The Last Hockey Game

by Bruce McDougall

On May 2, 1967, Montreal and Toronto faced each other in a battle for hockey supremacy. This was only the fifth time the teams had ever played each other in the Stanley Cup finals. Toronto led the series 3-2.

But this wasn't simply a game. From the moment Foster Hewitt announced "Hello Canada and hockey fans in the United States," the game became a turning point in sports history. That night, the Leafs would win the Cup. The next season, the National Hockey League would expand to twelve teams. Players would form an association to begin collective bargaining. Hockey would become big business. The NHL of the "Original Six" would be a thing of the past.

It was "The Last Hockey Game."

Placing us in the announcers' booth, in the seats of excited fans, and in the skates of the players, Bruce McDougall scores with a spectacular account of every facet of that final fateful match. As we meet players such as Gump Worsley, Tim Horton, Terry Sawchuk, and Eddie Shack, as well as coaches, owners, and fans, The Last Hockey Game becomes more than a story of a game. It also becomes an elegy, a lament for an age when, for all its many problems, the game was played for the love of it.

Genres: Hockey, Sports, History

370 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2014

About the author

Bruce McDougall began writing fiction for publication as an undergraduate at Harvard College, where he was an editor of the Harvard Lampoon, a contributor to the Harvard Advocate, and a playwright at the Loeb Experimental Theater. He also played hockey at Harvard under coach Billy Cleary, a member of the 1960 Miracle on Ice U.S. Olympic team. Since he graduated, he has published children’s stories, humour columns, and several non-fiction books, including the first published biography of communications mogul Ted Rogers and the first Idiot’s Guide to Personal Finance.

He has appeared on local and national radio and television programs including Canada AM, Dini Petty, CITY TV's Breakfast Television and CBC Radio.

His work has appeared in Geist, subTerrain, Scrivener Creative Review, and Antigonish Review. A collection of his short stories, Every Minute is a Suicide, will be also published in the fall 2014 by Porcupine’s Quill.

Bruce McDougall saw his first NHL game at Maple Leaf Gardens between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1955. He was five years old.

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

On May 2,1967, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 to win the Stanley Cup 4 games to 2. It marked the last game of the “Original Six” era of the NHL as six expansion teams were set to begin play the following fall. This book by Bruce McDougal not only tells the story of that game but also gives the reader a great look at the players, coaches, owners and others who made that period of hockey very interesting.

Every player on the two teams, from Hall of Famers (17 in total, 10 for Toronto, 7 for Montreal) to the fourth line players, everyone gets at leas a passing mention in this book. The description of the game action is so detailed that a fan who was alive at that time can close their eyes and imagine Foster Hewitt (another person who got a great portrayal in the book) calling the action.

The reader will also feel a sense of what the business of NHL hockey was like at that time. With no union or free agency and only six teams, players had accepted whatever was offered by the owners, who were mostly not viewed in a favorable light in these sections. Whether they truly were villains or just trying to maximize their wealth and power (oh,wait, maybe that DOES make them villains), a reader will learn much about the business side of the game at that time as well as what it was like on the ice when McDougal writes about the players. They are portrayed as regular men just trying to eke out a living playing a rough game.

I thought the book was dragging at first, but once I got into the game itself, it turned out to be a very good read. I’d recommend this for any reader interested in that era of hockey. Also, as of the writing of this review, it should be noted that this was the last time the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup - the longest current drought of any hockey team.

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[Joe Seliske · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells the story of the last game of the 1966-1967 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs like it has never been told before. The book is about the one game played at Maple Leaf Gardens on Tuesday, May 2, 1967 won by the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1. As he follows the play-by-play of each pass, hit, shot on goal and whistle in chronological order, McDougall eventually tells the story of each and every player who played in that game. A fascinating concept and makes the book a real page turner. Before I read the book, I had heard of Dave Balon, but did not know that he ended up with MS and died at the age of 68. Well written and from the sounds of it, appreciated by all of the hockey intelligentsia.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book chronicles game 6 of the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals, the last game of the Original Six era. Every play is covered, from the opening faceoff to the final whistle, but it is far more than that. McDougall gives context to the game, showing the lives of the players leading up to and after the game, the state of the NHL, the management and ownership, the way of life for hockey players at the time, and so on. It creates an intimate look at hockey in a bygone era, at the end of a major era in the game and the start of it's most recent period of modernization.

[Gary Horst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ostensibly about the May 2, 1967 game in which Toronto won their most recent Stanley Cup, but this book is truly a much broader account on the end of the classic hockey era. The next year would bring expansion from the Original Six as well as more power in players' hands as their needed Union got off the ground. Many fascinating back-stories and future references as the author explores just about every on- and off-ice participant of that historic game.

[Howie · Rating 5 out of 5]

the only book I've read by Bruce McDougall. He does a masterful job painting a picture for the reader of the moments he speaks of. His research and detailed descriptions of behind the scenes information was outstanding. He takes you on a history lesson while describing a single hockey game. Can't say enough good things about this book.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Almost a 5, but I wish there were photos of the players, coaches, owners etc. A great, entertaining, informative, page turning read.

[JT · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked it alot

[Janice Marr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Very well researched. Lots of stories about each of the players, coaches, trainers, Zamboni driver, owners, etc.

[Heather Chalifour · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book and find the behind the scene information about the
players and NHL organization of the past very different by todays standards. The information about the players lives, families and interesting facts about how they started out in life and where they ended up is a story in itself. I have followed hockey all my life and have been a big fan of the Montreal Canadians and Toronto Maple Leaf rivalry. Everything from the owners, coaches, GM's, players and refs is in this book to boot. I was shocked to find out that Tim Horton wore glasses and had very poor eyesight and needed his partner to let him know where the puck was. The huge amount of injuries and the fear of not having your job if you didn't keep playing injured. This book
show how much hockey has changed from the days of the original six teams. Big Business and how it happened is in this book. However I most enjoyed the realistic description of the moments of playing that
game on the ice that made me feel like I was there watching it. I have enjoyed every minute of this book and do recommend reading it.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this in a good reads giveaway, and I gave it to my brother who is a huge hockey fan. He told me he loved the book, and he loved reading it. He found it really entertaining and a great book on the Toronto Maple Leafs, If you're a hockey fan then you should defiantly give this book a read.