Here's the newest review! I'm looking
at The Rebel League:
The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association, by Ed
Willes.
Where
can you begin when you start talking about the WHA? In seven short
years, they created more interesting characters and players than the
NHL probably has, they allowed players who were originally too young
for the NHL to break out and become stars, and they put hockey into
non-traditional markets.
It
was conceived by two businessmen who didn't know anything about
hockey. That, of course, never stopped anyone, so next thing you
knew, the league was getting off the ground. Tossing money all over
the place, they enticed players from the NHL to play for them, and a
number of mid-level players joined. But it wasn't until Bobby Hull
joined the Winnipeg Jets that everyone sat up and took notice. A year
later, Gordie Howe came out of retirement and joined the Houston
Aeros. Along with his two sons, the Howes would lead Houston to a
pair of WHA championships.
Something
else the league did that was groundbreaking was to introduce European
players to North America on a larger scale. In fact, by the time the
WHA had closed its doors, Europeans, at least from areas like
Scandinavia, were becoming much more commonplace, although the
Russians and East Europeans were still years off, for the most part.
This
book tells the tales of the weird, strange, and hilarious. It
introduces the characters that were larger than life, and sets the
record straight about many of them. You'll meet the players that
would become the inspiration for one of the best-known hockey movies,
Slap Shot.
Oh,
it also gives an insight to the very early days of a certain
youngster that would eventually become one of the greatest players of
all time. He got his professional start in Indianapolis, but was
traded to Edmonton. Yes, that's the humble beginnings of Wayne
Gretzky.
It's
quite the ride. At some points it's a fast, hang to your seat type of
ride. Other times, it sets up a nice tale with a funny or weird
ending. You never quite know what you're going to get as you read,
and I think that sums up the WHA.
Link
to Powell's City of Books:
http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780771089497-0
Link
to Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rebel-league-ed-willes/1100381959?ean=9780771089473
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