"A riveting and often surprising portrait of the early years of hockey, capturing everything from the physical contests on the rinks to the battles behind the scenes. A Great Game shows how much about hockey has stayed the same. Rough play, fervent hometown loyalties, owner-player contract disputes, partisan news coverage, and big money were issues from the get-go. Was hockey to be a game of obsessed amateurs playing for the love of the sport, or was it a game for paid professionals who would give fans what they wanted? A century ago rinks could melt, and by halftime the blades screwed to the players' shoes could be sinking in mud, but the hockey pioneers were unstoppable. Teams sprang up across North America, from Victoria to Winnipeg, Halifax to Montreal, and Detroit to Pittsburgh. In the Queen City, in spite of the fanatical opposition of amateur hockey leaders, early teams such as the Toronto Professionals of 1908 and the Toronto Blue Shirts of 1914 took turns battling for Toronto's very first Stanley Cup. These "forgotten Leafs" would lay the groundwork for the world's most profitable hockey franchise. Stephen Harper brings alive the history of hockey's first decades and pays passionate tribute to the earliest star players of the game. Like millions of other Canadians, Stephen Harper developed his love for hockey at a young age as he played at the arenas and on the shinny rinks and roads of his hometown. Today, he is the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada and lives in Calgary and Ottawa. Mr. Harper is an amateur historian interested in exploring the sport's impact on the people and places that define Canada. A Great Game is his first published work on the game of hockey."--Provided by publisher.