Grapes: A Vintage View of Hockey

Robert Barney was Professor of Physical Education at the University of Western Ontario in London.

I have always had strong reservations about the credibility and literary quality of sports personalities’ biographies that are the joint production of the personality and a journalist. Grapes is the first exception to this well-established dislike of mine — not because the Boston Bruins and Don Cherry are my favorite team and coach (the Bruins are, but Cherry is not) — but rather because the book has some admirable qualities. It is well organized in terms of an excellent chronological/flashback approach; it is expressed in unglossy vernacular language; and it is humorous and interest-captivating. Indeed, the book is hard to put down.

Grapes (Don Cherry’s nickname) is the story of the always controversial and always colorful CBC Hockey Night in Canada color man (no pun intended). Cherry’s collaborator, Stan Fischler of the Toronto Star, has somehow moulded a prose from Cherry’s tape recordings which for all the world seems to be coming directly from the mind and mouth of Cherry himself (such prose probably could not — Cherry never finished high school, a characteristic common among aspiring professional hockey players in Canada). Much of Grapes deals with Cherry’s long and not unillustrious career in various minor hockey leagues (he toiled in them for 15 years). In this regard Grapes often bears resemblance to the well-known movie Slapshot. But Cherry would never be mistaken for another Paul Newman.

Aside from the minor league aspect of Cherry’s odyssey through hockey, there are the sometimes serious, sometimes hilarious, but always interesting and “tell it like it is” accounts of Grapes’ abbreviated NHL playing career (one game), his coaching stint in “the Bigs” (Boston Bruins and Colorado Rockies), his tiffs with management, ownership, and various players. But if Cherry is rough on some individuals discussed in the book, he is far rougher on himself, and that’s what makes the book believable.

Followers of hockey will be delighted to learn that Grapes includes some sensible insights into some of recent hockey history’s greatest stars (Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe, etc.), all of whom had some contact with Cherry during his and their careers. Also, a few of hockey’s unique personalities beyond the player level get into Cherry’s act (Al Eagleson, Clarence Campbell, Scotty Bowman, Harry Sinden, etc.). But Cherry’s personal priorities and expressed love in the book are reserved for the less-skilled, aggressive, intimidating type of player (the Stan Jonathans, the Bobby Wensiks, the Gary Doaks, etc.), perhaps because that was Cherry’s own style in both his playing and his coaching days. Grapes’ career reflected a fascination and preoccupation with “grinder” type play, flamboyance, and personal charisma, which were a delight to fans and the press but considerably less than that to management and ownership and, certainly, to league officials.

Finally, readers will be fascinated by Cherry’s serious communication with, and inspiration drawn from “Blue,” his celebrated pet English pit-bull. Have you ever noticed how much dogs and their owners look alike? Take a close gander at Don Cherry and “Blue” on the dust cover jacket of the book. It says it all — Grapes is a vintage view of hockey.