Sittler

Glynn A. Leyshon is a professor of physical education at the University
of Western Ontario, a former weekly columnist for the London Free Press
and author of 18 Sporting Stories.

For a hockey buff, this “bio” along with a dozen other personal life
stories could comprise a complete section in one’s library. The
problem would be to find much to distinguish one from another. Are Larry
Robinson’s or Wayne Gretzky’s stories markedly different from Darryl
Sittler’s? Not that this book is badly written—it fits the genre
quite well—but there is a sameness to these accounts that makes them
blur at the edges. The boyish pranks, the drinking stories, the
injuries, the disappointments, and the moments of high glory, even the
payments and bonuses and contract negotiations are included. No step
along the daily path of the professional athlete is omitted, and it is
sometimes a trifle pedestrian.

On the other hand if one is a hockey fan or even (heaven forbid) a
Maple Leaf fan, then this account will furnish interesting inside
information including Sittler’s dealings with the late, unbemoaned
Harold Ballard, and the comparison of early contracts with today’s.

There are 16 chapters and 16 pages of photos. The latter are all
gathered into the centre of the book, giving them less impact than had
they been placed to illustrate the events as they unfold. All in all,
this is a fairly interesting story to the hockey aficionado, and it does
contain some insights into the life of a once-prominent player, but
except for the limelit stage upon which this particular drama unfolded,
it is not remarkably different in many ways from your life or mine.