Stripped Gears, Retired Generals and Grounded Hawks

[dannynoonan]

Has anyone read this book about IHL hockey in Saginaw by Buzz Sodeman?

I'm currently reading this book right now and was wondering if anyone else has taken the opportunity to purchase and read this book.

I would be willing to right a review if people were interested.

[SaginawGensFan]

I bought it & I am reading it. I love all things hockey history, but probably 90% of the book is just copied from hockeydb.com (stats & whatnot). Something nice to have - the pictures are nice, and the "Updates" on some of the players are nice. But really focused on stats. I'd love to see a book written with a bunch of behind-the-scenes stories, maybe from the coaches, team employees, Civic Center staff, bus drivers, etc. - and maybe even some of the players themselves!

[dannynoonan]

This is my review of the book. Out of 4 stars, I give it 1 ½ stars. Here are the positives and the negatives about the book.

The positives:
I liked the concept. The history of hockey in Saginaw is rich and glorious. The history of professional hockey in the area deserves to be documented.

The photos were nice. It was great seeing some of the players of the past in their uniforms.

The cover design was excellent. I liked how the logos popped off the goalie mask and the orange background.

There were also some nice interviews with legends and what some of the players are currently do was an extremely nice touch. Updating long-time fans with what they’re doing with their life after playing in Saginaw was enjoyable.

The negatives:
A book cannot and should not be written using Wikipedia.com as a primary source. College professors fail students who use Wikipedia.com as a primary source.

The first line in the book is wrong. It says the hockey helmet was introduced in 1974. The hockey helmet was used long before that. In fact the entire Russian team wore helmets during the 1972 Summit Series with Canada.

There are a lot of basic spelling errors in this book. Things like Pittsburgh being spelled wrong. Calling the Spirit, Spirits.

I didn’t understand why things were included not pertaining to hockey in Saginaw. Stories about various fights in the NHL and the Lokomotiv Team plane crash in Russia that killed the entire were included.

Overall I was really disappointed in the book. There was so much potential that could have been touched on. The amount of errors really bothered me. And they were preventable errors.

I also think too much was focused on the fighting aspect of the game. Yes in the 1970’s you expected bench clearing brawls and lots of fights. But there was so much more to the game.   Give me some behind the scenes stories with various people involved with the Gears, Generals or Hawks.

I was really excited to learn that this subject had been written about. Buzz Sodeman if you read this I respect the fact that you chose to tackle a portion of the history of hockey in Saginaw.

[3ssmc3]

As the author of the Stripped Gears book I would like to respond to the comments made by Danny Noonan and SaginawGensfan.  First I would like to say "Thank You" for purchasing my book.90% of the book WAS NOT copied from hockeydb, what I was attempting to do was give the old Saginaw hockey fans (that would be unaware of such a database) information on the players that passed through Saginaw and either what happened to them and where they played after leaving Saginaw.  The tale of the tape was issued because there never was in any program a listing of that information, that information usually surfaced with the end of the year photo book put out by the team (which is where some of that information was obtained.  The IS NOT focused on stats it is focused on the players and some of the incidents that happened during games (games that I attended as a season ticket holder, as well as, a photographer.)  This book was in the works or at least in my computer for 12-15 years, those teams have been defunct for 30-40+ years so it would have been impossible to get "behind the scenes" stories.  Maybe that could have been accomplished if those teams still existed.  I would not ever discuss the "behind the scenes" information that I acquired as a confident of the many relationships that I developed with the players.  Obviously, SaginawGens fan lives in a fantasy world and I would challenge him to find those other staff that he listed if he were writing a book on the Flint Generals.  The UPDATES DID COME from most of the players themselves as I called every player or emailed every player about the book.

Now lets look at what Danny Noonan had to say.  Thank you for the positives, the pictures are either ones that I took or that were given to me by the players.  I designed the cover.  This IS NOT A WIKIPEDIA-based book.  I
Like I said I called and talked to players, the ones that I could find a phone number or email for.  I would have to check on the opening statement about helmets (that was an anonymous quote) but actually helmets were in use, however limited as far back as the 50's.  I believe that the NHL started to mandate the use of helmets in 1974, hence that statement is not incorrect.  Yes, the Russians did have them in the '72 Summit but European hockey mandated the use helmets well before the NHL did.  There may be one or two misspelled words but I had a very reliable non-hockey fan proofread and I use spell check religiously I also learned from many authors that they will misspell a word on purpose to make sure that readers are reading the book.  Pittsburgh is spelled correctly throughout the book and if this spelling is wrong then there are thousands, no millions, of hockey cards that have the same misspelling. I usually always put an "s' after a team because they are just that a team and that particular player was a part of that team.  Not only was the book centered on the teams in Saginaw but I threw in the various articles as a sort of history of what was going on during these times (I am also a fan of goalies and enforcers, as well as, fighting - yes I'm one of those hockey purists like Mickey Redmond that feels that fighting plays a part in the game.)  I had acquaintances that I made while living in Nevada that perished on that Russian flight and it was a memorial to those that died.  You can be disappointed, for every disappointed fan there are five that aren't disappointed.  Unless you are an English or communication prof I doubt the validity of your claims about all the errors.  Because you both feel that "behind the scenes" are needed let me challenge you both.  Author a book on the World Hockey Association and try and get all the information that you two expect and see where that gets you.  I also allow people who purchase the book at a signing to review the book before purchase to see if it is something they want to invest $25 in, so far those that have looked have purchased it.  It doesn't cost anything to look at the book.  More importantly, as pointed out at my last signing at the Howe Memorial library in Breckenridge, is the real reason that I wrote the book - TO HELP ME DEAL WITH THE PTSD THAT CONTINUES TO HAUNT ME AFTER SERVING IN VIETNAM.  This isn't my first book, it's my fourth.  Thank you for your comments, even though I disagree with most I do respect your opinion.

[SaginawGensFan]

Mr. Sodeman, first of all let me start by saying that I was never "attacking" you, just giving my opinion on a topic that was brought up. To touch on what you directed towards me, let me start by saying first that I LIKE THE BOOK! I have read it & am actually going through it again re-reading parts. It brought back a lot of memories from my childhood (born in '73).

Regarding the stats & my hockeydb.com comment... looking back at it, I could have written that differently & made it sound less harsh, I guess. I think what I was trying to say was that those stats are all available on hockeydb.com. I shouldn't have implied that you copied the stats from there, just that they are available there. You make a GREAT point (one that I would not have thought of without you pointing out), that there is a generation of fans who were big Gears fans who do not really use the internet or computers, and hence would not even know what hockeydb.com was or how to use the site. So that makes sense as to why all the stats.

Regarding my want for a book with more "behind the scenes" stuff, I was not making that comment towards you or your book, just a "in general" statement, that I would love to see a book done - by someone (ANYONE) - that does contain more of these type of stories. So again, NOT a shot at YOU.

Now where I do take offense to what you said, was the personal shot that "Obviously, SaginawGens fan lives in a fantasy world and I would challenge him to find those other staff that he listed if he were writing a book on the Flint Generals." First of all, no fantasy world here. I never claimed to be a writer, and don't intend to be one. And again, the statement about the behind the scenes stuff wasn't directed at you. It was a comment on something I would love to see. How that makes me "living in a fantasy world" I don't know. Just felt that was a bit of a cheap shot.

Regarding your reason for doing the book, let me say THANK YOU. Thank you for serving our country, and I am sorry about the PTSD that you have to deal with. My dad's cousin (who was more like an uncle to me - who I am very close with) was in the Marines & fought in Vietnam as well, and suffers from PTSD as well. It is not fair, and not enough people understand what our veterans go through. So know that I appreciate what you did for our country.

So to put a wrap on this, I have no ill will toward you - I don't even know you. My comments weren't meant to be as much a negative towards you & your book as it was a comment on what I'd like to see from a book about our local hockey history - not necessarily from you, but from ANYONE who would write it. I appreciate that you wrote the book & published it for all of us fans. It was well worth the $25 & I would recommend that all Saginaw hockey fans pick it up (got mine on Amazon) & read about our hockey history. My original post should have been more like dannynoonan's, listing the PRO's with the CON's. I will end this with a positive - my absolute favorite part of the book was reading about what life after hockey brought for many of our former players. That is something I have always wondered about! You forget that many of these guys were career minor leaguers, making little money & working summer jobs just to survive, They weren't millionaire players who retired on their earnings. So again, thanks for the book! Just try not to take the critiquing too personal (which I know is hard because I am sure that you feel like the book is an extension of yourself).

[ricardo]

Someone should interview Rosie and write a book about his career. He has lots of good stories to tell if you get a chance to talk to him at a game.

[3ssmc3]

Well, I'm extremely pleased that all this is cleared up.  I appreciate your response and can only look forward to clearing the air with this Noonan individual.  I started writing this book when I was in my mid 50's, already facing some memory loss, I am now 69 years of age, probably the same age of those Gears fans that would buy the book (I guess that Richard Garber was right when he said "go ahead and print the book, most of the people back then are dead."  12-15 of writing almost makes this book one of my children and that's why I felt personally attacked.  Yes, it may be conceived as a "cheap shot" for which I'm not proud of and like you I probably could have worded it much different.  I guess I have the most problem with DannyNoonan because so much of what he wrote is so untrue.  I think it would be very interesting to meet with you and thoroughly discuss the book, like maybe in a more public forum.  There are some things which I would have known before the book went tp print like the fact that Stu Irving was a Vietnam veteran, that Victor Posa is an inventor and that Rosie and Westie put together money to purchase a Turner Cup Championship ring for Jean Marie Nicol.  The real proble that I have with this book is promoting it, I no longer live in Saginaw and where I live isn't exactly a hot bed for Saginaw hockey.  Again, I'm pleased with your response and I'm glad that this discourse took place.

[dannynoonan]

Dear Mr. Sodeman,

I want to begin with saying I'm sorry for the loss of your acquaintances that died in the Lokomotiv plane crash. Having watched some of those players and read about others that died in that plane crash, I felt terrible for their friends and families. In my opinion, that was a very preventable tragedy. I don't know if you know this but during the 2011-12 season, Saginaw Spirit left winger Vadim Khlopotov a player from Russian, wore a sticker on the back of his helmet honoring the players who died in the Lokomotiv plane crash.

I also want to thank you for your service to our great country.

I would also like to say that I respect your work in writing a book about the early history of hockey in Saginaw. I know it is tough trying to find information from 30-40 years ago. But if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

I'm sorry if my review offended you. It wasn't intended that way. There are things like the pictures and what players are doing now, that I really liked.

Good luck in your book tour around the state and on your future projects.

[3ssmc3]

Thank you Mr. Noonan.  I do have to admit that I was offended by your post and it really stung but everything is cool.