Ladies and Gentlemen, lace up your skates. In these pages find the origins of Canadian hockey and the birth of internation hockey. This book is about hockey all over North America and is a tribute to our widely forgotten heroes, because remember, hockey began here, in Manitoba. From amateur sport to pros, we couldnÕt be prouder of our heritage. Richard Brignall has chronicled this incredible history. He draws a picture of Êthe pioneer Manitoban and Canadian athlete from before the turn of the century Êto when the game caught fire everywhere.

LetÕs brag about the Winnipeg Victorias, with an edge of your seat performance when they captured the Stanley Cup, first in 1896, and then for many more years, they brought the Cup home again and again.ÊAnd mention the Winnipeg Falcons too,Ênotable winners of the Olympic Hockey Championships in 1920 that placed us on the map as the worldÕs best hockey team, and the worldÕs biggest fans.ÊRight from the get-go, every game, home, or away, Manitobans filled arenas to capacity year after year.ÊForgotten Heroes Êdelivers history,Êbut moreover itÕs an exciting Êplay by play ride of the war on ice.

Richard Brignall storms passionately through time and scores a goal with this, the definitive story of world hockey.

Wear a helmet when you read this, hockey fan or not.

Richard Brignall is a freelance writer, former newspaper sport reporter, based in Kenora, Ontario. He has over 130 articles published in magazines like Cottage Life and Outdoor Canada. He helped originate the Recordbooks series at James Lorimer and Company. This series focuses on Canadian sports history and issues like race, gender, disability, and poverty. He has written seven books for this series. Titles include Small Town Glory about the Kenora Thistles winning the Stanley Cup, Forever Champions about the Edmonton Grads women’s basketball team, Big League Dreams about black baseball player Fergie Jenkins, and China Clipper about Chinese-Canadian football player Norm Kwong. 

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