Tough Calls: NHL Referees and Linesmen Tell Their Story

by Dick Irvin

Book Overview

Talk about your tough calls! It's the fourth game of the Eastern Conference playoffs, 1995. Alexei Kovalev of the Rangers is down, apparently unconscious. At the other end of the rink, the Nordiques star forward is rushing the net. Joe Sakic fans on the shot and Kovalev doesn't move. Andy van Hellemond, the game's most experienced referee, is somewhere in the middle, trying to decide what to do. Thinking that Sakic's rush has failed and worried about...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 077104366X
• ISBN13: 9780771043666
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Only for a True Hockey Fan

This book has changed the way I watch hockey. Shortly after reading this book, I met Paul Stewart and two other officials (not in the book).They are amazing people who need to get the same "glory" as the players. They have the tougher job.If you are a true hockey fan and appreciate the finer parts of the game..you must read this book.

An Insightful Read

I'm an ardent hockey fan, and part and parcel of being one is yelling at the odd referee. But this book made me watch my mouth. I never realized (funny as it sounds) that refs are people, and feel as awful as the fans might after a badly called game. The anecdotes are funny, the insights enlightning. Now I think twice before critizing the ref. Who knew!

A must read for all hockey officials!

Whether you are a hockey official or a big fan of the game, you'll love this book. Very few groups are as "tight-knit" as hockey officials, and after reading this book, you'll appreciate why. The stories are incredible. Dick Irvin's interviews have caputured both the serious and not-so-serious situations throughout the years of hockey officiating. It isn't often that I find time to read, but I have read this book twice in the last couple of years. 5 Stars.

A MUST FOR REFEREES, A GREATER MUST FOR PLAYERS

Being a referee myself, I have recommended it to every other ref I know. Hearing from the guys who really go through it all you just have to appreciate your job even more. For players - you guys need to read it to see what it feels like to be a ref. You will no longer yell at us the way you do. Overall, the book is a amazing and a must for hockey lovers everywhere!!!!

Positive

This is one of greatest books I have ever read. I'm currently a referee and loved reading stories of what it was like in the NHL in the earlier dayy