The Leafs

Albert Stray is librarian and manager of the Streetsville Public
Library.

Brian McFarlane, former Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster and author of
the It Happened in Hockey series, has written the first volume of a
series devoted to NHL hockey teams: the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red
Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, and Toronto
Maple Leafs. While two of the book’s seven chapters chronicle the
early days of professional hockey, the bulk of the material focuses on
the Leafs from the 1940s through to the trade that brought Doug Gilmour
to the team in 1993. The book concludes with nine pages of highlights
from Leafs history.

McFarlane, a masterful storyteller, recounts such memorable events as
opening night at the Gardens (November 2, 1931). He also packs his book
with trivia. (Did you know that the Leafs’ original colors were green
and white?) Of course, no book about the Leafs would be complete without
a profile of those two larger-than-life egos, Punch Imlach and Harold
Ballard.

The detailed table of contents makes up for the lack of an index.
Sixteen pages of black-and-white photographs supplement the very
readable text.