Legends of the Detroit Red Wings


Book Description

Kincaide brings to life what was at once the most glorious and the most tumultuous time in Detroit hockey history, the Original Six era. Red Wings stars interviewed for Legends of the Detroit Red Wings won 35 Stanley Cups between them. These are stories told by the biggest names in hockey both in Detroit and across Canada from the mid-1940s into the late 1960s. Legends like Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Bill Gadsby, and Red Kelly, as well as other stars from the National Hockey League from 50 years ago and longer, share their stories as they saw them—as they lived them. A few things readers will discover include who Red Wings legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay thinks is the greatest Red Wing of all time and how trades by iron-fisted Detroit general manager Jack Adams ruined a team many players felt should have won a half-dozen more Stanley Cups. Legends of the Detroit Red Wings is hockey history in the truest sense of the term.




Detroit Red Wings


Book Description

Glorious vintage B&W photos from the greatest era of Detroit Red Wings hockey, 1942-1967. See Howe, Sawchuck, Lindsay, and more.




Gordie


Book Description

Michigan will never forget Gordie Howe's presence on and off the ice — he combined skill, savvy, strength, meanness and longevity like no other hockey player. Known to generations of fans as Mr. Hockey, Howe passed away on June 10, 2016 at the age of 88. The Detroit Red Wings legend's career spanned from 1946 to 1980, including 25 seasons with the Red Wings. A 23-time NHL All-Star, Howe led the Red Wings to four Stanley Cups, won six Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player and won six Art Ross Trophies as the NHL's top scorer. When he retired in 1980, he held the NHL records for regular-season goals (801), assists (1,049), points (1,850). In this tribute to the legendary Red Wing that features nearly 100 images, the Detroit Free Press reflects on Howe's life in 128 pages of historic photos and defining stories about Mr. Hockey.




The Gods of Olympia Stadium


Book Description

The Original Six Era, the most glorious and tumultuous time in Detroit hockey history, is brought to life through the words of many legendary players from the mid-1940s through the late '60s.




My Last Fight


Book Description

Looking back on a memorable career, Darren McCarty recounts his time as one of the most visible and beloved members of the Detroit Red Wings as well as his personal struggles with addiction, finances, and women and his daily battles to overcome them. As a member of four Red Wings' Stanley Cup&–winning teams, McCarty played the role of enforcer from 1993 to 2004 and returning again in 2008 and 2009. His “Grind Line” with teammates Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby physically overmatched some of the best offensive lines in the NHL, but he was more than just a brawler: his 127 career goals included several of the highlight variety, including an inside-out move against Philadelphia in the clinching game of the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. As colorful a character as any NHL player, he has arms adorned with tattoos, and he was the lead singer in the hard rock band Grinder during the offseason. Yet this autobiography details what may have endeared him most to his fans: the honest, open way he has dealt with his struggles in life off the ice. Whether dealing with substance abuse, bankruptcy, divorce, or the death of his father, Darren McCarty has always seemed to persevere.




Tough Guy


Book Description

Documenting his notorious career with the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks, Bob Probert details in this autobiography how he racked up points, penalty minutes, and bar bills, establishing himself as one of the most feared enforcers in the history of the NHL. As Probert played as hard off the ice as on, he went through rehab 10 times, was suspended twice, was jailed for carrying cocaine across the border, and survived a near fatal motorcycle crash all during his professional career, and he wanted to tell his story in his own words to set the record straight. When he died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 45 on July 5, 2010, he was hard at work on his memoir—a gripping journey through the life of Bob Probert, with jaw-dropping stories of his on-ice battles and his reckless encounters with drugs, alcohol, police, customs officials, courts, and the NHL, told in his own voice and with his rich sense of humor.




City of Champions


Book Description

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.




Fabric of the Game


Book Description

An in-depth look into the origins of how each NHL team was named, received their logo and design, with interviews by those responsible. Written by those most knowledgeable, you'll learn why every hockey team to every play in the National Hockey League looks the way it does. Nothing unites or divides a random assortment of strangers quite like the hockey team for which they cheer. The passion they hold within them for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Boston Bruins allows them to look past any differences which would have otherwise disrupted a perfectly fine Thanksgiving dinner and channels it into a powerful, shared admiration for their team. We decorate our lives with their logos, stock our wardrobe with their jerseys, and, in some cases, even tattoo our bodies with their iconography and colors. They’re so ingrained in our lives we don’t even think to ask ourselves why Los Angeles celebrates royalty; why Buffalo cheers for not one, but two massive cavalry swords; or why the Broadway Blueshirts named themselves for a law enforcement agency in Texas (or why they even wear blue shirts, for that matter). All that and more is explored in Fabric of the Game, authored by two of the sports world’s leading experts in team branding and design: Chris Creamer and Todd Radom. Tapping into their vast knowledge of the whys and hows, Creamer and Radom explore and share the origin stories behind these and more, talking directly to those involved in the decision processes and designs of the National Hockey League’s team names, logos, and uniforms, pouring through historical accounts to find and deliver the answers to these questions. Learn more about the historied Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, as well as the lost but not forgotten Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques, all the way to the lesser-known Kansas City Scouts and Philadelphia Quakers. Whichever team you pledge allegiance, Fabric of the Game covers them in-depth with research and knowledge for any hockey fan to enjoy.




The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings


Book Description

"A bible for Red Wings fans." — Mitch AlbomIn The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, take a more profound and unique journey into the history of an iconic team. This thoughtful and engaging collection of essays captures the astute fans' history of the franchise, going beyond well-worn narratives of yesteryear to uncover the less-discussed moments, decisions, people, and settings that fostered the team's iconic identity. Through wheeling and dealing, mythmaking and community building, explore where the organization has been, how it got to prominence in the modern NHL landscape, and how it'll continue to evolve and stay in contention for generations to come.Red Wings fans in the know will enjoy this personal, local, in-depth look at hockey history.




Walking with Legends


Book Description

Ralph Mellanby’s position as both a popular broadcaster and one of the most powerful men in television put him in contact with hockey’s most influential players, coaches, and executives. Here, he takes readers behind the scenes to discover what made them tick and what they were like when the cameras stopped rolling. From the Decision Makers to Bobby Hull to Wayne Gretzky and hundreds of others, Mellanby knows and has worked with them all, and recounts his experiences in this entertaining memoir.