Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Review of "Kooks and Degenerates on Ice"

1970 was a very iconic year for sports and one of those iconic moments was the photo of Bobby Orr celebrating his goal that won the Stanley Cup midair.  That photo is on the cover of this book that celebrates that Boston Bruins team and is a quick, easy read for hockey fans.  Here is my review of "Kooks and Degenerates on Ice"

Title/Author:
“Kooks and Degenerates on Ice: Bobby Orr, the Big Bad Bruins and the Stanley Cup Championship That Transformed Hockey” by Thomas J. Whalen

Tags:
Ice Hockey, professional, championship, history, Bruins

Publish date:
May 13, 2020

Length:
240 pages

Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:
On May 10, 1970 Bobby Orr scored the game winning goal in game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, giving his Boston Bruins a series sweep over the St. Louis Blues and the Stanley Cup championship.  Immediately after he shot the puck, he was tripped by a Blues defender, sending him airborne and creating one of the most famous photographs in sport history. The story of Orr, that team and the road to their championship is remembered in this book by Thomas J. Whalen.

This book has all the elements that are typical for a book about a championship team or season: there are game recaps, especially for the playoffs and all four games of the Finals. There are plenty of stories about players for the team featured.  In this case, among the prominent Bruins from that club discussed are Orr, Phil Esposito, Derek Sanderson and Gerry Cheevers.  Something that isn’t usually included in this type of book is player profiles from other teams. Whalen included profiles of such personalities as Glenn Hall and Bobby Hull, goaltender for the Blues and forward for the Chicago Blackhawks respectively.  There is also a final look at the Bruins and the key players after that championship season.

All of these sections make for easy, entertaining reading. It does feel a bit choppy when describing the actual 1969-70 season as that is where many of the player profiles are placed in a random manner.  Before this, there was much text about the social and political situation of 1970 along with a brief history of the Boston Bruins.  This was good information that took about 25% of the book, but reading through this was worth the time, especially the Bruins history.  That sets the tone for the wild season in which, in the words of Eddie Johnston, “a bunch of kooks and degenerates who get along” won the Stanley Cup.

Hockey fans will enjoy this book, especially Bruins fans, as a colorful team won one of the most prized trophies in sports with an iconic photo to capture the championship moment.  The 50th anniversary of this team is remembered well in this book. 

I wish to thank Rowman and Littlefield for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
                       
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)                                                                                                                               

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