Early Hockey Book Just Published

For those of you interested in the very first years of professional hockey (Newsey Lalonde, Joe Hall, Cyclone Taylor, et al) I just published a book about my Grandfather, Barney Holden, who played in the IHL from 1904-1907. He then went on to play for other pro teams in Canada, retiring in 1912. OK, it's shameless self-promotion. But if you are interested, go to barnesandnoble.com and enter "Cross Check!"

That's very nice of you to make an article about your grandfather :)

OK, it's shameless self-promotion.

Well, it's about hockey history.

Self promotion be damned, I'll take a look.

Yes, it was a fun project. The book isn't too long, about 110 pages, and the price is right....about $10.00. I worked with some hockey researchers and statisticians from the U.S. and Canada, and tried as best I could to recreate his career. I then added family stories and various anecdotes. My father (Barney's youngest son) died in 1986, but I was able to get a little info from him before he passed, as well as from his oldest brother (before he passed in 1990). Much of the info comes from an old, tattered scrapbook, plus various newspaper articles I collected over the years. Several of my older cousins, who remembered Barney, gave me some great stuff as well. I really did this for my kids...a sort of "family record" thing.

In relation to the topic, I was browsing this website (http://www.cchockeyhistory.org/FirstPortageLakeTeams.htm). It appears Barney Holden played with Fred Cyclone Taylor and Joe Hall, two of the great players of their era. It sounds like Portage Lakes had a heckuva team.