Research Catalog

Lords of the rinks : the emergence of the National Hockey League, 1875-1936 / John Chi-Kit Wong.

Title
Lords of the rinks : the emergence of the National Hockey League, 1875-1936 / John Chi-Kit Wong.
Author
Wong, John Chi-Kit, 1955-
Publication
Toronto ; Buffalo : University of Toronto Press, c2005.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Filter by

1 Item

StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextRequest in advance GV847.8.N3 W65 2005Off-site

Details

Description
viii, 235 p., [24] p. of plates : ill.; 24 cm.
Summary
"No sport is as important to Canadians as hockey. Though a great many things may divide Canada, the love of hockey has long been a unifying force. Before the latest labour unrest in the National Hockey League, however, it was easy to forget that hockey is also a multi-million-dollar business run, not by the athletes or coaches, but by corporate boards and businessmen. Lords of the Rinks documents the early years of hockey's professionalization and commercialization, and the emergence of a fledgling NHL." "As the popularity of hockey grew in Canada in the late nineteenth century, so too did its commercial side, and players, club directors, rink owners, fans, and media alike developed deep emotional, economic, and ideological interests in the sport. Disagreement arose about how organized hockey, especially at the elite level, should be managed and it became apparent that governing bodies were required to maintain a semblance of order. These early administrative bodies tried to create a structure that would help to coordinate the various interests, set standards of behaviour, and impose mechanisms to detect and punish violators of governance. In 1917 the NHL held its first games and by 1936 it had become the dominant governing body in professional hockey." "Having done extensive research in the NHL archives - reviewing league meeting minutes, letters, memos, telegrams, gate receipt reports, and other documents - John Chi-Kit Wong traces the commercial roots of hockey and argues that, in its organized form, the sport was rarely if ever without a commercial side despite labels such as amateur and professional. Lords of the Rinks is the only truly comprehensive and scholarly history of the league and the business of hockey."--Jacket.
Subjects
Genre/Form
History
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (p. (179)-228) and index.
Processing Action (note)
  • committed to retain
Contents
From fraternal hockey clubs to closed corporation -- The hockey front in the athletic war -- Leagues of their own -- In search of hockey order -- An inglorious end and an inauspicious beginning -- Going South, part 1 -- Going South, part 2 -- Birth of the minor-league system -- Decline of the Ottawa empire -- The rebellion -- In the best interests of hockey -- Overtime.
ISBN
  • 0802037259
  • 9780802037251
  • 0802085202 (pbk.)
  • 9780802085207 (pbk.)
LCCN
^^2006272810
OCLC
57639192
Owning Institutions
Harvard Library