TBC: Fabric Of The Game

Being that I am a hockey fan, I have a bit of a hockey jersey collection that features teams from a number of leagues. Most are customized with names and numbers on the back, but some are not as I have yet to make a commitment on those jerseys. In saying that, though, there's a pile of history and market research that goes into the logos and colours that a lot of people sweep aside because "it looks cool". Today, we dive into the history a little more as Teebz's Book Club is proud to review Fabric of the Game written by Chris Creamer and Todd Radom and published by Sports Publishing. Chris and Todd are big players in the world of sports logos and designs, so getting their takes on 32 NHL teams was something I had to read!

From his bio on the Sports Publishing website, "Chris Creamer is a writer, historian, and world-renowned expert on sports logos and uniforms based in the Toronto area. His passion for logos resulted in the creation of SportsLogos.Net, an ongoing 20+ year project dedicated to the history of team logos and uniforms. He has worked closely with the National Hockey League acting as a historical consultant for their centennial season celebration, written for NHL.com, the Buffalo News, and has been featured or quoted in several publications including The Hockey News, Washington Post, Toronto Star, and Sporting News."

Also from his bio on the Sports Publishing website, "Todd Radom is a graphic designer, sports branding expert, and writer. His work includes the official logos for Super Bowl XXXVIII, the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, the graphic identities of multiple Major League Baseball teams — including the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels — and league and team identity and branding for the BIG3 basketball league. He has provided commentary about sports logos and branding for ESPN, National Public Radio, and the New York Times. In addition, he has been profiled or quoted in numerous publications including the Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, and Sporting News. Radom is the author of Winning Ugly: A Visual History of Baseball's Most Unique Uniforms." Radom also contributed to Paul Lukas' Uni-Watch.

Being that I like jerseys and history, Fabric of the Game seemed like a perfect book for me as those two subjects intersected thanks to the knowledge possessed by authors Creamer and Radom. They delivered in a big way with good chunks of history added for each team, some excellent photographs depicting the logos and jerseys for each team, and other interesting tidbits of information that hockey historians will love. In short, Fabric of the Game delivers nicely on its subtitle of "The Stories Behind the NHL's Names, Logos, and Uniforms".

If there is a quibble, the history-loving side of me wanted more. I know that may not have been possible in order to prevent Fabric of the Game from turning into a set of encyclopedias, but there were small snippets that needed deeper analyses for some of the teams. The authors make reference to Seattle nearly being the landing spot for the Pittsburgh Penguins in their chapter on the Kraken, but that's not explored in any way. HBIC went down that path, but I was hoping for more interesting facts about this topic and others in the book.

Don't let that discourage you from reading Fabric of the Game, though. There are so many good pieces of information contained between the covers that it's worth the read, and the photographs of older NHL jerseys may have you asking why some teams changed designs at all. One of the fun facts that Creamer and Radom included in the book about each team are the names they almost chose, and the Columbus Blue Jackets almost had another name. They write,

"A Name the Team Contest, sponsored by the Central Ohio-based restaurant chain Wendy's, launched in July 1997, with more than ninety Columbus-area restaurants distributing entry blanks. Dave Thomas, the chain's ubiquitous founder and pitchman, watched 'Frostys' according to a Wendy's spokes-person, a joking tribute to their signature frozen dessert."

How funny would that have been has the Blue Jackets debuted as the Columbus Frostys? All jokes aside, the two names that came back from the NHL that were approved were Blue Jackets and Justice, and we know which option the franchise chose. Facts like this are littered throughout the book about team names, logos, and jersey design, making Fabric of the Game a great addition to a hockey fan's library.

Overall, Fabric of the Game has enough information and images on its 280 pages to satiate hockey jersey fans, hockey history fans, and hockey jersey history fans. Creamer and Radom don't go into 100 years of history for the Original Six teams, but they give you enough to understand how the team name was chosen, the designs worn and the history behind them, and how the logos came to be. Again, it's not an encyclopedic look at the teams, but it's a fantastic resource for hockey fans to have at their fingertips. Because of the history, photographs, and information on its pages, Fabric of the Game absolutely is deserving of the the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval!

Fabric of the Game was first printed in November 2020, so you should be able to find copies at libraries and local bookstores. Online retailers also have the book if you're seeking a copy. Everything contained within the book is easy to read without any concerns for parents of younger hockey fans if they were thinking about getting this book for a younger reader. Parents may end up with lots of questions about some of the older hockey topics, but Fabric of the Game is recommended reading for all hockey fans of all ages!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!