Stephen J. Harper > Quotes

“It was not uncommon for a quality performer to suit up with multiple teams in the same year, or to be employed in two different leagues at the same time. The phenomenon was reaching its logical extreme in Edmonton, where local management began buying star players from across the country as part of its plan to assemble a Cup contender. Another downside of unregulated competition was the inability of pro leagues to enforce on-ice discipline. It should be noted that, contrary to what the amateur organizers claimed, violence in hockey was by no means a professional phenomenon. The papers of the day are full of on-ice assaults, all-out brawls and spectator bedlam in the unpaid ranks. However, when amateur leagues dealt with these, they could enforce their rulings throughout the amateur world.”
― Stephen J. Harper, A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey

“Montreal was the location of ice hockey’s first formal game (1875), its first published rules (1877), its first official club (1877), its first major tournament (1883), its first intercity league (1886) and its first national champion (1893).11 That occurred when the reigning governor general, Lord Frederick Stanley of Preston, presented his famous Cup, and a five-team league—three of which were from Montreal—settled on its winner.12 For much of this time, hockey as an organized sport had been marginal and largely unknown in Toronto.”
― Stephen J. Harper, A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey

“We have met the enemy and he is us. —POGO (COMIC-STRIP CHARACTER CREATED BY WALT KELLY”
― Stephen J. Harper, A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey

“Quotas by country ensured that over two-thirds of immigrants were from just three countries—the U.K., Ireland, and Germany. Starting in 1965, all this would change. Some changes would be for the better. But some of the changes have not been. From that moment forward, U.S. immigration policy has gradually become disconnected from the interests and views of Americans. The Immigration Act of 1965 is a now largely overlooked part of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society agenda. But the president, unveiling it at Liberty Island in New York, called it “one of the most important acts of this Congress and of this administration.”20 He was not exaggerating.21”
― Stephen J. Harper, Right Here, Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption

“Indeed, professionalism in athletics was believed to be the source of all vice.”
― Stephen J. Harper, A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey

“The executive refused to accept the Nelson resignation. Yet Cox was unrepentant, stressing the concept of rehabilitation: “We are dealing with boys playing games, and not with criminals.”13 Besides, he warned, accumulating exiles would only lead to a whole network of potentially professional players and teams in the province.”
― Stephen J. Harper, A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey

“The early participants also wore very modest equipment, making them look much lighter than today’s gladiators. Goalies relied on mere cricket pads to cover their shins. The protective gear of the others would be little more than thick padding to cover the more vulnerable parts of the body. Yet neither the players’ heads nor the goalkeepers’ faces were apparently considered vulnerable.”
― Stephen J. Harper, A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey