Brian McFarlane's World of Hockey

For 27 years, Brian McFarlane thrilled Canadians from the gondola of Maple Leaf Gardens and the studios of Hockey Night in Canada with his classy commentary and colorful quips. For CBS, he was the first Canadian hockey personality on American television, and later he brought the game to millions of fans on NBC. Over his illustrious career he has interviewed all the great players, from Gordie Howe to Wayne Gretzky, and many entertainment giants, including Bing Crosby and Mike Myers. In the 1970s, he introduced the game to a new generation of kids through the cartoon character Peter Puck. Now, for the first time, McFarlane is sharing his personal world of hockey with his legion of loyal readers. McFarlane, at his storytelling best, brings to life his childhood days spent skating on the ponds of small-town Ontario, while his father, who wrote several of the books in the Hardy Boys series, toiled at his typewriter to make ends meet. McFarlane talks about the defining moment in his life, when he met Syl Apps, the legendary Toronto Maple Leaf captain, and decided upon a career in hockey. In his junior hockey days, he played against future superstars such as Jean Beliveau and even scored on Mr. Goalie, Glenn Hall. After an All-American hockey career at St. Lawrence University, McFarlane tried his hand as a broadcaster, and the game has never been quite the same. In this remarkable book he has also collected some of his all-time favorite tales, most for the first time in print. McFarlane presents interviews with Mario Lemieux, John Candy, Phil Esposito, Don Cherry, the Hanson brothers, Tiger Williams, and Michael J. Fox, and tells stories of the Original Six era and beyond. This splendid combination of memoir and yarns will surely be a family favorite for seasons to come.