Foster Hewitt, his own story

by Foster Hewitt

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Hello Canada! The Life and Times of Foster Hewitt by Scott Young

mwade Scott Young liberally - to put it mildly - quotes Hewitt's book, but also adds a good deal of personal info which is practically non-existent in Hewitt's book as well as extends it to his death.

Walking with Legends: A View from the Inside by Ralph Mellanby

mwade Neither Hewitt in his book or Scott Young in his bio of Hewitt ever mention Mellanby. Young also gives more info on Bill Hewitt's illness prior to retirement that Mellanby implied was due to alcohol/drug use (it's possible that Young was covering up although a quick loss of 50 lbs would be something the public would have noticed and still remembered at the time of Young's book). Mellanby also acts as though he did something amazing in getting Hewitt on ice at the 50th anniversary game at the Gardens and claims it was Hewitt's first time on the ice since the Gardens' opening night while Hewitt's bio highlights the 1934 all star game (Bailey/Shore meeting) as one of his two biggest personal thrills.

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mwade 17 reviews

Concentrates on reviewing his career rather than personal life. Some very interesting bits about WWII and hockey that I don't remember reading before. Would also be interesting to anyone interested in the early days of radio as he got into hockey broadcasting via his role in promoting radio to the Toronto area. Not much on the personal side (even father mentions are primarily related to his sports connections and son Bill's entry into the career is dealt with in a few paragraphs). Scott Young's Hello Canada! bio liberally quotes the book. I read it first and personally felt Young took more than seemed right - not always clearly quotes from the book, at times the only changes appeared to be switching to third person from first (not an show more accusation - I don't know what was acceptable at the time and it is impossible to miss so if it was an issue, I'm sure it would have been an issue at publication). Both books are short so I'd actually recommend reading both if interested. show less

Sep 16, 2008

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