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Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Penguins Stories Ever Told
Readers have the chance to meet the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the wildest, wackiest, most wonderful sports franchises that ever waddled its way across North America. If Penguins fans are not shedding tears of sadness, they are crying for joy or simply laughing so hard they cannot stop. No franchise has survived more near-death experiences than this one, which twice went bankrupt and many times escaped the threat of relocation. In 1975, things were so tough that players had their postgame oranges taken away.
Nevertheless, they have persevered. Known across the league as lovable losers for its first 24 years, the team began the climb to the top in the 1990s, winning the Stanley Cup twice in that decade and once more in 2009. In Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins Locker Room , sportswriter Joe Starkey takes fans inside the locker rooms, onto the team buses (including the one defenseman Bryan “Bugsy” Watson hijacked), and behind the personalities that have shaped Penguins hockey since 1967.
Nevertheless, they have persevered. Known across the league as lovable losers for its first 24 years, the team began the climb to the top in the 1990s, winning the Stanley Cup twice in that decade and once more in 2009. In Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins Locker Room , sportswriter Joe Starkey takes fans inside the locker rooms, onto the team buses (including the one defenseman Bryan “Bugsy” Watson hijacked), and behind the personalities that have shaped Penguins hockey since 1967.
- GenresSportsHockeyNonfiction
216 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2013
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55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 18, 2014
Good collection of anecdotes from current and former players, coaches, and more. My only real issue with the book was how randomly the anecdotes were organized within the time period sections, so my logical brain kept trying to detect a pattern where there was none to be found.
November 1, 2017
This is a good collection of short Penguins history tidbits, but that's about it. Starkey makes a loose effort to tie some of them together, but for the most part it's just a paragraph or two about some random event during the chapter's time period. Many of the items aren't from the locker room at all, but rather well known public events. It was fun to take a trip down memory lane and I did learn about some new, lesser known things, which was fun. But overall I was left unimpressed and somewhat happy I was done with the book so I could move on to something else.
September 4, 2019
Must read for any pens fan! The stories are interesting and really give insight into a franchise that has been through many ups and downs in its short history! I just wish there was an updated version telling the stories of the recent back to back cups!
September 18, 2018
This is just a fun read about the Penguins. Loved the inside stories. Brings back a lot of memories going to the games.
May 1, 2014
As a longtime Pittsburgh Penguins fan, this was an awesome book to read! And I think it would be interesting for any hockey fan. However, if you're not into hockey, this might not be the book for you.
The book starts out with the founding of the Penguins in 1967. Among the names considered for the team were the Shamrocks, Hornets, and Eskimos. However, the wife of one of the original investors chose "Penguins" and that's what they became.
The first chapter is on the early years, namely 1967-1974. The first game was a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Their first rivalry was with the St. Louis Blues, although it soon became heated with the Philadelphia Flyers, a rivalry that continues to this day. The original hockey arena was called The Igloo, and I remember going there as a kid in the '70s. It was a fun place to watch hockey.
The next chapter covers 1975-1983. The 1983-84 team was the worst ever, getting only 38 points on the season while using 48 players. The team declared bankruptcy in 1975. The book doesn't say how they got out of it though. It describes a game that was played the night before Pittsburgh's fourth Super Bowl win. It was against Edmonton and it erupted into a bench-clearing brawl. Eight players were ejected and the Pens were given 144 penalty minutes. That's pretty cool. The 1970s Penguins may not have been all that good, but they could fight. The chapter also goes on to mention how the team's colors were changed from sky blue to Pittsburgh black and gold in 1980, much to Boston's displeasure. The chapter closes with a description of how the team might have flopped to get the worst record so they could draft superstar Mario Lemieux in 1984.
Mario was an instant hit and he scored a goal in his first game, on his first shift, with his first shot against Boston. And on to an incredible career. The chapter mentions how the Pens had gone 0-39-3 -- 15 YEARS -- without a win in Philly, only to finally get one in 1989. That's crazy! Around the same time, Pittsburgh acquired awesome goaltender Tom Barrasso, who would go on to help the team win two Stanley Cups. I still remember him in goal. He was great. Meanwhile, going into 1990, Mario had scored a point or more in 46 straight games before a bad back injury forced him out of the lineup. That was disappointing. Another great Penguin was also acquired in the late '80s -- defenseman Paul Coffey. He would finish his career as one of the great scorers in the league. The pieces finally came together in 1990 when Pittsburgh drafted Jaromir Jagr, who would go on to also become on of the greatest scorers in league history. He and Lemieux made a formidable combination.
The next chapter covers the great Stanley Cup wins in 1991 and 1992 and several great subsequent seasons. The 1992-93 Pens had four 100 point scorers, which is amazing. This year, only Pen Sidney Crosby scored 100 points in the league. Four on one team in the same year. Amazing. Finally, in 1997, Mario retired due to terrible back problems and Hodgkins Disease. The 66 jersey was immediately retired. He was also elected to the Hall of Fame.
The following chapter covers 1997-2004, which were pretty lean years for the Pens. In fact, they went into bankruptcy once again and were only saved when Mario stepped in to buy the team. The next chapter is all about Sidney Crosby's 2005 rookie year as the new savior of the franchise. He lived with Lemieux his rookie year. He scored his first goal in his first home game against Boston.
After the chapter on Crosby comes a chapter called "The Rising," covering 2006-2008, when the Pens were putting the pieces together for another Stanley Cup run. They got Evgeni Malkin from Russia and he sure could score. Like Lemieux and Jagr before them, Crosby and Malkin would go on to become the most feared scoring pair in the NHL. Of course, Pittsburgh played Detroit for the Stanley Cup in 2008, losing in six games. However, the next year, both teams went at it again, with Pittsburgh winning its third Stanley Cup in seven games. I remember that series well. Nail biting, to say the least.
The final chapter covers 2010-2013, and it's as good as the other chapters. Now it's 2014 and the Pens are in the playoffs again and I really hope this year we can bring home a fourth Stanley Cup. Crosby and Malkin are no longer the kids they were in the previous ones and this team can't last forever. It's time for another.
This was a fun and quick book to read. My only complaint is the contents of the chapters aren't linear, so that you get something that happened one year followed by something that happened four years before. It can be confusing at times. Still, excellent book and I strongly recommend it.
The book starts out with the founding of the Penguins in 1967. Among the names considered for the team were the Shamrocks, Hornets, and Eskimos. However, the wife of one of the original investors chose "Penguins" and that's what they became.
The first chapter is on the early years, namely 1967-1974. The first game was a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Their first rivalry was with the St. Louis Blues, although it soon became heated with the Philadelphia Flyers, a rivalry that continues to this day. The original hockey arena was called The Igloo, and I remember going there as a kid in the '70s. It was a fun place to watch hockey.
The next chapter covers 1975-1983. The 1983-84 team was the worst ever, getting only 38 points on the season while using 48 players. The team declared bankruptcy in 1975. The book doesn't say how they got out of it though. It describes a game that was played the night before Pittsburgh's fourth Super Bowl win. It was against Edmonton and it erupted into a bench-clearing brawl. Eight players were ejected and the Pens were given 144 penalty minutes. That's pretty cool. The 1970s Penguins may not have been all that good, but they could fight. The chapter also goes on to mention how the team's colors were changed from sky blue to Pittsburgh black and gold in 1980, much to Boston's displeasure. The chapter closes with a description of how the team might have flopped to get the worst record so they could draft superstar Mario Lemieux in 1984.
Mario was an instant hit and he scored a goal in his first game, on his first shift, with his first shot against Boston. And on to an incredible career. The chapter mentions how the Pens had gone 0-39-3 -- 15 YEARS -- without a win in Philly, only to finally get one in 1989. That's crazy! Around the same time, Pittsburgh acquired awesome goaltender Tom Barrasso, who would go on to help the team win two Stanley Cups. I still remember him in goal. He was great. Meanwhile, going into 1990, Mario had scored a point or more in 46 straight games before a bad back injury forced him out of the lineup. That was disappointing. Another great Penguin was also acquired in the late '80s -- defenseman Paul Coffey. He would finish his career as one of the great scorers in the league. The pieces finally came together in 1990 when Pittsburgh drafted Jaromir Jagr, who would go on to also become on of the greatest scorers in league history. He and Lemieux made a formidable combination.
The next chapter covers the great Stanley Cup wins in 1991 and 1992 and several great subsequent seasons. The 1992-93 Pens had four 100 point scorers, which is amazing. This year, only Pen Sidney Crosby scored 100 points in the league. Four on one team in the same year. Amazing. Finally, in 1997, Mario retired due to terrible back problems and Hodgkins Disease. The 66 jersey was immediately retired. He was also elected to the Hall of Fame.
The following chapter covers 1997-2004, which were pretty lean years for the Pens. In fact, they went into bankruptcy once again and were only saved when Mario stepped in to buy the team. The next chapter is all about Sidney Crosby's 2005 rookie year as the new savior of the franchise. He lived with Lemieux his rookie year. He scored his first goal in his first home game against Boston.
After the chapter on Crosby comes a chapter called "The Rising," covering 2006-2008, when the Pens were putting the pieces together for another Stanley Cup run. They got Evgeni Malkin from Russia and he sure could score. Like Lemieux and Jagr before them, Crosby and Malkin would go on to become the most feared scoring pair in the NHL. Of course, Pittsburgh played Detroit for the Stanley Cup in 2008, losing in six games. However, the next year, both teams went at it again, with Pittsburgh winning its third Stanley Cup in seven games. I remember that series well. Nail biting, to say the least.
The final chapter covers 2010-2013, and it's as good as the other chapters. Now it's 2014 and the Pens are in the playoffs again and I really hope this year we can bring home a fourth Stanley Cup. Crosby and Malkin are no longer the kids they were in the previous ones and this team can't last forever. It's time for another.
This was a fun and quick book to read. My only complaint is the contents of the chapters aren't linear, so that you get something that happened one year followed by something that happened four years before. It can be confusing at times. Still, excellent book and I strongly recommend it.
January 27, 2016
I enjoyed this a lot. I've been a Pens fan since birth, but really started paying attention at the age of 11, in 2005 with the drafting of Sidney Crosby. By the end of the day on 1/1/08, I was officially hooked, rocketing to fanatic status and following the team religiously ever since. And a religious following such as this requires devouring past and present team trivia and anecdotes.
This book was one of the more enjoyable Pens collections I've read. Most are just compilations of dates and stats that read like a textbook. Not to say that those books are bad; you can learn a lot from them. However, this book had a human side, not to mention a humorous side to it. As a millennial, Crosby-era fan, my knowledge of the pre-05-lockout Pens consisted of Lemieux and Jagr, two Stanley Cups (and all the folklore that came with them, such as "The Save," Bourque throwing the Cup into Mario's pool, and Trott's slip-n-slide at the victory parade), and the death of Michele Briere. This book went a little deeper than the often glazed over 1967-1983 years and brought some of the early players and staff to life, giving them more dimension than just names and stats.
This book also added some new 90s cup-era stories that I had never heard, and filled in some gaps with things I vaguely remembered hearing on TV in the late 90s/early 20s, but wasn't invested in enough to fully comprehend. I also got to relive some of my favorite memories of "my" Stanley Cup team (I sure do miss Colby and Max).
The pictures really added to it as well. Seeing Jagr in drag is honestly worth at least a 4 star rating all on its own.
This book was one of the more enjoyable Pens collections I've read. Most are just compilations of dates and stats that read like a textbook. Not to say that those books are bad; you can learn a lot from them. However, this book had a human side, not to mention a humorous side to it. As a millennial, Crosby-era fan, my knowledge of the pre-05-lockout Pens consisted of Lemieux and Jagr, two Stanley Cups (and all the folklore that came with them, such as "The Save," Bourque throwing the Cup into Mario's pool, and Trott's slip-n-slide at the victory parade), and the death of Michele Briere. This book went a little deeper than the often glazed over 1967-1983 years and brought some of the early players and staff to life, giving them more dimension than just names and stats.
This book also added some new 90s cup-era stories that I had never heard, and filled in some gaps with things I vaguely remembered hearing on TV in the late 90s/early 20s, but wasn't invested in enough to fully comprehend. I also got to relive some of my favorite memories of "my" Stanley Cup team (I sure do miss Colby and Max).
The pictures really added to it as well. Seeing Jagr in drag is honestly worth at least a 4 star rating all on its own.
March 29, 2021
I miss hockey, so I did a twofer. Before reading the old two-niner’s book, I wanted to rate it better than Starkey’s, but that was when I believed they were of the same subject matter. Yes, they’re both club books, but while Starkey provides ripped-from-the-headlines styled anecdotes (albeit terribly, often referencing figures by names only familiar to those assuming the first-person in that particular blurb, and not only did he continuously ignore the era-based chronology with which he barely tried to organize his work but the “inside looks into the locker room” hardly took place behind the scenes and are largely public knowledge), Bourque actually compiles an autobiography. The contrast actually proved Starkey’s work as an enriching supplement to Bourque’s firsthand experiences. The voice of the Pens, himself, did the introduction to both, kind-of solidifying that all encompassing narrative. #readingrainbow #letsgopens #twofer #theoldtwoniner #mikelange #philborque
January 22, 2016
As a Pens fan, I knew quite a bit of these stories already. Still, it was interesting to see players' reactions to some of the iconic moments in the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The book was chock full of feel good stories. I would have liked to have seen some of the not-so-nice rumors that have swirled around Pittsburgh for years either confirmed or not.
The book was chock full of feel good stories. I would have liked to have seen some of the not-so-nice rumors that have swirled around Pittsburgh for years either confirmed or not.
April 30, 2016
This book is a must for hockey fans! Even if you aren't a penguins fan this is one heck of a good book. I enjoyed it immensely! I am a Penguins fan, but that's besides the point, lol.
November 30, 2016
Very good book!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews