Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey [Hardcover]

Morey Holzman (Author), Joseph Nieforth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

Hockey lovers will be fascinated by the truth about how the National Hockey League was founded and how, through less than savory means, it captured permanent possession of the Stanley Cup.

Deceptions and Doublecross begins with the 1917 conspiracy among a Montreal contingent of the National Hockey Association to oust Toronto owner Edward James Livingstone from the league. The result was the transformation of the NHA into the NHL, with Frank Calder as president, leaving Livingstone out in the cold.

Under Calder's iron-fisted direction, the NHL became the only major hockey league in North America, and gained exclusive claim to the Stanley Cup.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This refreshing history reminds us that the NHL resulted frtom a bitter power struggle that included courtroom battles, backroom dealing and personal grudges as brutal as anything seen today on the ice."

From the Author

If you are a hockey fan, or if you think Enron was just a one-time blip on the corporate radar, you will be fascinated by the battles between Frank Calder and Eddie Livingstone, which contrary to previous publications, lasted from 1915 until 1930. Media manipulation and payoffs, shareholder lawsuits, back-stabbing, and boardroom fighting, all through the guise of nationalism and symbolism, have its roles.

For those who think they know the whole stories, you might be surprised to learn the Real Curse of Pete Muldoon, why sports editors were soft on the NHL, the true founding of 2002 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, how a team could win the Stanley Cup before it was formed, how and why Toronto's NHL players were forced to sign five contracts in the league's first season, and how the Chicago Blackhawks almost became the first American NHL team to fail.

This is one of the few hockey books that goes beyond who, what, when and where, but also asks how and why.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Dundurn (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550024132
• ISBN-13: 978-1550024135
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #90 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Hockey
  • #99 in Books > History > Americas > Canada

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Deception and Doublecross" an appropriate title!, February 17, 2003

By 

Irving Osterer (Ottawa, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey (Hardcover)

The authors contend that the consolidation of pro hockey teams in Eastern Canada to form the National Hockey League was often a heavy handed, nasty affair. Nieforth and Holzman make a convincing case to restore the honour of Toronto's EJ Livingstone, who Frank Calder and the Ottawa and Montreal interests despised and wanted expelled from their company at all costs. "Deception and Doublecross" seemed to be the order of the day to reach this end. Holzman and Nieforth illustrate how the arm's length relationship that is incumbent on today's media was quite different in pro hockey's formative years where newspapers editors and columnists often held controlling interests in pro teams and arenas.

I also found the book quite rewarding in that it provided some insight into the character of many players and the forces that conspired to have them play on a particular team.

What is particularly impressive about the book is that the authors have clearly spent a lot of time carefully searching primary sources to arrive at their conclusions. All are footnoted and properly catalogued to allow interested parties to do further research.

I recommend this book for any hockey fan interested in the history of the game.

Irv Osterer
Ottawa, ON

0 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Politcal conflicts, January 19, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey (Hardcover)

Deception point by Dan Brown was a good book. This book was very interesting. There were feuds between the father and the daughter were very intense sometimes. Because Of his daughters career they have very different opinions. While her father is running for a political position she is working for his opponent. That is a difficult funk for the two of them. I don't think the father should wig out because of it but that's how it sometimes is. Over all thou I thought it was a very interesting book and I recommend this book to more of the adult figure. I really couldn't get into the book. This seems more of a book my parents can relate to not me. I am not into that kind of stuff. Like the DaVinci code. I thought this book was very well thought out. I would give it a 8 out of 10. But it was a very goods book.