Canadian Sports Stories

The first book of its kind in Canada!

The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat AS TOLD by Canada’s greatest storytellers!
26 exceptionally crafted stories! Hockey, baseball, football, basketball, swimming, diving, rowing, fishing, tennis, boxing, extreme sports, and more…

Exciting, inspiring, shocking, moving, this anthology collects a wide range of Canada’s literary imaginations, telling great stories about the wild and fascinating world of sport: classics like Roch Carrier’s “The Hockey Sweater,” Morley Callaghan’s “The Chisler,” W.P. Kinsella’s “Diehard,” and Mordecai Richler’s “Playing Ball on Hampstead Heath” are presented alongside contemporary favourites such as Dionne Brand’s “I Used to Like the Dallas Cowboys,” Linda Griffiths’ “A Game of Inches,” Steven Heighton’s “A Right Like Yours,” and Diane Schoemper-len’s “Hockey Night in Canada.”

Critically acclaimed novelist and poet Priscila Uppal has selected 26 remarkable and memorable “homegrown” Canadian short stories, spanning the 19th century through the present day. Written by both men and women, the generations of insights provided in this collection expose some of the most intimate details of sports and sporting life – the hard-earned victories, and the sometimes inevitable tragedies. You will get to know those who play the game, as well as those who watch it, coach it, write about it, dream about it, live and die by it.

And, fitting this salute to our favourite pasttimes, the book features on the cover Charlie Pachter’s iconic image of “Moose on Diving Board” – our writers have taken the plunge, and we know the readers won’t be able to resist diving in!

A perfect gift for any sports lover. And a great addition to any Canadian literature library. This book will change the way you see and think about sports.

Which story will become your favourite?
Among this wonderful selection, we’re sure it will be nearly impossible to choose.

Memorable Story Excerpts

“On the ice, when the referee blew his whistle the two teams would rush at the puck; we were five Maurice Richards taking it away from five other Maurice Richards; we were ten players, all of us wearing with the same blazing enthusiasm the uniform of the Montreal Canadiens. On our backs, we all wore the famous number 9.” —Roch Carrier “The Hockey Sweater”

“It can be as tempting to hit a face that attracts you as to hit one you hate, if the liked face is not replying to your attraction. At the Friday night workout we spar three rounds and he again pulls his punches but not too much now…He avoids hitting me in the chest guard, though. Breast shots really kill so I guess I could see this as a sign of budding affection, though I realize it might just be courtesy.” —Steven Heighton “A Right Like Yours”

“The Cowboys shone, the Dallas sun glancing off their helmets. They weren’t like other football teams. They were sleek where the others were rough; they were swift where the others were plodding; they were scientific where the others were ploughboys; they were precise where the others were clumsy mudwaders; they were slim, slender where the others were hulking, brutish.” —Dionne Brand “I Used to Like the Dallas Cowboys”

“So there they were, out on the grass chasing fly balls on a Sunday morning, short men, overpaid and unprincipled, all well within the coronary and lung cancer belt, allowing themselves to look ridiculous in the hope of pleasing their new young wives and girlfriends.”—Mordecai Richler “Playing Ball on Hampstead Heath”

Featured Authors:

Clarke Blaise ~ George Bowering ~ Dionne Brand ~ Barry Callaghan
Morley Callaghan ~ Roch Carrier ~ Matt Cohen ~ Craig Davidson ~ Brian Fawcett
Katherine Govier ~ Linda Griffiths ~ Steven Heighton ~ Mark Jarman ~ W.P. Kinsella
Stephen Leacock ~ Barry Milliken ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery ~ Susanna Moodie
Lisa Moore ~ Margaret Pigeon ~ Mordecai Richler ~ Diane Schoemperlen
Rudy Thauberger ~ Priscila Uppal ~ Guy Vanderhaeghe ~ Jordan Wheeler