Portraits of the Game: Classic Photographs from the Turofsky Collection at the Hockey Hall of Fame

Ian A. Andrews is editor of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association’s Focus and co-author of Becoming a Teacher.

The classic photographs featured in this coffee-table book were taken
during hockey games played at Maple Leaf Gardens between 1933 and 1963.
The photos by brothers Nat and Lou Turofsky, sports photojournalists
extraordinaire, on 900 glass-plate negatives and 21,000 cellulose
negatives, were turned over to the Hockey Hall of Fame by eventual
owners Imperial Oil Limited. Hockey historian, photographer, and
creative writing instructor Andrew Podnieks selected 73 black-and-white
prints for inclusion in this delightful addition to hockey history.

In Podnieks’s words, “[T]hese images are works of art that document
the history of the Original Six, the great Hall of Fame Players, the
not-so-great players, the rule changes, uniform changes, and
developments in sports photography.” It is difficult to disagree with
this assessment. Every picture is identified by game and date and
presented in chronological order. The research is meticulous, with every
player and official identified on the left-hand page and the full-page
plate reproduced on the right-hand page. The professional skill of the
Turofskys is evident in the images, not only caught at the significant
moment, but perfectly focused without the assistance of today’s
automatic equipment.

The context Podnieks provides for the photographs is divided into three
parts: The Picture, a description of the visual image and comments on
its photographic merits; The Players, an identification of players and
officials by number; and The Game, an explanation of the major events
that transpired during the game.

With the recent departure of the Maple Leafs from Maple Leaf Gardens,
these moments of action captured by the Turofsky brothers during
hockey’s Golden Age, and so aptly described by Podnieks, will become
even more valuable components of hockey nostalgia.