things Maple Leafs Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (2020 Re-Edition)
  • Greg Oliver: Father Bauer And The Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey
• 2021 presentations:
  • Kevin Shea: Voices in Blue and White: Pride and Passion for the Maple Leafs
  • Denis Gibbons: Hockey: My Door to Europe
  • William Sproule: Houghton: The Birthplace of Professional Hockey
  • Denis M. Crawford: The Life and Teams of Johnny F. Bassett: Maverick Entrepreneur of North American Sports
  • John G. Robertson: Hockey's Wildest Season: The Changing of the Guard in the NHL, 1969-1970
  • Alan Livingstone MacLeod: From Rinks to Regiments: Hockey Hall-of-Famers and the Great War
  • Jack Han: Hockey Tactics Retrospective, Part 1 (1975-86)
  • Morey Holzman: The Odd Fellow's Heart
  • Wilfred Cude: Dear Red Light: Some Seasons in the Life of an NHL Goalkeeper [presented by Ty Dilello]
  • Sean McCaffrey: The New York Rangers Rink of Honor and the Rafters of Madison Square Garden
  • Dave King: Loose Pucks and Ice Bags: How and Why the Game is Changing
  • Tim Falconer: Klondikers: Dawson City’s Stanley Cup Challenge and How a Nation Fell in Love with Hockey
  • Gary Webster: The NHL's Mistake By the Lake: A History of the Cleveland Barons
  • Alan Livingstone MacLeod: Capitals, Aristocrats, and Cougars: Victoria's Hockey Professionals, 1911-1926
  • Ty Dilello: Mosienko: The Man Who Caught Lightning In A Bottle
  • Mike Commito: Hockey 365, The Second Period: More Daily Storys from the Ice
• 2022 presentations:
  • Pat Pickens: The Whalers: The Rise, Fall and Enduring Mystique of New England's (Second) Greatest NHL Franchise
  • Gary Mossman: Lloyd Percival: Coach and Visionary. Revised and Fully Referenced Edition
  • David Grebstad: A Confluence of Destinies: The Saga of the Winnipeg Falcons' 1920 Olympic Gold Medal Victory
  • Tim Wharnsby: Gold: How Gretzky's Men Ended Canada's 50-Year Olympic Hockey Drought
  • Keith Gave: Vlad the Impaler: More Epic Tales from Detroit's '97 Stanley Cup Conquest
  • Steve Currier: When the NHL Invaded Japan
  • Jeff Miclash: Total Bruins 1929-39: A game-by-game illustrated account
  • Alan Bass: Ed Snider: The Last Sports Mogul
  • Sean McCaffrey: Tricks of the Trade – A Century-Long Journey Through Every Trade Made In New York Rangers' History
  • Paul Greenland: Victory on Ice: The Chicago Blackhawks’ First Stanley Cups
• 2023 presentations:
  • Eric Zweig: Engraved in History: The Story of the Stanley Cup Champion Kenora Thistles
  • Greg Enright: Rocky Hockey: The Short but Wild Ride of the NHL's Colorado Rockies
  • Jim Genac: Path to the Summit: Anatoli Tarasov and the History of Soviet Hockey, Part 1: 1946-1956
  • Jeff Miclash: The First Great Rivals: The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins in Photos 1933-1949
  • Grant Douglas Pennell: Sitting on Tretiak: The 1972 Summit Series Play-by-Play, Volume 1: The Canadian Games
  • John G. Robertson & Carl T. Madden: The Bruins in 25 Games: Boston's Most Unforgettable Wins and Heartbreaking Losses
  • Ethan Scheiner: Freedom to Win: A Cold War Story of the Courageous Hockey Team That Fought the Soviets for the Soul of Its People—And Olympic Gold
  • Sean McCaffrey: The Top 100 Villains of New York Rangers History
  • John Ross: Fife Flyers On This Day
  • Paul Langan: Play and Coach Hockey like 1959!
• 2024 presentations:
  • Rob Vanstone: Brave Face: Wild Tales of Hockey Goaltenders in the Era Before Masks

Click to read more...

 

[VanIslander]

Dang!

From the thread title,...

I thought they were gonna write a book about us.

 

[tarheelhockey]

As a member of SIHR, I love that these two groups are collaborating. For my money these are the two most productive hockey-history groups out there, with very different but complimentary approaches.

 

[Bondurant]

Hup, hockey books, hup.

 

[JMCx4]

Looking forward to the products of this collaboration. Thanks to all parties for bringing it together.

 

[Habsfan18]

How many of us on HF Boards are also SIHR members? I finally took the plunge and joined a few months back.

 

[seventieslord]

How many of us on HF Boards are also SIHR members? I finally took the plunge and joined a few months back.

I've been for 9 years.

 

[Habsfan18]

I've been for 9 years.

I’d been meaning to for years. Not sure why it took me so long.

 

[goliver845]

Hi everyone,

Greg Oliver here. I've done seven books on hockey now:

• Gratoony the Loony: The Wild, Unpredictable Life of Gilles Gratton (with Gilles Gratton)
• Father Bauer and the Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey
• Blue Lines, Goal Lines & Bottom Lines: Hockey Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt
• Written in Blue and White: The Toronto Maple Leafs Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt
• The Goaltenders' Union: Hockey's Greatest Puckstoppers, Acrobats, and Flakes (with Richard Kamchen)
• Don't Call Me Goon: Hockey's Greatest Enforcers, Gunslingers, and Bad Boys (with Richard Kamchen)
• Duck with the Puck (a kid's book, with my son, Quinn Oliver)

I couldn't have done it without SIHR and the support and friendship of fellow members, and am glad SIHR is expanding its reach here at HFBoards.

Knowing how hard it is to get publicity these days, with shrinking newspapers and TV and radio stations with less and less resources, I started a column at the SIHR website where I talk to fellow authors about their projects. I titled the column "Two Minutes for Reading so Good" as an ode to the Grecian Formula commercial with Rocket Richard, but also because it seems like some days that's all the time I can carve out in a day to read!

When I get an interview that is of particular historical nature, I'll post it here.

My latest one is about a new book by Rhonda Leeman Taylor, written with her great-niece Denbeigh Whitmarsh, called OFFSIDE - A Memoir - Challenges Faced by Women in Hockey. She talks about her own time as a player before moving into the boardrooms, helping to build the women's game as we know it today.

Check it out here:
https://sihrhockey.org/__a/public/column.cfm?cid=4&aid=581

I'm happy to answer questions about my own books and projects too. OLIVER BOOKS -- Hockey, Professional Wrestling

 

[Sanf]

Nice. Very intrested about this. Never been member of SIHR.

 

[JMCx4]

@goliver845 : My wife & I both enjoyed your Father Bauer book, and it remains on our book shelf at home. Thank you also for bringing my attention to Rhonda Leeman Taylor's new title; added to my future reading list. I look forward to your future posts.

 

[goliver845]

@goliver845 : My wife & I both enjoyed your Father Bauer book, and it remains on our book shelf at home. Thank you also for bringing my attention to Rhonda Leeman Taylor's new title; added to my future reading list. I look forward to your future posts.

Thanks for the kind words. I poured my heart and soul into the Father Bauer book, and I think it shows in the content, if not in the sales; easily the most disappointing sales-wise of all my books. He's an iconic and important figure in Canadian hockey history.

 

[JMCx4]

... I poured my heart and soul into the Father Bauer book, and I think it shows in the content, if not in the sales; easily the most disappointing sales-wise of all my books. ...

I've made no profit from my writings, either ... but I keep on posting anyway.

 

[Nunymare]

How many of us on HF Boards are also SIHR members? I finally took the plunge and joined a few months back.

I’ve been around for about 5 years (I think) now!

 

[Say Hey Kid]

This is very exciting!

 

[Bondurant]

Hi everyone,

Greg Oliver here. I've done seven books on hockey now:

• Gratoony the Loony: The Wild, Unpredictable Life of Gilles Gratton (with Gilles Gratton)
• Father Bauer and the Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey
• Blue Lines, Goal Lines & Bottom Lines: Hockey Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt
• Written in Blue and White: The Toronto Maple Leafs Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt
• The Goaltenders' Union: Hockey's Greatest Puckstoppers, Acrobats, and Flakes (with Richard Kamchen)
• Don't Call Me Goon: Hockey's Greatest Enforcers, Gunslingers, and Bad Boys (with Richard Kamchen)
• Duck with the Puck (a kid's book, with my son, Quinn Oliver)

Gratoony the Loony is a good book. Heard about on NHL Radio on Sirius. Was it on Kouleas' show? Don't Call Me Goon has been on my list for far too long. Will pick it up soon.

 

[Boxscore]

Gratoony the Loony is a good book. Heard about on NHL Radio on Sirius. Was it on Kouleas' show? Don't Call Me Goon has been on my list for far too long. Will pick it up soon.

I thoroughly enjoyed it! What a character Gratton was.

 

[goliver845]

I neglected to post on a couple of author interviews I did for my SIHR book column.

Here is Perry Lefko talking about working with Eddie Olczyk on Beating the Odds
https://sihrhockey.org/__a/public/column.cfm?cid=4&aid=584

and here is Joe Pelletier talking about his book 50 Years of Vancouver Canucks Hockey
https://sihrhockey.org/__a/public/column.cfm?cid=4&aid=583

 

[Doctor No]

Greg, I'm a huge fan of the Gratton book - man, he was really like that in person! It reminded me of some of the scenes in "The Office" or "Curb Your Enthusiasm" where I didn't want to keep reading because I was getting uncomfortable, but I had to because it was so compelling.

 

[goliver845]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the book! Tell your friends! LOL

He is a remarkable person, so unconcerned with what other people think, and he definitely has no filter. I honestly am surprised that no one has bought the book yet to make a movie about.

Greg, I'm a huge fan of the Gratton book - man, he was really like that in person! It reminded me of some of the scenes in "The Office" or "Curb Your Enthusiasm" where I didn't want to keep reading because I was getting uncomfortable, but I had to because it was so compelling.

 

[goliver845]

In my latest SIHR book column, I talk with Ken Reid about the new Eddie Shack coffee table book, and with the guys from On The Bench about The Fundies -- which just debuted on the bestseller list in Canada.
https://sihrhockey.org/__a/public/column.cfm?cid=4&aid=586

 

[goliver845]

In my Nov. 7th SIHR hockey book column, I talk with Bernie Carnegie about the updated version of her father's memoir, A Fly in a Pail of Milk: The Herb Carnegie Story, just out from ECW Press. If you're not familiar with his story, he was an a black Canadian denied the right to play in the NHL due to the colour of his skin.
https://sihrhockey.org/__a/public/column.cfm?cid=4&aid=587
How many hockey players have schools named after him? Herb Carnegie made a difference in this world.

 

[Ralph Spoilsport]

In my Nov. 7th SIHR hockey book column, I talk with Bernie Carnegie about the updated version of her father's memoir, A Fly in a Pail of Milk: The Herb Carnegie Story, just out from ECW Press. If you're not familiar with his story, he was an a black Canadian denied the right to play in the NHL due to the colour of his skin.
https://sihrhockey.org/__a/public/column.cfm?cid=4&aid=587
How many hockey players have schools named after him? Herb Carnegie made a difference in this world.

Happy Birthday Herb! Almost made it to 100 too.

 

[goliver845]

In my SIHR column that went up on Nov. 13, I talk with Andrew Podnieks about his latest book The Greatest, Weirdest, Most Amazing NHL Debuts of All Time ... and I share a personal connection to Stu Grimson's life, detailed in his new book, The Grim Reaper: The Life and Career of a Reluctant Warrior.
https://sihrhockey.org/__a/public/column.cfm?cid=4&aid=589

 

[ted2019]

Thanks for the kind words. I poured my heart and soul into the Father Bauer book, and I think it shows in the content, if not in the sales; easily the most disappointing sales-wise of all my books. He's an iconic and important figure in Canadian hockey history.

Congrats on your CAC award as well.