Hockey History Books
- Thread starter Stoneberg
- Start date
George tells me it will be available on amazon within the next month or so.
- Jan 22, 2007
- 14,447
- 7,225
A new french language book on the Quebec Nordiques is coming from Benoît Clairoux this fall. 100 former players interviewed, 400 pages, 200,000 words. Benoît hopes for an english version in Spring 2025.
Last edited:
reckoning
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2005
- 7,024
- 1,271
Scandale du Jour
JordanStaal#1Fan
Nope! Will surely buy though.
I am doing great. Just got back from Singapore. Hope you are doing good too
Stan Fischler recently asked me to put together a list of the top 10 New York Rangers books for his Rangers column on The Hockey News website. It was difficult narrowing it down to ten, but here is the final list I had come up with. Let me know what you think and if you agree/disagree with my ranking. Would you replace any of these?
1. When The Rangers Were Young - by Frank Boucher and Trent Frayne
For my money, this is the best book on the New York Rangers that has ever been written and one of my personal all-time favourite hockey books. Frank Boucher, who the Rangers inexplicably continue to ignore, crafted a fantastic overview of the first three decades in Rangers’ history alongside the great Trent Frayne. Having played a prominent role as player, coach and general manager throughout those three decades, Frank covers the birth and early years of the Rangers which featured the likes of Bill and Bun Cook, Murray Murdoch, Taffy Abel, Ivan Johnson and others. He details his years spent as a coach and then general manager, touching on his relationship with Lester Patrick which had become strained, and of his struggles to keep the team competitive during the post-war days. He even speaks of growing up in a large family in Ottawa, Ontario during the early 1900’s. This is a wonderful look into hockey and life of the time.
2. Metro Ice: A Century of Hockey in Greater New York – by Stan Fischler and Tom Sarro
A beautiful, lavishly illustrated celebration of hockey’s history in New York that was published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the New York Americans joining the NHL, this stunning coffee table book should be the go-to resource for any fan and researcher wanting to learn more about the history of hockey in the Greater New York area. A monumental achievement, this highly in-depth work covers not only the Rangers but the Americans, Islanders, Devils, Rovers, Raiders, and Golden Blades. It deserves its place on the shelves of any serious hockey fan.
3. A Year on Ice: The New York Rangers Roller Coaster 1970 Season – by Gerald Eskenazi
A day-to-day chronicle of the roller coaster ride that was the Rangers’ 1969-1970 season, this was the first hockey book to feature a behind the scenes look at a club both on the ice and of the lives of its athletes away from it. The 69-70 Rangers were in first place by mid-February of that season until defenseman Brad Park broke his ankle. They were a completely different club without their top rearguard and soon fell out of a playoff spot. In fifth place entering the final week of the season, this book details the wild ride – perhaps the wildest ever – the Rangers took to improbably squeeze into a playoff spot. A must-read for any Rangers fan.
4. We Did Everything But Win: Former New York Rangers Remember the Emile Francis Era (1964-1976) – by George Grimm
This wonderful oral history of an unforgettable era in Rangers history chronicles all of the highs and lows of the Emile Francis-lead Blueshirts. Meticulously researched and filled with many entertaining and insightful interviews with the players and “The Cat” himself, fans reading this will surely feel as if they’ve entered a time capsule to relive many of their favourite memories from such an entertaining team and era. They really did everything but win it all. George Grimm does his part by delivering a winner here.
5. New York Rangers: Seventy-Five Years – by John Halligan
Much like Metro Ice, this coffee table book was also published to celebrate a 75th anniversary, this being that of the New York Rangers. John Halligan, who worked as the club’s public relations director, expertly covers the history of the franchise up to that point. All the franchise greats are covered here as well as the biggest moments, and it’s all capped with superb photography chronicling it all.
6. Thin Ice: A Season in Hell with the New York Rangers – by Larry Sloman
Without going into too many details, Thin Ice certainly wouldn’t see the light of day today. Very much a product of its time, Larry Sloman gifted us a hilarious inside look into the lives of a few of the young Rangers, much of it covering their shenanigans and lifestyle away from the rink. It reads more like a tabloid piece rather than a serious piece of hockey literature, this is easily one of the most entertaining hockey books ever written. Not recommended for younger readers or the easily offended!
7. Losing the Edge: The Rise and Fall of the Stanley Cup Champion New York Rangers – by Barry Meisel
A tale of two clubs. The first part of the book is a gripping account of the New York Rangers club that finally reversed the jinx and broke a 54-year curse by winning the 1994 Stanley Cup in a thrilling 7-game series against the Vancouver Canucks. It covers the ride to get there and the high of victory, but the second half of the book shifts its focus and delves into the almost immediate “fall” of the championship team and the not so stellar 1995 season, beginning with the resignation of controversial head coach Mike Keenan. Iron Mike’s one year tenure was tumultuous to say the least as he constantly butted heads with players, management, and ownership culminating in his exit just a month after winning the Cup, citing breach of contract after the club was a day late in paying him bonus money. A fascinating read.
8. The Franchise – New York Rangers: A Curated History of the Blueshirts – by Rick Carpiniello
A brand-new addition to the hockey book market, Rick was the perfect choice to document the past forty-plus years of Ranger hockey. Why? He was there through it all, front and centre, covering the Rangers for The Journal News dating all the way back to 1978 right up until his retirement in 2021. Easy to read, Rick provides us with many informative and entertaining essays that cover the important moments and personalities from this timeframe in Blueshirts history. A gold mine of stories for fans and readers alike.
9. 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes, and Colorful Characters – by Russ Cohen, John Halligan, and Adam Raider
Another beautiful coffee table book, the authors profile the top 100 greatest players to ever lace up the skates for the Rangers. While the rankings themselves are sure to be divisive, there’s a lot to like here. Fans of all ages will enjoy countless anecdotes and stories of their favourite players, each one playing a memorable role in the history of one of hockey’s most historic franchises. Every Rangers fan should own a copy. A fantastic resource for researchers and historians as well.
10. The Wait is Over: The New York Rangers and the 1994 Stanley Cup – by John Kreiser
John Kreiser, who covered the NHL for more than forty years at the Associated Press, recounts the historic Cup-winning season of 1994 twenty-years later. Featuring interviews with important members of that championship club all those years later and relying on contemporary reports to paint a picture of hockey in New York at the time, this book should keep fans glued to the pages. Ten years after publication and thirty years since that Cup victory, fans remain hopeful they’ll live to see another championship. But in the meantime, this book certainly helps by allowing them to revisit their incredible champion until the next one delivers.
1. When The Rangers Were Young - by Frank Boucher and Trent Frayne
For my money, this is the best book on the New York Rangers that has ever been written and one of my personal all-time favourite hockey books. Frank Boucher, who the Rangers inexplicably continue to ignore, crafted a fantastic overview of the first three decades in Rangers’ history alongside the great Trent Frayne. Having played a prominent role as player, coach and general manager throughout those three decades, Frank covers the birth and early years of the Rangers which featured the likes of Bill and Bun Cook, Murray Murdoch, Taffy Abel, Ivan Johnson and others. He details his years spent as a coach and then general manager, touching on his relationship with Lester Patrick which had become strained, and of his struggles to keep the team competitive during the post-war days. He even speaks of growing up in a large family in Ottawa, Ontario during the early 1900’s. This is a wonderful look into hockey and life of the time.
2. Metro Ice: A Century of Hockey in Greater New York – by Stan Fischler and Tom Sarro
A beautiful, lavishly illustrated celebration of hockey’s history in New York that was published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the New York Americans joining the NHL, this stunning coffee table book should be the go-to resource for any fan and researcher wanting to learn more about the history of hockey in the Greater New York area. A monumental achievement, this highly in-depth work covers not only the Rangers but the Americans, Islanders, Devils, Rovers, Raiders, and Golden Blades. It deserves its place on the shelves of any serious hockey fan.
3. A Year on Ice: The New York Rangers Roller Coaster 1970 Season – by Gerald Eskenazi
A day-to-day chronicle of the roller coaster ride that was the Rangers’ 1969-1970 season, this was the first hockey book to feature a behind the scenes look at a club both on the ice and of the lives of its athletes away from it. The 69-70 Rangers were in first place by mid-February of that season until defenseman Brad Park broke his ankle. They were a completely different club without their top rearguard and soon fell out of a playoff spot. In fifth place entering the final week of the season, this book details the wild ride – perhaps the wildest ever – the Rangers took to improbably squeeze into a playoff spot. A must-read for any Rangers fan.
4. We Did Everything But Win: Former New York Rangers Remember the Emile Francis Era (1964-1976) – by George Grimm
This wonderful oral history of an unforgettable era in Rangers history chronicles all of the highs and lows of the Emile Francis-lead Blueshirts. Meticulously researched and filled with many entertaining and insightful interviews with the players and “The Cat” himself, fans reading this will surely feel as if they’ve entered a time capsule to relive many of their favourite memories from such an entertaining team and era. They really did everything but win it all. George Grimm does his part by delivering a winner here.
5. New York Rangers: Seventy-Five Years – by John Halligan
Much like Metro Ice, this coffee table book was also published to celebrate a 75th anniversary, this being that of the New York Rangers. John Halligan, who worked as the club’s public relations director, expertly covers the history of the franchise up to that point. All the franchise greats are covered here as well as the biggest moments, and it’s all capped with superb photography chronicling it all.
6. Thin Ice: A Season in Hell with the New York Rangers – by Larry Sloman
Without going into too many details, Thin Ice certainly wouldn’t see the light of day today. Very much a product of its time, Larry Sloman gifted us a hilarious inside look into the lives of a few of the young Rangers, much of it covering their shenanigans and lifestyle away from the rink. It reads more like a tabloid piece rather than a serious piece of hockey literature, this is easily one of the most entertaining hockey books ever written. Not recommended for younger readers or the easily offended!
7. Losing the Edge: The Rise and Fall of the Stanley Cup Champion New York Rangers – by Barry Meisel
A tale of two clubs. The first part of the book is a gripping account of the New York Rangers club that finally reversed the jinx and broke a 54-year curse by winning the 1994 Stanley Cup in a thrilling 7-game series against the Vancouver Canucks. It covers the ride to get there and the high of victory, but the second half of the book shifts its focus and delves into the almost immediate “fall” of the championship team and the not so stellar 1995 season, beginning with the resignation of controversial head coach Mike Keenan. Iron Mike’s one year tenure was tumultuous to say the least as he constantly butted heads with players, management, and ownership culminating in his exit just a month after winning the Cup, citing breach of contract after the club was a day late in paying him bonus money. A fascinating read.
8. The Franchise – New York Rangers: A Curated History of the Blueshirts – by Rick Carpiniello
A brand-new addition to the hockey book market, Rick was the perfect choice to document the past forty-plus years of Ranger hockey. Why? He was there through it all, front and centre, covering the Rangers for The Journal News dating all the way back to 1978 right up until his retirement in 2021. Easy to read, Rick provides us with many informative and entertaining essays that cover the important moments and personalities from this timeframe in Blueshirts history. A gold mine of stories for fans and readers alike.
9. 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes, and Colorful Characters – by Russ Cohen, John Halligan, and Adam Raider
Another beautiful coffee table book, the authors profile the top 100 greatest players to ever lace up the skates for the Rangers. While the rankings themselves are sure to be divisive, there’s a lot to like here. Fans of all ages will enjoy countless anecdotes and stories of their favourite players, each one playing a memorable role in the history of one of hockey’s most historic franchises. Every Rangers fan should own a copy. A fantastic resource for researchers and historians as well.
10. The Wait is Over: The New York Rangers and the 1994 Stanley Cup – by John Kreiser
John Kreiser, who covered the NHL for more than forty years at the Associated Press, recounts the historic Cup-winning season of 1994 twenty-years later. Featuring interviews with important members of that championship club all those years later and relying on contemporary reports to paint a picture of hockey in New York at the time, this book should keep fans glued to the pages. Ten years after publication and thirty years since that Cup victory, fans remain hopeful they’ll live to see another championship. But in the meantime, this book certainly helps by allowing them to revisit their incredible champion until the next one delivers.
The video format/quality is likely better viewed through the actual youtube app/site. It’d be in 1080p. I think this site compresses the quality.
If any of you are on Todd Denault’s Hockey Books group on facebook, you may have already seen it (seventieslord and kaiser matias come to mind). But I’ve posted an updated video documenting my collection of hockey books if anyone is bored and has 25 minutes to spare. I plan on eventually posting more in-depth videos focusing on rare books, signed items from my collection, expanded thoughts on particular titles, stories from years of collecting etc..This one was more just to document the book portion of my Hockey Library. Cheers!
Steve Kournianos
@thedraftanalyst
What a collection and thank you for sharing.
If you don’t mind, I have questions about discontinuations and editions.
1) I have the NHL Sourcebook from 1987-88 to 1990-91. Were they discontinued after 1991?
2) I have two editions of “Total Hockey”. One from 1998 and another from 2000. Are there more than two editions?
3) The NHL Yearbook Magazine (with the official stats) — Do you know when it became an official publication and which years it was not printed before being discontinued?
4) Same questions from No. 3 but for the NHL Year in Review (stats book)
Sorry about all the questions and thanks for taking the time.
Yes - ladies and gentlemen - the fellow we see here was the greatest and most important Ranger of all time. The Blueshirts - with four Stanley Cup championships under their belt - hoisted the Cup twice with this #7 as a player, and once with him behind the bench. He was behind the bench for more than 500 games, and was the GM for parts of 10 seasons.
These guys provided me with the greatest pleasure I've enjoyed as a hockey fan - eliminating the Habs in the playoffs, twice. Wonder how the early 80's Nordiques would have fared against the Broad Street Bullies of the mid-70s. Quebec was loaded with offense, and had some tough customers. Imagine Dale Hunter vs Bobby Clarke in his prime.
Doctor Coffin
This may hurt a bit...
- May 23, 2013
- 445
- 174
A fine list. Myself, I was always partial to Vic Hadfield's autobiography/loose chronicle of the 1972-73 Rangers season, one of the first books of such a format produced.
Thanks for watching!
1. Yes, there only four editions of the NHL Sourcebook published.
2. Only the two editions, published in 1998 and 2000 respectively.
3. The NHL Yearbook was first published in the fall of 1989 (1990 Yearbook) as an official NHL publication. Beginning with the 2000 edition it was published as part of the NHL’s “Face-Off” line of publications but remained official. There were no Yearbooks published in 2005 or 2006, and then it was skipped again in 2013. The Yearbooks remained a “Face-Off” publication until the last two NHL yearbooks in 2016 and 2017. These remained “official” but were published by Rogers Media. All in all there were 25 NHL Yearbooks published.
4. I don’t know a whole lot about these. I haven’t gone out of my way to collect them. The ones I do own I had acquired in a lot as throw-ins if I recall correctly. I believe the SIHR DB does list more than the few that I own, but I wouldn’t be able to confidently answer how many were published.
And no problem at all! Any other questions, feel free.
It’s funny you mention this book, because Stan Fischler once called it the worst hockey book ever written.
I believe he didn’t have the best relationship with Vic at the time. The book wasn’t going to win any awards for the writing, of course, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Stan claimed! It was an interesting “diary” type of read.
And it’s completely baffling how the Rangers continue to operate as if Frank Boucher and the Cook brothers didn’t exist. I know for the vast majority of fans Rangers history begins in the 1960’s or 1970’s, and hell probably the 90’s for the casuals…but it’s a curious decision to completely ignore an entire era in your franchise’s history. An extremely important one at that..
And just a heads up for anyone thinking of purchasing this book. I’ll start off by saying George Grimm is great and I’d love to see people support his work. That being said, the format of this particular book isn’t at all what I had expected. I’m sure it’ll still be a great read, but I was anticipating the typical historical deep dive format for this era, like most hockey history books. Instead, I’d estimate that about 85%-90% of the book is in the format of short player bio’s for all of the players who played under Frank Boucher. Again, I still expect it to be very good. Just not what I or others who I have spoken to were expecting.
Just announced by Triumph Books for publication this coming November. It’ll cover some of his on-ice career, of course, but according to the official product description much of it will be on his 2015 stroke and recovery.
Doctor Coffin
This may hurt a bit...
- May 23, 2013
- 445
- 174
Thank you for the background. Yes I think the ol' hockey maven might have been prone to letting his relationships influence his judgement from time to time; Hadfield during the course of that particular season especially I believe had an acrimonious relationship with certain members of the media who criticized in print his decision to leave Team Canada in Moscow in September of 1972 (Jim Proudfoot of Toronto was another that comes to mind). But yes, though the book was not going to be a Pulitzer prize winner, it was one of the earliest hockey season diaries/chronologies written by a player or member of the media, something I found fascinating and appreciated.It’s funny you mention this book, because Stan Fischler once called it the worst hockey book ever written.
I believe he didn’t have the best relationship with Vic at the time. The book wasn’t going to win any awards for the writing, of course, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Stan claimed! It was an interesting “diary” type of read.
Doctor Coffin
This may hurt a bit...
- May 23, 2013
- 445
- 174
To me, it's unfortunate that Bill Cook in particular was one person who would have been fascinating to have a biography published about. He was part of a small but vital and esteemed group of Canadian artillery which supported in the British/U.S/anti-bolshevik Russian forces near Arkhangelsk during the harsh winter of 1918-19, a military action that's still largely unknown in the West. Mr. Cook would have had stories to tell.
Steve Kournianos
@thedraftanalyst
Seemingly, the only pre-1994 Rangers who are remembered at all are the stars of the Emile Francis era: Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, Brad Park and Ed Giacomin. Gilbert - today - is seen as Mr. Ranger. As much as I loved him growing up - decades later knowing the team's history - I cannot compare his contribution to the team (especially after hanging up his skates) to that of Boucher.
I've read a few books on Lord Stanley recently, and figured I'd add my thoughts here:
Lord Stanley: The Man Behind the Cup by Kevin Shea and John Jason Wilson (2007):
Frederick Stanley, Baron Stanley of Preston, is known for being Governor-General of Canada and donating the Stanley Cup. However as Shea and Wilson show here in this biography, he was much more than just that. Mainly focusing on his 5 years as Governor-General, they chronicle Stanley's life and examine his tenure. They highlight his efforts to travel across the country, which he and his family did from coast to coast, and also look at his interactions with the Canadian government. While there are a few factual errors ("Richard the Conqueror", for example), it is a great look at an important individual in Canadian and hockey history.
Canada's Holy Grail: Lord Stanley's Political Motivation to Donate the Stanley Cup by Jordan B Goldstein (2021):
Despite the title, this is not a hockey book, or even really about the Stanley Cup. Instead Goldstein looks at what led to Lord Stanley deciding to donate the Cup that bears his name. It examines the political and cultural situation of Canada, and the British Empire more wholly, and he determines that factors like the general move from classical liberalism to progressivism, the attempts to create a Canadian national identity, and the impact sports played on establishing a modern sense of self in both the UK and US. All this, Goldstein argues, led to the 1892 donation of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup.
Lord Stanley: The Man Behind the Cup by Kevin Shea and John Jason Wilson (2007):
Frederick Stanley, Baron Stanley of Preston, is known for being Governor-General of Canada and donating the Stanley Cup. However as Shea and Wilson show here in this biography, he was much more than just that. Mainly focusing on his 5 years as Governor-General, they chronicle Stanley's life and examine his tenure. They highlight his efforts to travel across the country, which he and his family did from coast to coast, and also look at his interactions with the Canadian government. While there are a few factual errors ("Richard the Conqueror", for example), it is a great look at an important individual in Canadian and hockey history.
Canada's Holy Grail: Lord Stanley's Political Motivation to Donate the Stanley Cup by Jordan B Goldstein (2021):
Despite the title, this is not a hockey book, or even really about the Stanley Cup. Instead Goldstein looks at what led to Lord Stanley deciding to donate the Cup that bears his name. It examines the political and cultural situation of Canada, and the British Empire more wholly, and he determines that factors like the general move from classical liberalism to progressivism, the attempts to create a Canadian national identity, and the impact sports played on establishing a modern sense of self in both the UK and US. All this, Goldstein argues, led to the 1892 donation of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup.
