'67: The Maple Leafs: Their Sensational Victory and the End of an Empire

Review
"Hockey fans should want to read this book just as much as Leaf fans. It takes you inside the great history of the Leafs—right inside. From Johnny Bower’s contract negotiations to everything that was happening behind the scenes, I enjoyed this book so much. It’s fascinating stuff."

John Davidson, MSG Network and Hockey Night in Canada

"Cox and Stellick may not always have mainstream opinions, but their respective abilities to present a case are abundantly clear in this work. Their candor will strike a nerve with many, and this book will be a must read for hockey fans everywhere."

Bobby Orr

"Gord and Damien give an excellent insight into the last Leaf team to win a Stanley Cup championship. I lived part of it, but I realize that the legacy of the Leafs is for everybody. The most enduring legacy continues to be the unwavering support of all loyal Leaf fans."

Darryl Sittler

"I enjoyed reading '67. It certainly brought back many memories. Reliving that great series and the year 1967 was most exciting and emotional. I believe most fans who read it will also enjoy reliving that series."

Johnny Bower

"Gord and Damien have done an excellent job capturing the story of the Leafs’ 1967 Stanley Cup win. It brought back fabulous memories of the best time to be an NHL player in Toronto. A must read for any hockey fan."

Bob Baun

 

Book Description
"Hockey fans should want to read this book just as much as Leaf fans. It takes you inside the great history of the Leafs—right inside. From Johnny Bower’s contract negotiations to everything that was happening behind the scenes, I enjoyed this book so much. It’s fascinating stuff."

—John Davidson, MSG Network and Hockey Night in Canada

"Cox and Stellick may not always have mainstream opinions, but their respective abilities to present a case are abundantly clear in this work. Their candor will strike a nerve with many, and this book will be a must read for hockey fans everywhere."

—Bobby Orr

"Gord and Damien give an excellent insight into the last Leaf team to win a Stanley Cup championship. I lived part of it, but I realize that the legacy of the Leafs is for everybody. The most enduring legacy continues to be the unwavering support of all loyal Leaf fans."

—Darryl Sittler

"I enjoyed reading '67. It certainly brought back many memories. Reliving that great series and the year 1967 was most exciting and emotional. I believe most fans who read it will also enjoy reliving that series."

—Johnny Bower

"Gord and Damien have done an excellent job capturing the story of the Leafs’ 1967 Stanley Cup win. It brought back fabulous memories of the best time to be an NHL player in Toronto. A must read for any hockey fan."

—Bob Baun

From the Inside Flap
IT WAS THE LAST GASP OF A HOCKEY EMPIRE. Amidst the dying embers of the Original Six, the Toronto Maple Leafs combined a collection of fading veterans with a sprinkling of untested youngsters to surprise the hockey world and capture the 1967 Stanley Cup.

It was a team layered with complicated, sometimes frail characters, from loveable Johnny Bower to cerebral Brian Conacher; from sensitive Frank Mahovlich to Allan Stanley, a childhood pal of tragic Bill Barilko; from Jim Pappin, who led the team in scoring that unforgettable spring but was quickly cast aside, to Dave Keon, a true believer who gradually became bitterly alienated from the team.

The reflected glory of the Cup also concealed a great deal. Harold Ballard was beginning the process of ripping Maple Leaf Gardens from the hands of the Smythe clan and committing crimes that would lead him to jail. The seeds of what would become a lurid pedophile scandal were being planted. Personal feuds that last to today were being formed. Tim Horton was en route to becoming both a Canadian business icon and a tragic footnote to Leaf history.

Award-winning Toronto Star journalist Damien Cox and former Leaf general manager Gord Stellick tell the story of this unique team. About more than just hockey, this is a story about a time and a place when change in both society and sport was at hand. It examines the heroes and the myths and offers a new look at the contradictions, the legends, the shame and the glory of ’67.

From the Back Cover
"Hockey fans should want to read this book just as much as Leaf fans. It takes you inside the great history of the Leafs—right inside. From Johnny Bower’s contract negotiations to everything that was happening behind the scenes, I enjoyed this book so much. It’s fascinating stuff."

—John Davidson, MSG Network and Hockey Night in Canada

"Cox and Stellick may not always have mainstream opinions, but their respective abilities to present a case are abundantly clear in this work. Their candor will strike a nerve with many, and this book will be a must read for hockey fans everywhere."

—Bobby Orr

"Gord and Damien give an excellent insight into the last Leaf team to win a Stanley Cup championship. I lived part of it, but I realize that the legacy of the Leafs is for everybody. The most enduring legacy continues to be the unwavering support of all loyal Leaf fans."

—Darryl Sittler

"I enjoyed reading '67. It certainly brought back many memories. Reliving that great series and the year 1967 was most exciting and emotional. I believe most fans who read it will also enjoy reliving that series."

—Johnny Bower

"Gord and Damien have done an excellent job capturing the story of the Leafs’ 1967 Stanley Cup win. It brought back fabulous memories of the best time to be an NHL player in Toronto. A must read for any hockey fan."

—Bob Baun

About the Author
Damien Cox is a sports columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest newspaper. He has covered the Toronto Maple Leafs for over 15 years, and has covered the 1996 and 2000 Winter Olympics, as well as other international hockey events. He won a National Newspaper Award for a series on hockey development in 1998. Cox has also worked extensively in radio and television in the past decade and has been a frequent contributor to The Hockey News and ESPN.com, among other publications and media outlets. For three years, he was co-host of "Prime Time Sports," heard daily on the FAN590 in Toronto, and on the Rogers radio network across Canada. He also appears weekly on TSN’s "The Reporters." Cox has been named three times to The Hockey News’ "100 People of Power and Influence in Hockey."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In 1967 the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in a stunning defeat of the mighty Montreal Canadiens in Canada's centennial year. Thirty-six years later (and counting), no other Leaf team has been able to do it again. As the years pass, the legend grows. The men who were the Leafs in 1967--a scrappy group of aging players and unsung youngsters--were the kings of this universe, the last hockey heroes to skate in the world's most important hockey city. They were the men with the right stuff who enjoyed the perks and privileges that went with it.

Sixty-Seven will not be just another hockey book about that legendary team, but a unique and total look at the contradictions, the legends, the shame and the glory of '67. Within five years of that '67 victory, two key members of the team, Tim Horton and Terry Sawchuk, would be dead due to alcohol and drug-related issues. The man who had succeeded Smythe as King of Carlton Street, Harold Ballard, was in jail. The seeds of what would become a horrifying pedophile scandal a quarter-century later were being planted. All that had been built up over the course of decades was in the process of being torn down.