TMC: Only The Dead Know The Brooklyn Americans

As you may know if you following this blog is that I love hockey history. If those who don't know history are condemned to repeat it, I'd like to think I have enough knowledge of old-time hockey that I wouldn't fall down the same rabbits holes that some of the past hockey people have. In saying that, my love of hockey history falls into Teebz's Movie Club today as TMC is proud to review Only the Dead Know the Brooklyn Americans, directed by Dale Morrisey. If you don't know the history of the original seventh team of the NHL, this Larry King-narrated documentary might be the perfect film for you to dive into the story of the Americans, how they were founded, which team moved to become the Americans, and much, much more!

The 2017 film features a ton of hockey historians who weave through the history of the early NHL to the identification of the ownership icons who would bring the Americans to Brooklyn to the last days of hockey in Brooklyn until the New York Islanders moved into the borough. Names like Stan Fischler, J. Andrew Ross, Eric Zweig, and Sam Wesley cobble together the history of this team while looking at the circumstances that led to the rise and fall of Americans.

Only the Dead Know the Brooklyn Americans tells the story of the rise of Bill Dwyer as one of New York's more wealthy people thanks to his illegal bootlegging of alcohol to the bad deal he signed with Madison Square Garden owner Tex Rickard. The first Americans game on December 15, 1925 is highlighted along with Bill Dwyer's absence from the game due to him being arrested as the head of the bootlegging ring under a charge of bribery.

The insanity of some of the stuff that's discussed in Only the Dead Know the Brooklyn Americans proves that the old days of the NHL were a bit of a "wild west" when it came to player and management struggles, management and ownership struggles, team and arena struggles, and team and league struggles. With all of these various problems in the works along with a lackluster record of the team, the New York Americans' history seemed doomed from the start.

The documentary features many old photos of players and moments and video highlights of the Americans, and I found this to be fascinating since I had never seen some of these moments in history. Along with the history of the team and the NHL at that time, Only the Dead Know the Brooklyn Americans does a good job in highlighting what was happening in society in those times as we get a better idea about the outside influences that affected the Americans and the NHL as well.

While the Americans played in Madison Square Garden during their sixteen-year run in the NHL, it should be noted they never once played in the Brooklyn borough proper. It was also noted in Only the Dead Know the Brooklyn Americans that Bill Dwyer's empire was collapsing after the United States passed the 18th Amendment, and his attempts to merge with the failing Ottawa Senators was voted down by governors. Dwyer's empire was crumbling, and the Americans suffered because of it.

I found this documentary to be very revealing as I personally didn't know a lot of the information disseminated in Only the Dead Know the Brooklyn Americans. With this team's existence being a century ago, there aren't a lot of places where one can find troves of information on the Americans online. Having a great documentary like Only the Dead Know the Brooklyn Americans brings the history of one of the NHL's most colorful teams back to life.

If you're into hockey history, Only the Dead Know the Brooklyn Americans is definitely for you. The images and videos are excellent, the information is fantastic, and I know I learned something about the Americans so all three checkboxes are covered. Check it out if you can and absorb as much as you can about the New York Americans in Only the Dead Know the Brooklyn Americans!

Teebz's Rating: ★★★★☆



Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!