Ken Reid - Hockey Card Stories - True Tales from Your Favourite Players

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KEN REID is an anchor on Sportsnet Connected. He has been a sports fan and a sports card freak for as long as he can remember. He lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife and son. A portion of the authors proceeds from this book will be donated to the Hector Arena Commission in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First off, I would like to express my gratitude to the men I interviewed for this book. Each and every player, from the Hall of Famer to the guy who skated in a single NHL game, was beyond generous with his time. I thank each of you for talking about an old piece of cardboard and often doing it with a fantastic sense of humour. Just like the sport we all love, without the players, this book would not be possible.

Thank you to my editor, Michael Holmes, and everyone at ECW for taking a chance on this project. From the very first day I entered your office, it has been a first-class experience. Michael, I can never say thank you enough for your guidance, professionalism and friendship throughout this entire project. This includes phone calls on the weekend.

How can I even begin to thank my literary agent Brian Wood? You took a chance on what I always thought was a strange idea and here we are. For the record, Brian is a master of the written word; I am not. So Brian, thanks for everything, including the extremely painful initial proofread of this book. As anyone who works with me will tell you, I can spellI just cant type. Brian, I know I drove you nuts, and an infinite supply of cigars would never be enough thanks.

Hey, Momthanks for bringing home that price guide way back when and fuelling my card craze. I am willing to bet that my mom, Marie, has more passion for card collecting than a lot of dudes wandering the aisles at the weekend card show. Thank you, Mom, for always being there, and that has nothing to do with collecting. And yes, my mom still buys me cards. (Pre-1987 only, Mom, please.)

Thanks, Dad, for keeping most of my collection under your roof while my broadcasting career took me across the country. In fact, when I go back to Dads, Im still finding cards. (I told you they were there, boy.)

In order to do this, I had to lean on a lot of people for help. You know, you cant track everyone down using the web alone... So a massive assist goes to Jeff Palm Isle Marek for always lending a hand, and for always being there to hockey geek it up with me at anytime.

Also, huge thanks to Eric Francis, Justin Van Dette, Jason Gregor, Gordie Dwyer, Gair Maxwell, Wayne Mundey, Jim Jerome, Chris Simpson, Kevin Weekes, Brad Marsh, Craig Clarke and countless NHL and minor pro PR people.

There are many others who helped with this project, either with the book itself or just by keeping me amped up as a card geek. So shout outs to Ian Mendes, Sandy MacKay, Lorne MacLean, Craig and Randy Clarke, B and Jean, Scott Woodgate (for giving me the boost to just write), Scott Lewis (who has a great hockey card blog and gets it), Jamie Campbell (another guy who gets cardboard), Evanka Osmak, Terry Ryan, Tim Micallef, Sid Seixeiro, Jeff Azzopardi, Ryan Moynes, Stephen Brunt, Ric Nattress, Bob McCown (Ill be asking for a plug), Doug MacLean, THE HUTCHMAN, Bob Stauffer, Steve Hogle, Peter Reid, Katie Reid (for not tearing up all my cards) and Grant Roberts. Thanks also to hockeydb.com and hockeyfights.com. And to everyone I didnt/forgot to mention: Thank you too.

I also want to express my gratitude to everyone at Sportsnet. It is a great privilege to be able to work for such a fine company. Thank you to Keith Pelley, Scott Moore, Rob Corte, Steve Cassar, all the producers (that includes you George), everyone at the desk, on the floor, in the control room and on the row for letting me play a part in what is a fantastic product. Without all of you and the platform that Sportsnet provides, this book would not be possible.

And most of all, thank you, Ash and Jacoby. Ash, you are the one who always believes in me and the one who always has my back. You tell me when to push and you tell me when to lay off the gas. I know for a fact that I would never have attempted to do this little project without your support. You make me laugh, cry, smile and love.

And to my little man Jacoby, who I am looking at and smiling at right now as I type this. Your laugh and your eyes make my day and make my life. Hopefully one day, you can say, Hey, see this old thing, my old man wrote it.

To Ash and Jacoby