Hockey lovers will be fascinated by the truth about how the National Hockey League was founded and how, through less than savory means, it captured permanent possession of the Stanley Cup.
Deceptions and Doublecross begins with the 1917 conspiracy among a Montreal contingent of the National Hockey Association to oust Toronto owner Edward James Livingstone from the league. The result was the transformation of the NHA into the NHL, with Frank Calder as president, leaving Livingstone out in the cold.
Under Calder’s iron-fisted direction, the NHL became the only major hockey league in North America, and gained exclusive claim to the Stanley Cup.
If you are a hockey fan, or if you think Enron was just a one-time blip on the corporate radar, you will be fascinated by the battles between Frank Calder and Eddie Livingstone, which contrary to previous publications, lasted from 1915 until 1930. Media manipulation and payoffs, shareholder lawsuits, back-stabbing, and boardroom fighting, all through the guise of nationalism and symbolism, have its roles.
For those who think they know the whole stories, you might be surprised to learn the Real Curse of Pete Muldoon, why sports editors were soft on the NHL, the true founding of 2002 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, how a team could win the Stanley Cup before it was formed, how and why Toronto's NHL players were forced to sign five contracts in the league's first season, and how the Chicago Blackhawks almost became the first American NHL team to fail.
This is one of the few hockey books that goes beyond who, what, when and where, but also asks how and why.
