A Great Game

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A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs and the Rise of Professional Hockey
A Great Game.jpg
Author Stephen J. Harper
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Subjecthockey history
Published2013 (Simon & Schuster)
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages320pp
ISBN 978-1476716534

A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs and the Rise of Professional Hockey is a 2013 non-fiction book by Stephen Harper concerning the history of professional ice hockey in Canada during the early 20th century.

Stephen Harper 22nd Prime Minister of Canada

Stephen Joseph Harper is a Canadian economist, entrepreneur, and retired politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada for nearly a decade, from February 6, 2006, to November 4, 2015. Harper has served as the leader of the International Democrat Union since February 2018.

Ice hockey team sport played on ice using sticks, skates, and a puck

Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points. The sport is known to be fast-paced and physical, with teams usually consisting of six players each: one goaltender, and five players who skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team.

Contents

Synopsis

The book follows the development of Toronto's earliest professional hockey teams, particularly the Toronto Professional Hockey Club (1906–09) and the Toronto Blueshirts (from 1911). [1] Prior to this, the development of professional teams was fiercely opposed by the Ontario Hockey Association and by Toronto Telegram publisher John Ross Robertson. [2]

Toronto Professional Hockey Club

The Toronto Professional Hockey Club was Toronto's first professional ice hockey team, founded in 1906. The team played the 1906–07 season in exhibition games against other professional teams. In 1908, the team was one of the founders of the Ontario Professional Hockey League (OPHL). The club operated for two seasons in the OPHL, 1908 and 1909, before disbanding. The club challenged unsuccessfully for the Stanley Cup in 1908. They were usually referred to as the Toronto Argonauts.

Toronto Blueshirts Ice hockey team

The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, were a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and began operations in 1912. The club won its sole Stanley Cup championship in 1914.

Ontario Hockey Association

The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the OHF include the Hockey Eastern Ontario and Hockey Northwestern Ontario. The OHA control 3 tiers of junior hockey; the "Tier 2 Junior "A", Junior "B", Junior "C", and one senior hockey league, Allan Cup Hockey.

Publication

Harper wrote the book over an eight-year period. [1] It was released on 5 November 2013 by Simon & Schuster. [1] Proceeds from the book's sales support the Canadian Forces Personnel and Family Support Services. [3] The book also covers other aspects of the early-century game such as the development of artificial ice rinks. [4]

Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services (CFMWS), previously known as Canadian Forces Personnel and Family Support Services (CFPFSS) and Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency (CFPSA), is responsible for administering non-public property on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff and delivering selected public morale and welfare programs, services, and activities.

Ice rink frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports

An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, bandy, rink bandy, ringette, broomball, speed skating, figure skating, ice stock sport and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows. There are two types of rinks in prevalent use today: natural, where freezing occurs from cold ambient temperatures, and artificial, where a coolant produces cold temperatures in the surface below the water, causing the water to freeze. There are also synthetic ice rinks where skating surfaces are made out of plastics.

Reception

Perry Lefko's negative review in Quill & Quire deemed that the book "reads like a long-winded essay or thesis from a hockey historian". [5] Globe and Mail reviewer John Allemang noted that "[v]erbal amateurism apart, it's enjoyable to catch traces of a more boyish, playful Stephen Harper". [4] The Toronto Star review of the book also noted the academic style of the book but indicated the presentation of early 20th-century hockey provided a "historical perspective that has received scant attention among all the books devoted to hockey". [1]

<i>Quill & Quire</i> Canadian book and publishing industry magazine

Quill & Quire, a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry, was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. Quill & Quire reviews books and magazines and provides a forum for discussion of trends in the publishing industry. The publication is considered a significant source of short reviews for new Canadian books.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 DiManno, Rosie (5 November 2013). "Stephen Harper on his game with new hockey book: DiManno". Toronto Star . Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Selley, Chris (5 November 2013). "Stephen Harper's long-awaited hockey history is exhaustive, exhausting". National Post. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  3. ↑ The Canadian Press (4 September 2013). "Prime minister's hockey book to hit store shelves in early November". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  4. 1 2 Allemang, John (8 November 2013). "A Great Game: Stephen Harper's new book revels in hockey nostalgia, but leaves the analysis for others". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Lefko, Perry (December 2013). "A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs and the Rise of Professional Hockey". Quill & Quire . Retrieved 18 November 2013.
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