In this Book
- Jack Parker's Wiseguys: The National Champion BU Terriers, the Blizzard of ’78, and the Road to the Miracle on Ice
- Book
- 2017
- Published by: University Press of New England
summary
Over the winter of 1977–78, anyone within shouting distance of a two-mile stretch of Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue—from Fenway Park to the trolley curve at Packard’s Corner—found themselves pulled into the orbit of college hockey. The hottest ticket in a sports-mad city was Boston University’s Terriers, a team so tough it was said they didn’t have fans—they took hostages. Eschewing the usual recruiting pools in Canada, Jack Parker and his coaching staff assembled a squad that included three stars from nearby Charlestown, then known as the “armed robbery capital of America.” Jack Parker’s Wiseguys is the story of a high-flying, headline-dominating, national championship squad led by three future stars of the Miracle on Ice, the medal-round game the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team won against the heavily favored Soviet Union. Now retired, Parker is a thoughtful statesman for the sport, a revered figure who held the longest tenure of any coach in Boston sports history. But during the 1977–78 season, he was just five years into his reign—and only a decade or so older than his players. Fiery, mercurial, as tough as any of his tough guys, Parker and his team were to face the pressure-cooker expectations of four previous also-ran seasons, further heightened by barroom brawls, off-the-ice shenanigans, and the citywide shutdown caused by one of the biggest blizzards to ever hit the Northeast. This season was to be Parker’s watershed, a roller-coaster ride of nail-biting victories and unimaginable tragedy, played out in increasingly strident headlines as his team opened the season with an unprecedented twenty-one straight wins. Only the second loss of the year eliminated the Terriers from their league playoffs and possibly from national contention; hours after the game Parker’s wife died from cancer. The story of how the team responded—coming back to win the national championship a week after Parker buried his wife—makes a compelling tale for Boston sports fans and everyone else who feels a thrill of pride at America’s unlikely win over the Soviet national team—a victory forged on Commonwealth Avenue in that bitter, beautiful winter of ’78.
Table of Contents
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- Introduction
- pp. xi-xii
- 1 | Jackie Parker
- pp. 7-17
- 2 | Brian and Jimmy
- pp. 18-25
- 3 | The Education of Mark Fidler
- pp. 26-34
- 4 | The Dugout
- pp. 35-38
- 5 | Finding Themselves
- pp. 39-44
- 6 | Wiseguys
- pp. 45-58
- 7 | Road Trip!
- pp. 59-68
- 8 | The Town
- pp. 69-74
- 10 | Media Darlings
- pp. 80-86
- 11 | North Country
- pp. 87-100
- 12 | The Battle of Commonwealth Avenue
- pp. 101-107
- 13 | The Worcester Heist
- pp. 108-111
- 14 | L’Affaire de Silk
- pp. 112-120
- 15 | The Blizzard of ’78
- pp. 121-133
- 16 | A Fidler Returns to Chestnut Hill
- pp. 134-137
- 17 | Miracle at the Whale
- pp. 138-146
- 18 | Beanpot Brawlers
- pp. 147-155
- 19 | Black Friday
- pp. 156-166
- 20 | Terriers Reboot
- pp. 167-182
- 21 | Slaying the Badger
- pp. 183-198
- Epilogue | The Evolution of Jack Parker
- pp. 215-224
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 225-226
- Boston University 1977–78 Scoring Leaders
- pp. 227-228
Additional Information
ISBN
9781512601657
Related ISBN(s)
9781512601558
MARC Record
OCLC
1019655723
Pages
248
Launched on MUSE
2018-01-18
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2017