Between 1915 to 1940, the Edmonton Commercial Graduates Basketball Club ("the Grads") went from a small-city, girl's high school team to world champs with an unparalleled winning record. Sports journalist Richard Brignall tells the story of this talented upstart team, whose sportsmanship and unwavering determination inspired generations of female athletes. [Fry Reading Level - 4.6
This is a history of black major league baseball players and the crumbling of the colour barrier in sport, and the story of how Fergie Jenkins rose to the top to become Canada's first inductee into the American Baseball Hall of Fame. Fergie Jenkins grew up in the era when Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play major league baseball, and Willie O'Ree became the first black NHL player. Inspired by these professional athletes, and with doors now opening for young men like himself, Fergie went on to have a remarkable career in major league baseball. Former sports journalist Richard Brignall traces the ups and downs in Fergie's career, from his humble roots in Chatham, Ontario, to his time with the Phillies, the Cubs, the Red Sox, and the Rangers. Along the way, Brignall examines what it meant for a man to be black in the United States versus Canada in the 1960s and 70s.
George Chuvalo only wanted one thing: to become a boxer. When Chuvalo stepped into the ring, he was fearless. In ninety-three professional fights between 1956 and 1979, boxing everyone from George Foreman to Muhammad Ali, he was never once knocked out. But this heavyweight boxing legend never had it easy. After losing many loved ones to drugs, Chuvalo has also become a role model out of the ring by speaking out and fighting against addiction. [Fry Reading Level - 4.8
Lionel Conacher excelled at football, hockey, baseball, boxing, wrestling, and lacrosse. He taught himself how to play and he worked hard, and it paid off. He supported his struggling family, never giving up or letting people down. He was given the nickname Big Train because he was unstoppable on the football field when he ran through the opposition. In 1921 Conacher joined the Toronto Argonauts, and in 1926 he played professional baseball for the Toronto Maple Leafs. After retiring from sports, Conacher was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1949. Richard Brignall tells this fascinating story of the man who could do it all.
Chosen as one of Resource Links' Year's Best for 2011 From Crosby's winning goal at the 2010 Winter Games to Henderson's awesome goal in the 72 Summit Series, Canada's greatest hockey moments go hand in hand with how we see our place in the world.
Normie Kwong's parents immigrated to Canada from China in the early 1900s. For them, and many other Asian immigrants, moving meant having to face both the government's anti-Asian policies and society's attitude of Chinese exclusion. But Normie overcame it all and, despite his small stature, in 1948 he became the youngest footballer ever to play in a Grey Cup game. Nicknamed the "China Clipper" as a nod to both his Chinese heritage and his record-setting speed on the football field, Kwong went on to become a hero and popular sports role model for generations of football fans in the West. After retiring from football, Kwong entered politics and was later appointed Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. [Fry Reading Level - 4.9
Clara Hughes has won multiple medals in both summer and winter Olympic Games. As a cyclist and speed skater, Clara pushed through pain to get to the finish line, trying to have her best race every day. Few knew that the same determination and focus were also needed to fight her own personal battles. Abusing drugs and alcohol from her early teens, Clara used sport to turn her life around in a few short months. But after becoming one of the world's top athletes, her world came apart as her depression threatened to rob her of her Olympic dreams. Clara's inspiring story does not end with winning gold. Using her fame as a platform, she has devoted time and resources to helping children gain access to sports in the world's most troubled regions. And she has become a symbol of the fight to remove the stigma from mental illness by cycling thousands of kilometres in all kinds of weather to raise awareness. Clara is a remarkable athlete, but it is her strength and courage off the track that have made her a true champion.
On the night of June 23, 1990, teenage friends Kyle Unger and John Beckett made a last-minute decision to attend a music festival near Roseisle, Manitoba. They were loners, not the popular kids at school. But on this night they seemed to finally fit in. They had fun, played games, drank, and hung around bonfires with other people. The next morning, a sixteen-year-old girl was dead. By the next week, Kyle was charged with her murder. Due to insufficient evidence he was let go, but the Mounties were convinced he was the killer. They laid a trap, called the Mr. Big operation, for Kyle. With offers of money, friends, and a new criminal lifestyle, the RCMP got Kyle to confess to the murder. But the confession was false -- he had not been the killer. He was convicted and sent to prison. For the next twenty years Kyle fought for his freedom. He was finally acquitted in 2009. This book tells the story of an impressionable but innocent teenager who was wrongfully convicted based on the controversial Mr. Big police tactic. [Fry reading level - 4.9
How did the Kenora Thistles become, against all odds, the smallest team and the smallest town ever to win the Stanley Cup? This famously scrappy hockey team was founded in the rough and tumble town of Kenora, Ontario, at the end of the 19th century. A decade later, playing far away from home, in Montreal, the fiery teenagers whom the Montreal Star dubbed "the fastest that have ever been seen anywhere on ice" out-skated and out-played their older, more experienced opponents to win the coveted hockey championship trophy. Sports novelist John Danakas and journalist Richard Brignall team up to tell the true story of the ultimate underdogs in this a little-known chapter from Canadian sports history. [Fry Reading Level - 4.5
This is a history of black major league baseball players and the crumbling of the colour barrier in sport, and the story of how Fergie Jenkins rose to the top to become Canada's first inductee into the American Baseball Hall of Fame. Fergie Jenkins grew up in the era when Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play major league baseball, and Willie O'Ree became the first black NHL player. Inspired by these professional athletes, and with doors now opening for young men like himself, Fergie went on to have a remarkable career in major league baseball. Former sports journalist Richard Brignall traces the ups and downs in Fergie's career, from his humble roots in Chatham, Ontario, to his time with the Phillies, the Cubs, the Red Sox, and the Rangers. Along the way, Brignall examines what it meant for a man to be black in the United States versus Canada in the 1960s and 70s.
Lionel Conacher excelled at football, hockey, baseball, boxing, wrestling, and lacrosse. He taught himself how to play and he worked hard, and it paid off. He supported his struggling family, never giving up or letting people down. He was given the nickname Big Train because he was unstoppable on the football field when he ran through the opposition. In 1921 Conacher joined the Toronto Argonauts, and in 1926 he played professional baseball for the Toronto Maple Leafs. After retiring from sports, Conacher was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1949. Richard Brignall tells this fascinating story of the man who could do it all.
Presents the history of Canada's hockey team up until 1972 when the Summit Series was held against Soviet Russia, and includes information on the key plays and players of the series.
How did the Kenora Thistles become, against all odds, the smallest team and the smallest town ever to win the Stanley Cup? This famously scrappy hockey team was founded in the rough and tumble town of Kenora, Ontario, at the end of the 19th century. A decade later, playing far away from home, in Montreal, the fiery teenagers whom the Montreal Star dubbed "the fastest that have ever been seen anywhere on ice" out-skated and out-played their older, more experienced opponents to win the coveted hockey championship trophy. Sports novelist John Danakas and journalist Richard Brignall team up to tell the true story of the ultimate underdogs in this a little-known chapter from Canadian sports history. [Fry Reading Level - 4.5
Normie Kwong's parents immigrated to Canada from China in the early 1900s. For them, and many other Asian immigrants, moving meant having to face both the government's anti-Asian policies and society's attitude of Chinese exclusion. But Normie overcame it all and, despite his small stature, in 1948 he became the youngest footballer ever to play in a Grey Cup game. Nicknamed the "China Clipper" as a nod to both his Chinese heritage and his record-setting speed on the football field, Kwong went on to become a hero and popular sports role model for generations of football fans in the West. After retiring from football, Kwong entered politics and was later appointed Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. [Fry Reading Level - 4.9
George Chuvalo only wanted one thing: to become a boxer. When Chuvalo stepped into the ring, he was fearless. In ninety-three professional fights between 1956 and 1979, boxing everyone from George Foreman to Muhammad Ali, he was never once knocked out. But this heavyweight boxing legend never had it easy. After losing many loved ones to drugs, Chuvalo has also become a role model out of the ring by speaking out and fighting against addiction. [Fry Reading Level - 4.8
On the night of June 23, 1990, teenage friends Kyle Unger and John Beckett made a last-minute decision to attend a music festival near Roseisle, Manitoba. They were loners, not the popular kids at school. But on this night they seemed to finally fit in. They had fun, played games, drank, and hung around bonfires with other people. The next morning, a sixteen-year-old girl was dead. By the next week, Kyle was charged with her murder. Due to insufficient evidence he was let go, but the Mounties were convinced he was the killer. They laid a trap, called the Mr. Big operation, for Kyle. With offers of money, friends, and a new criminal lifestyle, the RCMP got Kyle to confess to the murder. But the confession was false -- he had not been the killer. He was convicted and sent to prison. For the next twenty years Kyle fought for his freedom. He was finally acquitted in 2009. This book tells the story of an impressionable but innocent teenager who was wrongfully convicted based on the controversial Mr. Big police tactic. [Fry reading level - 4.9
Between 1915 to 1940, the Edmonton Commercial Graduates Basketball Club ("the Grads") went from a small-city, girl's high school team to world champs with an unparalleled winning record. Sports journalist Richard Brignall tells the story of this talented upstart team, whose sportsmanship and unwavering determination inspired generations of female athletes. [Fry Reading Level - 4.6
Clara Hughes has won multiple medals in both summer and winter Olympic Games. As a cyclist and speed skater, Clara pushed through pain to get to the finish line, trying to have her best race every day. Few knew that the same determination and focus were also needed to fight her own personal battles. Abusing drugs and alcohol from her early teens, Clara used sport to turn her life around in a few short months. But after becoming one of the world's top athletes, her world came apart as her depression threatened to rob her of her Olympic dreams. Clara's inspiring story does not end with winning gold. Using her fame as a platform, she has devoted time and resources to helping children gain access to sports in the world's most troubled regions. And she has become a symbol of the fight to remove the stigma from mental illness by cycling thousands of kilometres in all kinds of weather to raise awareness. Clara is a remarkable athlete, but it is her strength and courage off the track that have made her a true champion.
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