Legendary hockey writer Kevin Allen weaves together the epic tale of the USA Hockey organization, the governing body for amateur ice hockey in the United States, beginning with the earliest days and leading up to their 75th anniversary. Detailing an organization that touches the lives of over half a million members and publishes the most widely circulated hockey publication in the world, the book reveals how it all began out of a shoebox in Tom Lockhart's New York City apartment and grew into the excitement generated by the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Honoring the grassroots efforts of a remarkable group and the sport that it honors, this book is a one-of-a-kind informative keepsake of all things USA Hockey.

No sport is as important to Canadians as hockey. Though there may be a great many things that divide the country, the love of hockey is perhaps its single greatest unifier. Before the latest labour unrest in the National Hockey League (NHL), 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. The Lords of the Rinks documents the early years of hockey?s professionalization and commercialization and the emergence of a fledgling NHL, from 1875 to 1936.As the popularity of hockey grew in Canada in the late nineteenth century, so too did its commercial aspects, and players, club directors, rink owners, fans, and media had developed deep emotional, economic, and ideological interests in the sport. Disagreement came in the ways and means of how organized hockey, especially at the elite level, should be managed. Hence, some coordination, by way of governing bodies, was required to maintain a semblance of order. These early administrative bodies tried to maintain a structure that would help to coordinate the various interests, set up standards of behaviour, and impose mechanisms to detect and punish violators of governance. In 1917, the NHL held its first games and by 1936 had become the dominant governing body in professional hockey.Having performed extensive research in the NHL archives ? including league meeting minutes, letters, memos, telegrams, as well as gate receipt reports ? John Chi-Kit Wong traces the commercial roots of hockey and argues that, in its organized form, the sport was rarely if ever without some commercial aspects despite labels such as amateur and professional. The Lords of the Rinks is the only truly comprehensive and scholarly history of the league and the business of hockey.

Presents a year-by-year history of the National Hockey League, a player register for the NHL and the WHA, a coach register, and brief profiles on the top players (view table of contents)

Examines hockey's history and future in the United States (view table of contents)

Looks at the history of American hockey from star player Hobey Baker in 1910 to the 1996 World Cup (view table of contents)

Product Description: Paperback, as pictured (sp)

A history of the world's premier professional hockey league discusses the great players and coaches, the best and worst teams, and the great Stanley Cup games