Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey

by Morey Holzman, Joseph Nieforth

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.

Genres: Hockey, History, Sports, Nonfiction

392 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

Morey Holzman, a member of the Hockey Research Association, has contributed to Total Hockey: Second Edition, The Official WHA Encyclopedia, and The Canada Cup. He is respected for his pioneering efforts with his Web site, epenaltybox.com. He is a corporate controller in California.

Reviews

[Romeo J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

i'm enjoying it but its very dry and the format (this is a me problem) makes it difficult to read a lot in one sitting. just pausing and moving to something i can read more of faster to make sure i don't burn myself out.

[Gary VandeBroek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting
All this time thought early hockey history was what we have been told and to found out not exactly..... We should all know more about Mr Livingstone

[Ian Gurtowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fascinating read on the history of the NHL. Some parts are a bit dry but overall it's a good read, even if a bit slow at times. I feel bad for Eddie Livingstone, even though he did seem a bit obnoxious at times. Imagine the NHL if Frank Calder didn't have corrupt tendencies!

[AskHistorians]

Morey Holzman and Joseph Nieforth. A critical work on the business side of the early NHL and some of the more questionable moves it took to successfully position itself as the dominant professional hockey league. Acclaimed by hockey historians for its bold claims, it takes a less than pleasant look at Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL, and is sympathetic to Eddie Livingstone, who owned a Toronto-based team in the predecessor league, the NHA, and was a catalyst for the formation of the NHL in 1917.

[Garrett Oppenheim · Rating 1 out of 5]

probably the single worst written book I've ever read, which is a shame because the founding of the NHL should be an interesting subject

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is some really good information in this book about the shady beginnings of the NHL, but it is very dry. I can understand wanting to be taken seriously with this history, but similarly to The Scarlet Letter, the intrigue, the nastiness, is lost on the interpretation due to the style of writing.

Still important reading for any historical NHL fan to read, even a current/new fan to see how the NHL has been operating for years.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those passionate about hockey, this is a crucial read. For those of us who love the game but aren't QUITE so into how it all came about, this is interesting but a bit heavy.

Read it, but don't expect TOO much.

[Collin Insley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting topic, but written with a somewhat dry and academic tone, I admittedly struggled through this one. That said, some of the nuggets of information contained herein are nothing short of fascinating. Would actually make for a great television mini-series.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dirty

[Chronic Negress · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating but writing was plodding. I love hockey but would not recommend this to a casual fan.