Brian McFarlane's History of Hockey

Here is the heart and soul of hockey--the story of more than a century of the world's fastest sport. From its beginnings on lonely winter ponds in Canada, the game of ice hockey has been transformed into the world's most demanding and exhilarating team sport, played before tens of thousands of fans by skilled and powerful professionals under the archlights of great and legendary sports temples. In this book Brian McFarlane, one of the game's most respected and recognised commentators for 'Hockey Night in Canada', retells hockey's history in a fast-moving year-by-year account of the game's origins, rule changes, great games, plays and trades in both regular season and playoff action. He traces the fortunes of the sport's most successful and enduring dynasties, fly-by-night organisations and all of the major teams and leagues, their heroes, workhorses and players of infamy.