Still, the WHA remains perhaps more renowned for its characters. There was, for example, the night a referee was somewhat stumped on what penalty to call when two teammates on the St. Paul Saints got in a fight on the ice. Seems the rules don't specifically cover teammates fighting each other. Then there was goalie Gilles Gratton. A believer in reincarnation, among other things, Gratton begged off starting a game because of sore ribs he said resulted from a spear wound he suffered 300 years before.
In another game, he simply left after two periods because he felt he'd faced enough shots. Thanks to Hollywood, though, perhaps the most famous are the Carlson brothers of Minnesota. Not only did they serve as the inspiration for the bespectacled Hanson brothers of Slap Shot fame, two of the three actually played themselves in the movie.
The problem with The Rebel League is there is just too much ground and too many people to cover. Business and financial details compete with personalities and historical developments for both the writer's and the reader's attention. Willes also makes an effort to give each team equal time and its due but that can sacrifice space for other material. Still, the book is a worthwhile excursion into a rebel league that changed the face of professional hockey.
Anyone who might question the impact of the WHA need only look at the NHL today. The WHA and the NHL merged in 1979 and only one original WHA team remains today. That team, the Edmonton Oilers, is playing in this year's Stanley Cup finals.
Article comments
1 - Deano
I also recommend Tropic of Hockey: My Search for the Game in Unlikely Places by Dave Bidini, which looks at hockey played in some of the stranger places int he world...
2 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States. Nice work!