Tough Guy: My Life on the Edge

by Bob Probert, Kirstie McLellan Day, Dani Probert (Foreword)

Documenting his notorious career with the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks, Bob Probert details in this autobiography how he racked up points, penalty minutes, and bar bills, establishing himself as one of the most feared enforcers in the history of the NHL. As Probert played as hard off the ice as on, he went through rehab 10 times, was suspended twice, was jailed for carrying cocaine across the border, and survived a near fatal motorcycle crash all during his professional career, and he wanted to tell his story in his own words to set the record straight. When he died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 45 on July 5, 2010, he was hard at work on his memoir—a gripping journey through the life of Bob Probert, with jaw-dropping stories of his on-ice battles and his reckless encounters with drugs, alcohol, police, customs officials, courts, and the NHL, told in his own voice and with his rich sense of humor.

Genres: Sports, Hockey, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Canada, Memoir

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Robert Alan Probert was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. Probert played for the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. While a successful player by some measures, including being voted to the 1987–88 Campbell Conference all-star team, Probert was best known for his activities as a fighter and enforcer, as well as being one half of the "Bruise Brothers" with then-Red Wing teammate Joey Kocur, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Probert was also known for his off-ice antics and legal problems.

Reviews

[Teena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Probie. He is still one of my favorite all time hockey players. It was no secret that he had a lot of legal & personal demon issues. In this book, he was very forthcoming about everything. He will always be remembered as the Greatest Enforcer in the NHL & will be forever missed.

[Tim Hickey · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading this book I can't blame anyone in the Red Wing organization for how Probert was treated...In almost every chapter he talks about excess, and regret about the excess but goes out and does the same thing again in the very same chapter.
Probert's wife sticks with him through basically this whole ordeal and it makes you wonder why. A person who loved Bob Probert would have left him until he got a hold of his demons. But it's basically she didn't want to know about it even when he admits to numerous affairs.
Also in this book you can tell when Probert's wife takes over the writing and finishes the book. I won't say where in the book where it's done but it's funnier than hell because they're writing styles or very different.
I loved Bob Probert when he was here in Detroit but now I see he was a very screwed up person who had no one close to him helping him.

[Jack Preston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unapologetic and tragic while thrilling and hilarious. A bit repetitive at times but I guess that repetition adds to the truth of what Probert’s life was: a constant cycle of addiction and self-sabotage leading to many ups and downs. A great glimpse into the life of a lifelong tough guy.

[James Blackburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better sports figure memoirs I have read. Proby was a troubled human but very accomplished and a fighter. His early death was very sad but he lived a very full life while he was here. Definitely recommend this one

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. The beginning of the book was emotional as well as the very end. If he was able to finish writing the book before his death it would have been even more amazing. Definitely a book for a hockey fan to read.

[Shirvan · Rating 3 out of 5]

So excited to get this in the mail today! Rest in peace Bob. The NHL could use some more stand-up guys like you these days.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bob Probert was the type of hockey player called an enforcer. His game was more about intimidation, protecting his teammates and fighting. He played the game hard during his career with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks and lived life off the ice just as hard. His memoir, written with hockey author Kirstie McClellen Day, was nearly complete when he suddenly died in the summer of 2010 from a heart attack. Fortunately for hockey fans, the book was eventually finished and Probert’s story was told.

The book starts off on that fateful summer day when Bob was doing something he loved, boating on the lake with his wife Dani and her parents when he suffered that heart attack. Dani’s frantic cries really set the tone for Bob’s story as he was always making others scramble, whether it was Dani, teammates, Red Wings front office personnel or his lawyers.

His early life and hockey career isn’t much different than that of many other young Canadians who are looking for a path to the NHL through the Canadian junior leagues. That he discovered he was going to need to use his fists to advance in the ranks was also not unusual as there are many players who do that as well. What makes his story a little different is the twists and turns his life took once he made to the NHL with the Red Wings.

Here is where the book gets as crazy as Probert’s life. While he was very popular with Red Wings fans, he was in a constant state of trying to get more ice time. While many enforcers have this issue as part of their career, what made more difficult for Probert was not only his injuries but also his penchant for alcohol and drugs off the ice. He was in rehab, whether voluntary or mandated by either team officials, NHL officials or law enforcement, a total of 10 times. He was essentially deported from the US, as there was a long period where he could not play games with his team in Canada as he would not be allowed back into the US. He gave Red Wings staff not only headaches but he also played hardball for contract negotiations, which eventually led him to become a free agent and sign with the Chicago Blackhawks where he ended his hockey career.

Probert writes the book in a manner and language that he is talking with the guys in either the locker room or at a bar in one of the many late nights he had during his career. While that lends an air of authenticity to his story, it also sounds immature and complaint-filled at times – which again, leads to its authenticity. Probert wanted to write this to tell his version of what happened without the judgement that he felt would be shown from only reports of his issues with substance abuse and encounters with law enforcement. On that front, he does a good job with a book that fans of the Red Wings or of Probert himself will enjoy.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The true, tragic story of an infamously renowned hockey enforcer.

[Rob Corbett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probert was a guy I grew up watching him scrap often. I didn’t know how badly he struggled with coke and alcohol. Good read. Bit sad tho

[Gerri Willing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, Bob was a great hockey player, however, he was an asshole husband.
Dani truly must of loved him.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bob Probert was cuffed with his hands behind his back. He was facedown on the ground with a cop’s knee on his neck. Probert told him he was probably the fat kid in school that was always picked on, and that’s why he became a cop. Probert’s face was a mess after that comment. The worst part was that the cop took his $600 sunglasses.

Tough Guy is the no nonsense expose of Bob Probert’s life written with Kirstie McLellan Day. Its part Animal House and part Slap Shot. This is a story of a time in sports that is so different from today that it’s hard to believe that it was only a couple decades ago. Probert was such a hard party machine that he would stay out all night, till 7 A.M. dress for practice and play that night. He was a smoker. He microwaved his urine to fool the testers into thinking it had just come out of his body and yet he occupies some interesting spots in the record books.

The book opens with an emotional narrative of that last day of Probert’s life. Kirstie McLellan Day stirs the emotional soup by quickly shifting the book to Probert’s voice and taking us back in time to a fight with Tie Domi. Probert tells us of Domi’s first shot at fighting him, filling the page with four letter words, you are suddenly jolted out of the opening passage of the book. You know you are in Probie’s world now.

Probert’s ability to party was stunning; it’s amazing he had time for hockey. An example of Probert’s thought process: when meeting the press with fellow draft pick, Steve Yzerman, Probert assessed him as “fairly serious…and not someone you would expect to be sitting next to in a jail cell, laughing off a hangover.”

But he did have time for hockey. In the 1988 Playoffs he broke Gordie Howe’s playoff record of 21 points. Probert held that record until 1995. Probie’s chapter about his friendship with Sheldon Kennedy is particularly heart warming. It was his first really successful attempt at staying clean after a major scrape with the law.

Probert said he was most happy when he was playing and fighting.

The thing you will see over and over with fighters is pride. That blue collar ethic applied to their job as the enforcer, the man that provides protection. Probert was no different when it came to protecting his guys off the ice. In an incident at a bar, Probert engaged in a street fight to defend a teammate. After the fight he went back in the bar to have a couple more beers before going into the emergency room to get stitched up.

Bob Probert was clearly a troubled man. He struggled with priorities and even as he looked back on his life he alternately took responsibility and dodged it throughout the book. Two things kept Probert on the straight and narrow, the game and his family. And he did manage to keep clean, now and then. It’s a crazy ride through the life of a hard partying and hard hitting hockey player.

[Scott Holstad · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a HUGE disappointment! I had been thinking about getting it for a couple of years and I had been looking forward to reading it for some time because I have fond memories of seeing Bob Probert on the ice pummeling the hell out of other players. He was the greatest hockey enforcer of all time. But, God, was he a scum of a human being! This book is a disaster. I didn't even finish it. I got through the first eight chapters and gave up. He died an early death in 2010 and had been working on this book, which was apparently finished by his widow and co-author. But it reads like a huge party book. That's it. That's all. I had expected details on his career in hockey, on his times growing up in Windsor, in the minor leagues, his times in Detroit and Chicago, his coaches, his teammates, his rivals, the various aspects of fighting on ice, etc. What I got was the fact that he became an alcoholic at age 14, starting using coke shortly thereafter, probably never passed a high school class and became a high school dropout, some details on minor league play, some details on Detroit, but much more on run ins with the police, on his womanizing, on his drinking 24 beers at a time every night, on his love for coke, on his disobeying his coaches, his general managers, the police, every authority figure there was, his lying to everyone, his pathetic stints in rehab, and this was in every damn chapter. Hell, if I wanted to read endless chapters about someone getting ripped repeatedly over and over again and going out partying endlessly, I'd just look back on my college days. I didn't want or expect this out of a major hockey star. What a loser. What a creep. What an immature, spoiled brat who never grew up, who never took anyone or anything seriously, who was a pathetic excuse for a human being. And he remained an alcoholic drug abuser til he died. I'm sorry I bought this book and I'll never think of him the same way again. Definitely not recommended.

[Walt Murray · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very sad book. Bob Probert was one of the NHL's true tough guys for many years, but constantly made one bad choice after another. His involvement with drugs, his alcoholism, and his poor choices in friends led to his career ending short of the 1,000 game mark.

The thing that disappointed me most about this book is that Probert just gave us a running account of his movements from one party to another, one rehab stint to another (where he admits to breaking the rules at every rehab stop, never taking his problems seriously), and one drug problem to another. Throughout the book I kept waiting for a moment of redemption, but it never came. Granted, he did have a very gracious wife, and several kids, but he admitted he cheated on his wife many times and missed the biggest moments of his kids lives. His only regret is what it cost him, and how it made him feel when he was confronted. Maybe the redeeming part of this book is that it can serve as a warning to talented people- no matter how great an athlete you are you can still destroy your life, and the lives of those around you. Even if the rest of the world wants you to act like a clown you need to grow up and take care of your responsibilities.

On top of everything else, this is a poorly written book with jagged grammar, some disjointed stories, and many occurrences where he starts one story and ends up with what drug he finished the evening with. Best not to waste your time on this one.

This book only gets a second star because I am a huge hockey fan, and it does give some insight into the fighting aspect of the game.

[Rolloff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Bob Probert's book(completed after his death) to be an honest,no holds barred account of his life long struggle with booze and drugs and secondarily, his career as(arguably)the pre-eminent power forward of his era.Although he had a co -author help write this account,it is definitely told in his own words and style. I could well imagine Bob telling me this story in person, maybe over a (non-alcohol)beer at the local pub.He does come across as a manipulative,self indulgent man-child, but he certainly pulls no punches when revealing his dark side.Conversely,by all accounts he did have a good heart, and would often buy tickets for young kids who otherwise couldn't afford to go to Red Wings games, (not documented in the book).As a former athlete myself, I greatly admired his fierce competitiveness,his undying loyalty to his teammates and his personal on ice "code of honour".When discussing other personalities within the game, be it coaches,rival players or league officials, he pulls no punches, but he does not go out of his way to mercilessly pummel anyone - a few quick jabs and he skates off,perhaps to the penalty box where he spent so much of his tumultuous career. Also not in the book:After his hockey career, he generously gave of his time to many philanthropic endeavors(check out the youtube video of his interview with a young high school girl who was obviously aspiring to be a TV journalist), including a large anonymous donation to a seriously ill young child to help with medical procedures.In accordance with his wishes, his wife Dani donated his brain for research into brain injuries incurred in professional sports.

[Cj Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is over a man named bob probert. Who is old hockey player that used to be in the nhl. Bob was not always a good guy out of hockey he got into some bad stuff. This book talks about his life. He explains some of the stuff he did that he shouldnt have done.
This book is not just one big story it is more like a lot of different stories but the stories go in order threw his life. He talks about how he gets in trouble with drugs. He is a guy he started young with drugs and alcohol so thats how he got into it more than others. He really wasnt the best hockey player but he was the guy who fought for the team and thats why i dont think he worried about the stuff he did that much.
I would recomend this book to people that like the game of hockey and also people who like books about crimanals. I liked this book because it always kept me at the edge of my seat. I always wanted to know what was going to happen to him next or what was he going to do. I never knew if he was going to get kicked out of the nhl or not. The only thing i didnt like about this book that sometimes it was a little confusing on where he was in his life or how old he was.

[Cody Lasko · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's an honesty and a genuine modesty to this memoir. It's something I've found lacking in some other autobiographical accounts, ones where the author consciously or unconsciously displays too many moments of egotistical fervor. It's refreshing and not at all surprising to see considering Bob always wanted to put the team first.

His recollection of all his drug fueled party binges show a similar trend. He doesn't get caught up in the proverbial dick waving contest other figures seem bent on taking with their own accounts (rock stars, I'm looking at you). Bob just tells it as it is. Plain and simple.

In fact, that is my only knock on the book. It's sometimes too plain and simple. And while that simplicity is often a strength of the writing (achieving a blunt directness that is as effective as Bob's right often was in his career), it sometimes hinders it by leaving the reader wanting more.

In the end this is simply a kickass memoir by a kickass dude who loved playing a pretty kickass game. Highly recommend it for any sports fan, a must for any hockey fan, and a read I firmly believe a lot of people would enjoy (and already have!).

[James Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was curious to read about Bob Probert, as he is also born and grew up, and lived out his shortened life here in Windsor, and played most of his troubled career across the river in Detroit for the Red Wings. Being a Maple Leafs fan, he was always one of those players you "hated".

Unfortunately, he captured just as many headlines for his off ice antics, as he did for his play on the ice.

This was a very interesting read into his life, and career, as well as his struggles with his personal demons. You have to have the utmost respect for his wife, who dealt with more than most people would, and stuck by him.

This is more of a look into his life, and not so much his hockey career. A fan of any player or team would enjoy this look into one of hockey's toughest guys of all time. It is at times an eye opener too, and you start to wonder how ones life, when given the opportunity he was, can get derailed like Bob's did. Yet, he was the ultimate family man later on, as well as being one of the nicest people you could meet in person.

[Ruairi O'Neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was interested in Bob Probert because of his big rivalry with one of my personal favorites, Tie Domi. I'm a Ranger fan. I saw this book out of the blue and said to myself, hey why not? May Bob Probert Rest In Peace. I respect him more after reading this book. Sure people in life have their issues. Everybody has skeletons in the closet. I respect Bob for being so forthcoming with his issues. It didn't help that the media loved to put it out there anyway. This is what the media does. This book reveals most of his issues if not all in great detail. It seems as if I knew him for years now. It was a sad day when I saw the story about his death on the news. I wish the utmost best to his family.

[John Devlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Taken from audio accounts after Probert's death, the book speaks in a no nonsense style that captures the man like he's sitting across from you. The hockey insights into the role of fighting are spot on, but the rest of the memoir is as reflective as a vampire staring into a mirror. Probert likes guys who give him breaks -- those who let him get out of his many run ins w/the law over drugs, drinking, and the car crashes that follow. Bad guy are those who want to stick it to him over that same behavior. Not to sound like a school marm ,but most tellingly, Probert never spends a moment worrying over his drunken blackouts while driving and those he could've killed.

[Kim Ehrenhaft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a Christmas gift from my nieces. I am a HUGE hockey fan, as well as a huge Probert fan. I was so excited to receive the book and dug in right away.

The intro had me in tears; his sudden death was so sad. I was totally enthralled in Probie's tales of his road to becoming one of the most feared enforcers in the sport.

At times it was a little difficult to follow, as it was written in a stream-of-consciousness format rather than chronologically, but it kept me interested the whole way through.

Would non-hockey fans appreciate the book? I'm not sure. But I know I did, and when I look at the picture I have with him from when we met, it makes me smile even more.

[Hugh Egener · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disturbing, well written book about a hockey player who I thought I admired, but after reading this book I think he was a very disturbed and pathetic addict who seemed to have little regard for his family and others (Sheldon Kennedy). He could certainly fight, take a punch, and wait it out until the opponent got tired and then hammer him. Was he another victim of too many concussions, indiscriminate use of drugs and alcohol. Surprisingly, if he had concentrated on playing solid hockey he could have put up some good numbers.

[Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Tough Guy: My Life on the Edge was a very interesting book. I enjoyed reading about Bob Probert and his struggles and obstacles in life that he had to overcome. I really enjoyed reading this book because it showed how hard the path to the NHL is. The genre of this book was an autobiography because Bob Probert wrote it himself. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in hockey or someone who enjoys reading autobiographies.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

While his story was semi interesting, the book itself jumped all around and seemed at times out of sequence. I could have written the same book in 5 pages, in and out of rehab, fights, drives fast cars, the end.

[H Wesselius]

Could've been much better -- the co-author should have been more active. There's very little insight into the enforcer role, drugs and alcohol in the NHL, or actually anything. Essentially Probert comes across as a stoned/drunk Don Cherry.

[Matt Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, and very sad. Probert was the best enforcer to ever play the game, and it was fascinating to get an inside look at his career. As with most enforcers he ran into his troubles outside the game, and knowing that it wasn't going to end well made his story bittersweet.

[margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, what a colored life!! So much talent.....such a sad ending (or beginning)

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Had some idea of the addictions he faced but no idea it was this prevalent. Really interesting to read all of his struggles within the league and how his alcoholism affected it.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, Probert was before my time as a hockey fan. I was expecting to like him. I was really disappointed with this book; he's SUCH a 'bro'. I.e. A douchebag who takes no responsibility for his actions. He was such a dick in his personal life. That scene where a judge let him off EXTREMELY easily with one night in jail and he still smarted off? Get. Fucked. Hard. Entitled white Boy shithead. Seriously! He whines about e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. Ex. Talking about a reporter "we never got along because he was always one of those reporters that was just waiting for something, so he could report the shit, you know?" Really, Sherlock? A reporter is -gasp- doing his job? Oh the absurdity! He even complains about needing I.d. To cross the border between Canada and America. "They are such assholes", he says about it.

Women? They're just body parts to cater to his whims. Here's one quote about a girl he dated: " she was cute and bubbly, no boobs, but a great ass" Charming. He's a creep to his wife- he even talks about tying to convince her to do playboy. When she starts to consider it, he decided no, she's his property only. He nearly runs out in their wedding. When she tells him she's pregnant, he throws a motherfucking frying pan! He cheats on her, and it's just an after thought to him.

He doesn't see -anything- logically. He talks about Chiasson dying and people claim it was because he was an alcoholic and that's why he died. "Which is not true. He had a few beers with the guys-period." Uh, no, dumbass, he's was an alcoholic like you and it exactly resulted in his death! He was three times over the legal limit when he crashed his car. I am ragey just thinking about that comment.

He's so incredibly obnoxious. He is Donald Trump on skates.

[Kit]

This is a difficult one to review. As a memoir *by the author* it isn't very good - the prose is barely readable, any self-reflection is minimal, it's obviously incomplete (for tragic, real-life reasons), and the subject was, well, a kind of awful person. But from a meta perspective, as an examination of men's ice hockey and the particular brand of machismo it cultivates centering on misogyny, violence, homophobia, drug abuse, and incurring the sorts of injuries that lead to real-life disability and death, it is a very valuable piece to explain how we get to the hockey culture we have today. The the regressive social mores, the discouragement of education and learning, the ongoing denial of CTE and the other physical dangers of hockey (including player refusal to adopt common-sense safety measures such as neck guards), the disordered substance use and recent and reluctant acknowledgement of mental health as an important component of any sport and not proof of weakness, the sexual violence (the ongoing sexual assault trial against several members of team Canada's 2018 world juniors team is one of many instances of sexual violence, primarily perpetrated against women but also men including each other), the insularity of the sport... Probert didn't touch on all of these things directly in his memoir, and clearly hadn't reflected on most of them, but you can see how every element of toxicity in this culture is decades in the making. And Bob Probert may have been a turd who treated his wife and many others like shit, but it's tragic to see the environment that created this and almost certainly ruined his life.

Impossible to rate.

[Joe Michalak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guess I've been having trouble sleeping this week because this is the third hockey bio that I've knocked out this week.

Probie's time on the Wings was a bit before my time with the wings - it is obvious, though, the impression that he's had on many of the players that I watched growing up, like Joe Kocur, and Darren McCarty. Reading the suite of books (even including Cheli's) has been a case of don't meet your heroes in a way. But on the other hand, you gain a new appreciation for the humanity of people who have this larger than life persona.

The most moving piece of this book may be, though, the way that it suddenly ends. We're left on July 1st, 2010 with Probie celebrating his 17th wedding anniversary - which much credit belongs to his wife for her patience and willingness to support Probie in his struggles. But, he was to pass away 4 days after that event while on his boat in Lake St. Clair.

In Darren McCarty's book, he promises that there is no "happy ending," although it is easy to be uplifted by his continued willingness to fight to better himself - you get some of the same feeling when Probie talks about his trip to Afghanistan and his conversation with Paul Coffey and all of the stuff like that at the end - making the sudden end even more impactful.