The Lives of Conn Smythe

The Lives of Conn Smythe PDF Author: Kelly McParland
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0771056842
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
While the story of the Toronto Maple Leafs has been told many times, there has never been a full biography of the man who created, built and managed the team, turning it from a small-market collection of second-rate players into the hockey and financial powerhouse that dominated Canadian sports and created a collection of Canadian icons along the way. From the 1920s to the mid-1960s, Conn Smythe was one of the best-known, highest-profile figures in the country -- irascible, tempestuous, outspoken, and controversial. He not only constructed a hockey team that dominated the league for long stretches, but was critical to the growth and shaping of the NHL itself. By building Maple Leaf Gardens and hiring Foster Hewitt to fill Canada's living rooms with weekly broadcasts, he turned Saturday night into hockey night, creating institutions and habits that became central to Canada's character and remain with us today. Smythe's story is much deeper and richer than the tale of a cantankerous hockey owner. Smythe fought in both world wars, fighting at Ypres and Passchendaele in the first war and landing at Normandy in the second. He was wounded in both and spent two years as a POW in a German camp after being shot down in 1917. He grew up in poverty and vowed to escape the life that was so incredibly hard on his family. Smythe was active in politics and ignited a national crisis over conscription that split the Liberal government in two and brought Mackenzie King to the brink of resignation. This book tells the life of one of the country's great characters, a man who helped shape and define us and who left behind national habits and institutions that continue to lay at the heart of what makes Canada, Canada.

The Lives of Conn Smythe

The Lives of Conn Smythe PDF Author: Kelly McParland
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0771056842
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
While the story of the Toronto Maple Leafs has been told many times, there has never been a full biography of the man who created, built and managed the team, turning it from a small-market collection of second-rate players into the hockey and financial powerhouse that dominated Canadian sports and created a collection of Canadian icons along the way. From the 1920s to the mid-1960s, Conn Smythe was one of the best-known, highest-profile figures in the country -- irascible, tempestuous, outspoken, and controversial. He not only constructed a hockey team that dominated the league for long stretches, but was critical to the growth and shaping of the NHL itself. By building Maple Leaf Gardens and hiring Foster Hewitt to fill Canada's living rooms with weekly broadcasts, he turned Saturday night into hockey night, creating institutions and habits that became central to Canada's character and remain with us today. Smythe's story is much deeper and richer than the tale of a cantankerous hockey owner. Smythe fought in both world wars, fighting at Ypres and Passchendaele in the first war and landing at Normandy in the second. He was wounded in both and spent two years as a POW in a German camp after being shot down in 1917. He grew up in poverty and vowed to escape the life that was so incredibly hard on his family. Smythe was active in politics and ignited a national crisis over conscription that split the Liberal government in two and brought Mackenzie King to the brink of resignation. This book tells the life of one of the country's great characters, a man who helped shape and define us and who left behind national habits and institutions that continue to lay at the heart of what makes Canada, Canada.

LIFE

LIFE PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.

Patrick Roy

Patrick Roy PDF Author: Michel Roy
Publisher: Triumph Books
ISBN: 1633193039
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 496

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Book Description
Reveals the man behind the mask—the triumphs and failures of one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of hockeyIn the early 1970s, a young Patrick Roy laced up his hockey skates for the very first time, like thousands of other kids. More than 30 years later, his indomitable will to win and his focus on being the very best brought him four Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythe trophies, three Vezina trophies, and many more individual honors. An incredible hockey talent who was instrumental in changing the very art of goaltending, Roy's success was driven as much by determination and perseverance as by talent. Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else brings to life Roy's phenomenal career and unmasks his more mysterious personal side. Michel Roy, the father of this great sports legend, reveals what makes Patrick tick, taking us behind the scenes and into the family life of one of the greatest goaltenders of all time.

LIFE

LIFE PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.

LIFE

LIFE PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 136

Get Book Here

Book Description
LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.

A Night at the Gardens

A Night at the Gardens PDF Author: Russell Field
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1487547161
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
When Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens opened in 1931, manager Conn Smythe envisioned an arena that would project an aura of middle-class respectability. In A Night at the Gardens, Russell Field shares how this new arena anticipated spectators by examining varying spectator behaviours, who the spectators were, and what the experience of spectating was like. Drawing on archival records, the book explores the neighbourhood in which Maple Leaf Gardens was situated, the design of the arena’s interior spaces, and the ways in which the venue was operated in order to appeal to respectable spectators at a particular intersection of class and gender. Oral history interviews with former spectators at Maple Leaf Gardens detail the experience of watching the spectacle that unfolded on the ice during each hockey game. A Night at the Gardens tells the fascinating story of how one prominent public building became such an important part of Toronto society.

J.P. Bickell

J.P. Bickell PDF Author: Jason Wilson
Publisher: Dundurn
ISBN: 1459740483
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
He stayed out of the spotlight, but Leafs fans know J.P. Bickell cast a long shadow. A self-made mining magnate and the man who kept the Maple Leafs in Toronto and financed Maple Leaf Gardens, J.P. Bickell lived an extraordinary and purposeful life. As one of the most important industrialists in Canadian history, Bickell left his mark on communities across the nation. He was a cornerstone of the Toronto Maple Leafs, which awards the J.P. Bickell Memorial Award to recognize outstanding service to the organization. Bickell’s story is also tied up with some of the most famous Canadians of his day, including Mitchell Hepburn, Roy Thomson, and Conn Smythe. Through his charitable foundation, he has been a key benefactor of the Hospital for Sick Children, and his legacy continues to transform Toronto. Yet, though Bickell was so important both to Toronto and the Maple Leafs, the story of his incredible life is today largely obscure. This book sets the record straight, presenting the definitive story of his rise to prominence and his lasting legacy — on the ice and off.

Breaking the Ice

Breaking the Ice PDF Author: Cecil Harris
Publisher: Insomniac Press
ISBN: 1897415052
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Black hockey players from Grant Fuhr to Jarome Iginla speak candidly for the first time about their experiences in the NHL. Since 1958, thirty-seven black men have played in the National Hockey League. Out of the 600 players active today, fourteen are black. Breaking the Ice: The Black Experience in Professional Hockey is the first book to tell the unique stories of black hockey players - how they overcame or succumbed to racial and cultural prejudices to play Canada's favourite pastime. Sports journalist Cecil Harris outlines in detail the personal and professional battles as well as the vict.

The Leafs

The Leafs PDF Author: Jack Batten
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781552630754
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
In a story that is rich with insider anecdotes, tales and portraits of the colourful characters who have banged around the boards and boardrooms of Maple Leaf Gardens, Jack Batten gives an account that is nostalgic, funny and entertaining. First published in 1994, The Leafs is back with sixteen new pages of text, eight new pages of colour photographs. The Leafs is a must-have book for both long-time Leaf defenders and the newer generation. This is a dazzling tribute to the showcase of aggressive play, hard work, heart and dedication of a revered team, its coaches and its managers. (1999)

The Life and Teams of Johnny F. Bassett

The Life and Teams of Johnny F. Bassett PDF Author: Denis M. Crawford
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476642958
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
One of the most influential sportsmen of the late 20th century, Johnny F. Bassett's marketing wizardry belied his impact on professional hockey and football. A Canadian showman with a Barnumesque flair for spectacle, Bassett challenged the orthodoxy of sports, building sporting utopias in the fatally flawed World Football League, World Hockey Association, and United States Football League. He catered to the common fan, demanded fair treatment of athletes, and forced the sporting establishment to change the way it did business, often to his own detriment. Drawing on archival research and interviews with Bassett's contemporaries, this comprehensive biography chronicles his life in and around professional sports: his quixotic attempt to compete with the Maple Leafs; his stunning coup in signing three members of the reigning Super Bowl champions for his WFL team; his battles with the Canadian government over American football; his audacious marketing of hockey in Alabama; and his rivalry with Donald Trump for the soul of the USFL.