Pride and Glory: 100 Years of the Stanley Cup

Andrew Thomson is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of
Guelph.

William Houston covers the NHL for The Globe and Mail and has written
two books on the recent history of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Here he
turns his attention to some of the great teams and individuals that have
fought for the Stanley Cup in its 100-year history.

The book begins with the origins of the Cup as a challenge trophy
donated by Baron Arthur Stanley of Preston, Canada’s governor general
from 1888 to 1893. Houston then examines the six teams that he
identifies as “dynasties”—the Ottawa Silver Seven, the Toronto
Maple Leafs, the Detroit Red Wings, the Montreal Canadiens, the New York
Islanders, and the Edmonton Oilers—and the factors that each of these
teams shared: a dominating star player, a strong goaltender, and, most
importantly, close friendship on and off the ice.

Houston’s decision to focus on the dynasties was a good one, for it
makes the Cup’s long and colorful history manageable. Less successful
is his attempt to name an all-star team from the century of Cup history.
The selections are interesting—even controversial—but the section
has a tacked-on quality and weakens the conclusion of the book. That
said, Pride and Glory is an entertaining and informative work,
supplemented by a good bibliography and a convenient chronology of Cup
history.