Review of "1972"

Usually when a special anniversary arrives for a special sports moment, there are books to commemorate the event.  That is the case this year for the 1972 Summit Series between the national hockey team for the Soviet Union and Team Canada.  Other books coming out on the series will have a hard time topping this one, a terrific read on the series.  Here is my review of "1972."

Title/Author: “1972: The Series That Changed Hockey Forever” by Scott Morrison

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:  Sports have many moments that prompt the question “Where were you when…?”  For hockey fans, especially Canadian hockey fans, one of those moments occurred on September 28, 1972 when Paul Henderson scored with 34 seconds left to give Team Canada a 6-5 win over the Soviet Union in the eighth and final game of a series between the Russian national team and an all-star NHL team representing Canada.  This entire series is recounted in this terrific book by Scott Morrison.

Going into the series, it was believed by not only the players and coaches, but by most hockey fans and journalists in the country that Canada would win this series easily.  This was bolstered by a scouting report on the Russian team that they were not very good.  The report included notes such as the equipment used by the team was in poor shape and the goaltending was not very good.  Therefore, Team Canada went into the first game of the series, played in Montreal, extremely confident. Morrison does an excellent job of illustrating this overconfidence through research and interviews over time with players and coaches from the team.  Throughout the book, coach Harry Sinden supplies great information on the games.

After the 7-3 win by the Soviet Union in game one, the next three games were played in Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver respectively.  The teams essentially split these three games, with each team winning one game apiece and the Winnipeg game ending in a tie.  That game was noteworthy because of who was one of the spectators – Bobby Hull.  Even though he was clearly one of the best players in the game at the time, he was ruled ineligible for Team Canada because he had signed with the Winnipeg Jets of the rival WHA.  That added to the already tense situation that came about when it was clear that this series was not going to be the cakewalk Team Canada thought it would be.

Another illustration of Morrison’s excellent work is his writing about Phil Esposito’s passionate speech after the game in Vancouver.  Not to give away too much about that moment, it is fair to say that it was a moment in which Team Canada knew who was the captain of their team, even if it was not official.  Then my favorite part of the book comes, when Morrison writes about the team’s time in Sweden before playing the final four games in Moscow.  It is there that a reader will really feel a connection with the players profiled and understand how during that time they finally felt like a true team and what they did to play and act like one.

The chapters on the four games in Moscow, much like those about the four games in Canada, are terrific in that they blend the perfect combination of game action with insight from the players and coaches.  It should also be noted that while the book has more of this information from the Canadian point of view, there is also good insight into what some Russian players and coaches saw as well.  Of course, as one might expect, the best of this came when Henderson scored the historic goal.  While reading this part, I, an American hockey fan who was 11 at the time of the series, remembered that moment and got goose bumps just from this description nearly 50 years later.  That alone will make me give this book a glowing recommendation for anyone who is interested in either learning more about this historic hockey season or wants to read it to bring back fond memories.

I wish to thank Simon & Schuster for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Link:   1972: The Series That Changed Hockey Forever: Morrison, Scott: 9781982154141: Amazon.com: Books