Doug: The Doug Harvey Story, by William Brown

I've said it before and I'll say it again: William Brown may be the best kept secret in hockey writing out there right now. In the 2002 book "Doug: The Doug Harvey Story" he produces a biography that is every bit as spectacular and compelling as his subject.

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As with his other books, notably The Montreal Maroons and Baseball's fabulous Montreal Royals: The minor league team that made major league history, the key to Brown's brilliance is his meticulous and painstakingly thorough research. Brown has written this text on Harvey nearly a decade and a half after his death. With no first hand account to work with, Brown looks under every stone to find every fine detail about the great Montreal Canadiens defenseman. He interviews everyone from the obvious, such as family and former teammates, to the unlikely, such as a former regular student of the Doug Harvey Hockey School. Brown wants as many opinions and memories on Harvey as he can get, including from many angles and tangents that most of use would never even think of.

While his research may be academically impressive, Brown then goes about telling the story of Doug Harvey with a writing style that is easy and flowing, more so than his other books. He has found the artistic ability to recreate history with his writing. You get the sense he is of the highest academic order, but unlike some other such authors, he does not forget his audience. Hiis combination of research and authorship should be mandatory studying not only for sports biographers, but all biographers.

Brown would probably be the first to suggest that the book is amazing because Doug Harvey's story was amazing. Was it ever.

Doug Harvey was an athletic natural if there ever was one. He grew up in Montreal's West End a three sport star, arguably better at baseball and especially football than hockey. He turned down professional offers to play both of those sports in order to pursue a career with the Montreal Canadiens.

And what a career it was. The perennial All Star and seven time winner of the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in hockey was an obvious choice for the Hockey Hall of Fame. With his brilliant passing and ability to control any game he was the cornerstone of the legendary Montreal Canadiens that won five Stanley Cups in a row. in the 1950s Most people still consider him the second best defenseman of all time, and one of the top 10 players in all of hockey history. Many of the oldtimers will tell you he was better than Bobby Orr.

Off the ice he was perhaps more fascinating, although often tragically. He was very much his own man, never one to tow the line and do what was expected. No, he was very much a rebel. He was an outspoken critic of the hockey establishment and, along with Ted Lindsay, the driving forced behind the attempted formation of a players union in the late 1950s. He was labeled a maverick and a troublemaker, aloof and enigmatic, but deep down he was a caring, generous, and in his own way a very funny man. But he was very much his own man.

Harvey continued to march to the beat of his own drum after hockey too. On the night he was supposed to attend his Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony, he chose to go fishing. Later on in life he lived in an old rail car. It was not the cold and abandoned rail car that some sources will have you believe, though. It was actually quite stately - it belonged to Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and was formerly used to transport royal guests.

Harvey lived a nomadic life, almost as if he was lost after hockey. His heavy drinking days dated back to his time in the NHL, but it got out of hand in retirement. He became fatally ill with cirrhosis of the liver. Also, much too late in life, he doctors suspected he was, which could explain his severe depression and mood swings.

I think what I like best about this book is that unlike some other Harvey biographers, Brown does not portray Harvey's descent as sad and tragic. That's because Brown got to know Harvey better than anyone else, and as such he inherently knew that even in his toughest times Doug Harvey never viewed himself that way.

It's all here in William Brown's excellent book Doug: The Doug Harvey Story. From his one ice brilliance to his off ice troubles, one thing is obvious: Doug Harvey was one of hockey's most interesting personalities.

The Montreal Maroons by William Brown

William Brown easily captures my admiration as one of the most thorough writers and researchers in the hockey book market. He goes to painstaking lengths to find every last detail. That meticulous work is impressive his writing could serve as a university text book, it is an excellent read for those interested in his subject. For passive or younger fans, this book may be a bit of a hard read though, as it packed with details of an era long gone.

The title of the book I'm reviewing today immediately appears to limit those interested in his subject. The book is titled The Montreal Maroons: The Forgotten Stanley Cup Champions, but in reality this is a book about early hockey history in Montreal, specifically the early pro history and early NHL history. It is a fascinating time period piece from say 1910 through the arrival of Rocket Richard in the 1940s. It is not so much about a forgotten hockey team, but about a forgotten and intense and historically important rivalry.

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For 14 glorious seasons, NHL hockey's greatest rivalry was between two teams in the same city. Their fierce but short battle shaped hockey history forever.

Many people consider Montreal to be the greatest hockey city in the world, and I would certainly never argue against that. There is no more revered team in hockey history than the Montreal Candiens. The Flying Frenchmen are the most storied team in hockey history.

But back before there was a NHL and during the NHL's first couple of decades, the city of Montreal was divided. Les Canadiens were the champions of the French. But anglophone hockey dated back much further. Over the years English speaking Montreal was represented by several teams, most notably MAAA Winged Wheelers, the Victorias, the Shamrocks, McGill University and the Wanderers, all predecessors of the Montreal Maroons.

As the NHL formed and emerged as kings of the professional hockey scene, the Maroons and Canadiens battled to epic heights. Their battles were so fierce that oldtimers reminisce about the "classics of hockey hate" and the "searing hatred that split the city's hockey populace in two." Their rivalry also helped shape the NHL and the evolution of hockey right across Canada.

The book opens by retracing this English hockey history in the city, with brief looks at each of the aforementioned English teams, and follows up by looking at the French history, which basically looks at the earliest history of the Montreal Canadiens.

All of this history is necessary for the reader to understand the deep rooted history of the English - French rivalry. Hockey certainly did not create Quebec's cultural tensions, but it was a main vehicle for it in Montreal during this time.

Finally we get to the Maroons. The Maroons were the most successful English team in Montreal, and the original tenants of the famed Montreal Forum. Twice they won the Stanley Cup. The team featured many of hockey's all time greats - Clint Benedict, Lionel Conacher and the S Line - Nels Stewart, Babe Siebert and Hooley Smith. Brown focuses on these key figures and the Maroons involvement in several key NHL moments in history.

The book goes on to ride the highs and lows of the Montreal Maroons existence, mostly in comparison to the cross town rivals. The book looks at the deep-pocketed and free-spending Maroons days of the 1920s through to their struggles and ultimate demise in the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Brown also includes some fascinating memorabilia, such as old newspaper advertisements, programs, cartoons, cards and photos.