More than 30 years after its cinematic debut, Slap Shot remains one of the most popular sports movies of all time, and this book is actor Dave Hanson’s firsthand account of its making. Starring the legendary Paul Newman, the movie was based on the hilarious and outrageous antics of the fictitious Charlestown Chiefs, a tough-as-nails minor league hockey team in the early 1970s. In financial trouble and due to fold at the end of the season, they bring in the Hanson Brothers—three of the toughest hockey players around—in a desperate bid to sell tickets. What ensues is pure comic genius. Here, Dave Hanson—who played ringleader Jack Hanson in the film—not only opens the vault and dishes the dirt on the making of the movie, from the bench-clearing brawls and the practical jokes on set to the legendary partying that went on during filming, but also explores how the movie changed his and many of the cast and crew’s lives forever.

Dave Hanson is best known for playing “Jack,” one of the unforgettable Hanson Brothers in the movie Slap Shot. He is a former professional hockey player who played 10 seasons, including stints with three World Hockey Association teams and the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota North Stars. He currently manages the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center in Pittsburgh and continues to make Slap Shot–related promotional appearances around the country. He lives in Pittsburgh. Ross Bernstein is the bestselling author of nearly 50 sports books, including Raising Stanley: What It Takes to Claim Hockey’s Ultimate Prize and Wearing the “C”: Leadership Secrets from Hockey’s Greatest Captains. His work has been featured on CNN and ESPN and in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. He lives in Eagan, Minnesota. Bob Costas has been a sportscaster for NBC for more than 30 years. He lives in Clayton, Missouri. Gordie Howe was four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Detroit Red Wings. He won six Hart Trophies as the league’s most valuable player and six Art Ross Trophies as its leading scorer. He lives in Royal Oak, Michigan. Jeff Carlson is a retired professional hockey player best known for his role in the movie Slap Shot as one of the Hanson brothers. He lives in Muskegon, Michigan. Steve Carlson is a retired professional hockey player and a former minor league hockey coach best known for his role in the movie Slap Shot as one of the Hanson brothers. He lives in Kenosha, Wisconsin.