Tom McVie (The Funniest Man In Hockey)

“Quite a character.” 

Tom McVie was the last coach of the World Hockey Association Winnipeg Jets, leading them to the final AVCO Cup, and their first coach in the NHL. He had the highs of a championship followed by the lows of a record that will never be broken: going winless in thirty consecutive games.

All the way through, he never lost his sense of humour.

In the midst of the 30-game winless streak, McVie continued to do his weekly radio show. He’d even reward the trivia question winners. First prize was a pair of Jets tickets. Second prize? Four tickets.

He had a twenty-year career as a player in the minors, twenty years as a coach (of three expansion teams, which are, by definition, horrible) and an assistant coach, plus twenty-five years as a scout.

Longtime sportswriter Geoff Kirbyson shares the life of one of hockey’s most beloved coaches and personalities in this biography of Tom McVie. Through interviews with family, friends, players and colleagues, we learn about Tom’s life dedicated to professional hockey. Most of all, we see how his kindness and spark lit up every room.