From humble beginnings in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, to twice winning the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings, the story of Metro Prystai is one of hard work, camaraderie, and a passion for the game. Set in the golden age of hockey, Frank Block presents Prystai's life though extensive research and tell-all interviews with the legend himself and several famous contemporaries, including Red Kelly, Emile Francis, and Ted Lindsay. This inside look at the life of one of the all-time greats is a must-read for every fan of the game....
The life and times of the eight-time Stanley Cup winner When Boston coach Lynn Patrick was asked who heÍd pick between Rocket Richard or Gordie Howe he answered, ñNeither! IÍll take Red Kelly!î The only player to have won eight Stanley Cups without playing for Montreal, Red began his life in hockey on the cedar swamps near Port Dover, Ontario, and went on to win accolades and championships as a Detroit Red Wing and Toronto Maple Leaf. Go back in time with Red as he reminisces about his childhood: the time he nearly drowned; when he brought St. MichaelÍs College to three provincial championships; and his jump into a career with the NHL where sportsmanlike conduct won him multiple Lady Byng trophies. While playing with the Leafs, he served as member of parliament in Lester PearsonÍs government. After retiring in 1967 as a player, Red coached for a decade in the NHL with Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Toronto. This is a fascinating biography of a life well lived „ on and off the ice.
In this sports memoir, Wayne Gretzky weaves memories of his legendary career with an inside look at professional hockey and the heroes and stories that inspired him. From minor-hockey phenomenon to Hall of Fame sensation, Wayne Gretzky rewrote the record books, his accomplishments becoming the stuff of legend. Dubbed “The Great One,” he is considered by many to be the greatest hockey player who ever lived. No one has seen more of the game than he has—but he has never discussed in depth just what it was he saw. For the first time, Gretzky discusses candidly what the game looks like to him and introduces us to the people who inspired and motivated him: mentors, teammates, rivals, the famous and the lesser known. Weaving together lives and moments from an extraordinary career, he reflects on the players who inflamed his imagination when he was a kid, the way he himself figured in the dreams of so many who came after; takes us onto the ice and into the dressing rooms to meet the friends who stood by him and the rivals who spurred him to greater heights; shows us some of the famous moments in hockey history through the eyes of someone who regularly made that history. Warm, direct, and revelatory, it is a book that gives us number 99, the man and the player, like never before.
This book begins with an introductory section that briefly reviews the history of First Nations political development in Saskatchewan, the historical process of First Nations education, health care among Saskatchewan First Nations, the development of First Nations media, and First Nations people in sports. The main section contains over 125 biographies of Saskatchewan First Nations people which together demonstrate the diversity & department of this community and their contribution to the province.
Sheila Harris and I have been friends for a long time. And the most amazing thing she ever did was marry a farmer. No one was more unsuited for farm life than this girl. And in the dead of night she would think. "What have I got myself into?" You are going to find out. You are going to discover that she embraced her life with amazing passion, and bravery and intelligence. She was honoured to be part of this life I watched her with amazement. Does every community in Saskatchewan have a story like this one? Perhaps but this long time "best friend" of mine has done her homework on this one." —Bernice Phillips, Sheila's best friend "She was cute as a button, smart and sassy, with a great laugh. The irrepressible and sometimes rascally young farmer, Gordon Harris swept her into marriage before she turned twenty. The adventures began. The dizzying switch from city girl to farm wife. Sheila is a storyteller, and she has wonderful tales to share, with self-deprecating humour and keen insight. "A book to counter the chaos of today." —Nancy Morrison, Retired Lawyer and Supreme Court Judge
The changing fortunes of Detroit, told through the lens of the city's major sporting events, by the bestselling author of Soccernomics, and a prizewinning cultural critic From Ty Cobb and Hank Greenberg to the Bad Boys, from Joe Louis and Gordie Howe to the Malice at the Palace, City of Champions explores the history of Detroit through the stories of its most gifted athletes and most celebrated teams, linking iconic events in the history of Motown sports to the city's shifting fortunes. In an era when many teams have left rustbelt cities to relocate elsewhere, Detroit has held on to its franchises, and there is currently great hope in the revival of the city focused on its downtown sports complexes—but to whose benefit? Szymanski and Weineck show how the fate of the teams in Detroit's stadiums, gyms, and fields is echoed in the rise and fall of the car industry, political upheavals ushered in by the depression, World War II, the 1967 uprising, and its recent bankruptcy and renewal. Driven by the conviction that sports not only mirror society but also have a special power to create both community and enduring narratives that help define a city's sense of self, City of Champions is a unique history of the most American of cities.
In August 1956 at 3 o’clock in the morning a 15-year old aspiring hockey player boarded a Greyhound bus in Yorkton, Saskatchewan to begin a journey that first took him to Maple Leaf Gardens where he achieved his childhood dream of playing in the NHL and then the journey unexpectantly led him down a path where he was able to build a 45-year career as a scientist in modern molecular medicine. Leslie Kozak explores his early life to determine how the environment created his intense competitive spirit. This exploration of life takes the reader through Leslie’s years at St. Michael’s College School, a short interlude as a Trappist monk, success as a Toronto Maple Leaf, then followed within days by a depressed fracture of his skull that ended his hockey career. Out of this journey emerges a molecular geneticist who dedicates himself in a 45-year research career to the exploration of body heat production and energy metabolism in response to a cold environment and how they could provide solutions to obesity and type 2 diabetes.
THE DEFINITIVE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SPORTS LEGEND The NHL may never see anyone like Gordie Howe again. Known as Mr. Hockey, he led the Detroit Red Wings to four Stanley Cups and is the only player to have competed in the league in five different decades. In Mr. Hockey, the man widely recognized as the greatest all-around player the sport has ever seen tells the story of his incredible life... Twenty consecutive seasons among the top five scorers in the NHL. One hundred points after the age of forty. Playing for Team Canada with his two sons. Gordie Howe rewrote the record books. But despite Howe’s unyielding ferocity on the ice, his name has long been a byword for decency, generosity, and honesty off of it. Going back to Howe’s Depression-era roots and following him through his Hall of Fame career, his enduring marriage to his wife, Colleen, and his extraordinary relationship with his children, Mr. Hockey is the definitive account of the game’s most celebrated legacy, as told by the man himself. FOREWORD BY BOBBY ORR INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS
