The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL: The World's Most Beautiful Sport, the World's Most Ridiculous League

by Sean McIndoe

Overview

Sean McIndoe of Down Goes Brown, one of hockey's favourite and funniest writers, takes aim at the game's most memorable moments—especially if they're memorable for the wrong reasons—in this warts-and-all history of the NHL.

The NHL is, indisputably, weird. One moment, you're in awe of the speed, skill and intensity that define the sport, shaking your head as a player makes an impossible play, or shatters a longstanding record, or sobs into his first Stanley Cup. The next, everyone's wearing earmuffs, Mr. Rogers has shown up, and guys in yellow raincoats are officiating playoff games while everyone tries to figure out where the league president went. That's just life in the NHL, a league that often can't seem to get out of its own way. No matter how long you've been a hockey fan, you know that sinking feeling that maybe, just maybe, some of the people in charge here don't actually know what they're doing. And at some point, you've probably wondered: Has it always been this way?
The short answer is yes. As for the longer answer, well, that's this book.
In this fun, irreverent and fact-filled history, Sean McIndoe relates the flip side to the National Hockey League's storied past. His obsessively detailed memory combines with his keen sense for the absurdities that make you shake your head at the league and yet fanatically love the game, allowing you to laugh even when your team is the butt of the joke (and as a life-long Leafs fan, McIndoe takes the brunt of some of his own best zingers). The "Down Goes Brown" History of the NHL is the weird and wonderful league's story told as only Sean McIndoe can.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735273900
Publisher:	Random House of Canada, Limited
Publication date:	11/05/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	239,571
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

SEAN McINDOE has appeared as a featured hockey columnist for sites including Sportsnet, VICE Sports, ESPN and Grantland. With his sense of humour, strong opinions and in-depth knowledge of the game's history, he has built one of the web's biggest hockey-writing readerships and produces new content throughout the season while making regular appearances on radio, television and podcasts. He maintains a large and loyal social media following, one that led Sports Illustrated to name him one of the 100 best Twitter follows in sports.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 In the Beginning 3

Strange But True: Rules Are Rules 13

2 The Forgotten Teams 15

Strange But True: The Best Team to Ever Miss the Playoffs 20

3 The Dawn of the Original Six 23

Strange But True: The Original … Seven? 29

4 Hockey's First Superstars 31

Strange But True: Broadway Bullies 39

5 The Cup Heads North 41

Strange But True: Superstar for Sale 47

6 Expansion Arrives 50

Strange But True: Earmuff It for Me 58

7 Here We Grow Again 60

Strange But True: The Wheel 67

8 That '70s Show 70

Strange But True: The August Draft 78

9 The High-Flying '80s 80

Strange But True: The Blues Take a Pass 88

10 Bad Blood 91

Strange But True: Spin the bottle 98

11 The European Invasion 100

Strange But True: The Greatest Japanese Player Who Never Was 105

12 The Trade 107

Strange But True: The Biggest Trade Proposal Ever Made 114

13 Expanding Horizons 116

Strange But True: Draft Dodgers 122

14 The Hall of Presidents 125

Strange But True: Referee Your Own Stinking Game 133

15 A Tale of Three Centres 135

Strange But True: O Captain, My Captain 144

16 The Greatest Season Ever 146

Strange But True: That's Using Your Head 156

17 The Dead Puck Era 158

Strange But True: Esposito's Smudge 168

18 The Last Great Rivalry 170

Strange But True: How Hollywood Saved the Avalanche 178

19 International Incidents 181

Strange But True: The Case of the Disappearing Canada Cup 189

20 Southern Comfort 191

Strange But True: When Compensation Goes Bad 197

21 A History of Violence 199

Strange But True: From the Canoe to the Boxing Ring 211

22 The League of the Lockout 213

Strange But True: The NHL's Only Strike 223

23 Getting Creative 225

Strange But True: The Forgotten Outdoor Games 233

24 The Parity Era 235

Strange But True: The Case of the Missing Cup 242

25 The Future 244

Acknowledgements 251

Index 253

Editorial Reviews

In this fun, irreverent, and fact-filled history, McIndoe writes his obsessively detailed memories, combined with his keen sense for the head-shaking absurdities of the league. All this, while acknowledging the love for the game.” —The New Classical FM

“McIndoe is definitely in his element writing The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL. . . . McIndoe’s well-researched look into hockey history covers lots of topics with his humorous, and sometimes sarcastic, view providing an entertaining look at the NHL and how it came to be. . . . And as interesting as the history chapters are, these sections are fun and funny. . . . If you are looking for an entertaining hockey book you will want to consider The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL!” —NorthBayNipissing.com

“This is the book that Sean McIndoe was born to write, if only because the history of the NHL requires heavy doses of skepticism and sarcasm to prevent nausea. Hilarious, insightful and the only hockey book I’ve ever read that can balance a perceptive look at the history of fighting with how Harrison Ford indirectly saved the Colorado Avalanche. It’s like having a guy at the pub giving you a master class in hockey history, except he’s smarter and funnier than your drunk ass will ever be.” —Greg Wyshynski, Senior NHL Writer, ESPN
 
“On a sunny, summer afternoon from my cottage deck, I picked up Sean McIndoe’s book and could not put it down until I was done reading it. The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL is a delightful read, of course humorous because it’s McIndoe, but impressively informative in finding a way to cram 101 years of NHL hockey into 249 pages. The wonderfully written book is also a reminder that while the NHL is a business, it’s also entertainment, and sometimes we need to stop taking ourselves so seriously. We love the game, but let’s remember it’s just that, a game. McIndoe’s historical account entertains and informs all at once.” —Pierre LeBrun, TSN Insider and columnist for The Athletic
 
“Who better to chronicle off-the-wall hockey history than the off-the-wall Down Goes Brown, aka Sean McIndoe.” —Bob McKenzie, TSN Insider and author of Hockey Confidential

From the Publisher

10/15/2018
The National Hockey League (NHL) has existed for a century. To followers of the sport, the NHL has regularly been vexing owing to its bouts of instability, occasional work stoppages, and constant rules tinkering. McIndoe, creator of the popular hockey website Down Goes Brown, is a passionate fan of the sport, and regales readers with the often-strange history of the league. Brief chapters follow a chronological order highlighting key periods and events. Interspersed among these chapters are short interludes that tell of odd happenings, such as the instance when the owners of the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs came surprisingly close to having their clubs swap cities. Most knowledgeable fans will be familiar with the topics covered, but this does not make the work less appealing. Newer or younger hockey enthusiasts will appreciate hearing the stories for the first time. VERDICT McIndoe writes with great wit, and his book fills a need for an anecdotal account of the NHL.—Brian Renvall, Mesalands Community Coll., Tucumcari, NM

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