On October 18, 1974, the Kalamazoo Wings
played their inaugural International Hockey League game.
Through a number of freaky events, I got to know the team's then general manager and coach,
and thought it would be interesting to write
a book about playing minor league hockey. I travelled with
the team over two seasons and took notes, including notes
in cartoon form, which appear in the following pages.
For you devout hockey fans, you will remember
the film, Slapshot, starring Paul
Newman. The writer of that film, Nancy Dowd, is the sister
of Ned Dowd, the first Kalamazoo Wing to score a goal. Ironically,
when Slapshot came out it was
promoted as a bitter satire, but those of us with some inside
knowledge of professional hockey considered it more of a
documentary.
Trivia: Ned Dowd played Ogie Oglethorpe
in his sister's film. Enjoy the toons.
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