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Sports & Recreation Hockey

Leading the Pack

50 Years of Sudbury Wolves History

by (author) Scott Miller

Publisher
Latitude 46 Publishing
Initial publish date
Sep 2022
Category
Hockey
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781988989495
    Publish Date
    Sep 2022
    List Price
    $29.95

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Description

This definitive history chronicles over fifty years of Sudbury Wolves history, incorporating both historical documents and interviews with players, staff and others closely involved with the franchise over the years. It covers the big wins, heartbreaking losses, rise of future National Hockey League stars, colourful personalities, and devoted fans who have played their part in shaping the history of the Sudbury Wolves. Illustrated with historical photos and modern images, Leading the Pack: 50 Years of Sudbury Wolves History celebrates one of North America's most iconic junior hockey franchises.

About the author

Scott Miller is a writer and lifelong Sudbury resident. He completed his BA and MA in History at Laurentian University and has published articles on the history of Sudbury in the Canadian Historical Review, Ontario History, and the Canadian Military Journal. In 2019, Scott, along with co-author Mark Kuhlberg, received the Riddell Award from the Ontario Historical Society in 2018 on the subject of Ontario history. Along with being a fan of the Sudbury Wolves, Scott also supports the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Bills. Leading the Pack is his first book.

Scott Miller's profile page

Excerpt: Leading the Pack: 50 Years of Sudbury Wolves History (by (author) Scott Miller)

INTRODUCTION:

Sudbury and the Wolves,

A Synonymous History

In April 1932, the people of Sudbury, Ontario, a mining community of about 20,000 residents, listened anxiously to a radio broadcast of the final game of the Memorial Cup championship series hosted in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Sudbury Cub Wolves were battling the Winnipeg Monarchs, and the winner of this third match between the two clubs would be crowned Canada's junior hockey champions. The Wolves ultimately emerged victorious by a one-goal margin and captured the city's first- and to date only- Memorial Cup title. When the news crossed the airwaves and reached Sudbury, fans "rushed into the streets ... shouting, singing, and dancing around bonfires." For the city of Sudbury, it was, in the words of one local historian, "a scene matched only by the celebrations at the end of the Second World War."

While the City of Greater Sudbury has undergone a wholesale transformation since that fateful day in 1932, the significance of the Sudbury Wolves in community life has remained unchanged. The modern franchise has existed since 1972 as a member of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), but the club's identity dates back to the years following the First World War. In September 2022, the Sudbury Wolves organization will celebrate exactly fifty years since it dropped the puck for its first game. This book serves as a commemorative history of the Sudbury Wolves in celebration of this milestone, and in doing so it highlights the franchise's achievements and the central role it has played in the community over the last half-century.

Moreover, this book aims to demonstrate that the histories of both Sudbury and that of the Wolves are in many ways synonymous, reflecting the city's status as a first-rate hockey town. As cliché as it has become to romanticize hockey's place in Canadian culture, the development of the quintessential hockey town, inhabited by fans who love the game in general and its local teams and players in particular, is an observable historical process. Take, for example, Frank S. Sarlo's book Hound Town: One of the Greatest Hockey Towns Anywhere, which covers the history of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, the Wolves' oldest rival. Sarlo contends that the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, located about 300 kilometres west of Sudbury and often referred to simply as "the Soo," is "a real hockey town" permeated by a "special relationship among Sault Ste. Marie, its people, and its hockey team, the Soo Greyhounds." He adds that the Greyhounds have been a rallying point for the city during turbulent times, stating that "Sometimes the community supports the hockey team and sometimes its vice versa."

The Sudbury Wolves and its host city have had a similarly close-knit relationship, one underscored by Sudbury's unique position in the world.As the largest community in Northern Ontario by population, Sudbury is a regional hub of over 160,000 residents that attracts people who come from all over in search of jobs, education, leisure, medical treatment, and more. Since the late nineteenth century, nickel has been an especially important commodity for Sudbury, driving the local economy and giving rise to the nicknames "Nickel City" or "Nickel Capital." This prosperity came with a price, however. Having been devastated by decades of relentless mining pollution, Sudbury's landscape was notorious for being blackened and devoid of vegetation for much of the twentieth century. A visit in 1971 by the Apollo astronauts led to an enduring legend that Sudbury's desolate landscape was being used to simulate walking on the cratered, uninhabitable moon.

Editorial Reviews

There can be only one wolf with its 'tale' in the air. This is the wolf, and this is its amazing tale.

- Ron MacLean

My years behind the microphone with CKSO Radio were some of the best in the history of the franchise and it was great reliving many of these great teams, great games and great players. A wonderful trip through memory lane.

- Joe Bowen, Canadian sports commentator

Through all the wins and losses, the hundreds of players and the characters, Scott Miller weaves a 50-year-old tale of the Sudbury Wolves, one of the most tradition-steeped major junior hockey franchises in Canada. With impeccable attention to detail, Miller takes readers through the history of the franchise and provides insight into its transformation from its days as a senior and semi-pro team to a hockey factory that has produced more than its share of NHL players and memorable moments. In-depth interviews with former owners, coaches and players make Leading the Pack a must-read for any Sudbury Wolves' fan.

- Ken Campbell, hockey journalist and Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame member

There are few cities that define what it means to rage against winter by playing Canada's sporting gift to the world, but this expansive document of Sudbury and its Wolves is a treasure for anyone interested in the pure soul of hockey.

- Dave Bidini, author of Tropic of Hockey and Keon and Me

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