They Don't Play Hockey in Heaven

A Dream, A Team, And My Comeback Season

Ken Baker

Ken Baker wanted nothing more than to play ice hockey with the pros-until a brain tumor cut his dreams short while in college. After surgery and several years of rehab, Baker, who in high school was a top prospect for the U.S. Olympic team, put his successful journalism career on hold to attempt the seemingly impossible: a comeback.

He moved away from his family to become the third-string goalie for the Bakersfield Condors, an AA-level minor-league team in the dusty oil town of Bakersfield, California. At the age of thirty-one, Baker became the oldest rookie in all of pro-hockey, facing 1000-m.p.h. slap shots and long bus rides, hostile fans and cheap motel rooms, body bruises and battle-worn teammates.

From his visit to an NHL training camp to his first nerve-rattled minutes as a pro, Baker joins the rookies who still dream of making it to the Show, the veterans long past their prime, and the obsessive fans who keep them going. There's the coach who tests Baker at every turn; the troubled captain who gets arrested for battery on his wife; the former NHL goon who stages fights out of boredom; and the team's other goalies who eye the newcomer warily knowing there's only room for one of them in the net. Baker's pro-hockey adventure ends up teaching him nearly everything he will ever need to know about life.

Globe Pequot / Lyons Press

Pages: 288 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-59228-605-8 • Paperback • September 2004 • $14.95 • (£11.99)

Subjects: Sports & Recreation / General, Sports & Recreation / Hockey

They Don't Play Hockey in Heaven

A Dream, A Team, And My Comeback Season

Paperback

Summary

Ken Baker wanted nothing more than to play ice hockey with the pros-until a brain tumor cut his dreams short while in college. After surgery and several years of rehab, Baker, who in high school was a top prospect for the U.S. Olympic team, put his successful journalism career on hold to attempt the seemingly impossible: a comeback.

He moved away from his family to become the third-string goalie for the Bakersfield Condors, an AA-level minor-league team in the dusty oil town of Bakersfield, California. At the age of thirty-one, Baker became the oldest rookie in all of pro-hockey, facing 1000-m.p.h. slap shots and long bus rides, hostile fans and cheap motel rooms, body bruises and battle-worn teammates.

From his visit to an NHL training camp to his first nerve-rattled minutes as a pro, Baker joins the rookies who still dream of making it to the Show, the veterans long past their prime, and the obsessive fans who keep them going. There's the coach who tests Baker at every turn; the troubled captain who gets arrested for battery on his wife; the former NHL goon who stages fights out of boredom; and the team's other goalies who eye the newcomer warily knowing there's only room for one of them in the net. Baker's pro-hockey adventure ends up teaching him nearly everything he will ever need to know about life.

Details

Globe Pequot / Lyons Press

Pages: 288 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-59228-605-8 • Paperback • September 2004 • $14.95 • (£11.99)

Subjects: Sports & Recreation / General, Sports & Recreation / Hockey

Author

Ken Baker is the West Coast bureau chief for Us Weekly and his work has appeared in The Washington Post, Premiere, and ESPN the Magazine. A native of Buffalo, New York, Baker is also the author of the critically acclaimed Man Made: A Memoir of My Body. He has all his teeth.

Reviews

"A riveting and often hilarious account."--The Hockey News

"Inspirational...colorful descriptions make this a fun read."--Los Angeles Times

"One of the best sports books of the year."--Booklist

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They Don't Play Hockey in Heaven

A Dream, A Team, And My Comeback Season

Ken Baker

They Don't Play Hockey in Heaven

A Dream, A Team, And My Comeback Season

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