It's to realize why a book by Ken Morrow might be of interest to hockey fans. After all, he had about three of the greatest months in hockey history.
Morrow became nationally known as one of the members of the United States hockey team in 1980. You might have heard of the Miracle of Lake Placid. That team instantly became celebrated, and - as we might have guessed - the memories of a group of mostly college kids winning the gold medal will be cherished for a lifetime. That applies to those who merely watched in the stands or on television.
Morrow was a member of that team, and he's one of the most recognized players outside of the stars like Mike Eruzione and Jim Craig. The reason is that he was the only player to wear a beard. It's not easy for a defensive defenseman to stand out otherwise.
From there, Morrow took less than a week off, and reported to duty with the New York Islanders. Those were the Islanders who had established a reputation at that point as "Tomorrow's Champions." They had spent most of the late 1970s as a contender, but the Montreal Canadiens of that era weren't about to let anyone else take the Stanley Cup home during that era. However, the Canadiens had slipped due to departures in 1980, and the league was ripe for a new champion.
Morrow was a good-sized addition to the Islanders, who were happy to have another steady defenseman on the roster. They made some other key acquisitions in that season, and went on to win their first championship in 1980. In other words, Morrow had won a gold medal and a Stanley Cup in three months.
That time period serves as the centerpiece for Morrow's book, "Miracle Gold, Four Stanley Cups, and a Lifetime of Islanders Hockey." (There aren't many titles on this website that can match that one for length.) While it's nice to read Morrow's perspective on some history-making events, his version is on the thin side.
Morrow grew up in the Flint, Michigan, area and quickly began a love affair with hockey. It led him to Bowling Green, where he helped that college program achieve some national recognition - including an appearance at the Frozen Four. The Falcons didn't win it all, but they did have plenty of talent. Morrow's teammates included future NHLers Mike Liut, George McPhee and Brian MacLellan.
Then came 1979, and Morrow already had decided to try out for the U.S. Olympic team that summer. He knew that making the team was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and might help him - a fourth-round draft choice of the Islanders - in a possible professional career. Morrow made the team, and he was off on a long ride. Ken added three more Stanley Cups to his trophy case - making it four in a row - and played until knee injuries ended his career in 1989. (He hadn't been able to play more than 70 games in a season after 1982-83).
That all has the makings of a quite respectable book, but something got lost in the translation. Morrow comes across as a very nice guy who has good thoughts about just about everyone he encountered. The descriptions of people he's encountered along the way come off as rather dry and one-dimensional. Later on, the chapters on the Islanders' championships are basic recaps of games with occasional comments thrown in. It's a difficult assignment to make such descriptions interesting, particularly 40-plus years later. It was odd, too, that Morrow's time as the Islanders' director of pro scouting (since 1992) was more or less ignored.
Morrow and co-author Allan Kreda probably sensed the book needed to be filled out, and enlisted a number of people to help. Therefore, there are several comments from a variety of people added along the way. It took some effort to round up the comments and the other voices help a bit, but many of them don't add much to the story past adding praise to those involved. This book also takes some time to get to the main story and is a bit slow to end. There's a foreword by Denis Potvin, an introduction by Kreda, a prologue and epilogue by Morrow, an afterword by Stan Fischler, and some acknowledgements. It all managed to get to 300 pages, although it's fair to note that the pages aren't a chore to read.
"Miracle Gold" seems to have found its niche on the reading list of huge Islanders' fans rather quickly - based on reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and it's easy to see why. They want to be reminded of the greatest era in the team's history, and they'll enjoy this. The same applies to those seeking more information about Lake Placid and 1980. Others might not be so enthusiastic.
Three stars
Learn more about this book from Amazon.com. (As an Amazon affiliate, I earn money from qualifying purchases.)
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