Off Mike: How a Kid from Basketball-Crazy Indiana Became America's NHL Voice

by Mike Emrick, Kevin Allen, Eddie Olczyk (Foreword by)

Overview

“Emrick loves stories and loves to tell them. Yesterday in broadcasting. Tomorrow in book form.” —Steve Simmons, Toronto Sun 

After nearly 50 years behind the microphone, the voice of hockey in America opens up in a must-read memoir. 

Mike “Doc” Emrick has seen everything there is to see in a hockey game. Sizzling slap shots. Commitment, courage, and camaraderie. Pugnacious pugilists. Game-winning goals. To hockey fans across the country, his voice—and vocabulary—have become synonymous with the game they love. 

In Off Mike, Doc takes readers back to the beginning, detailing how a Pittsburgh Pirates fan from small-town Indiana found himself in the wild world of professional hockey, calling games for the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, and finally NBC. 
 
He’s covered All-Star Games, Stanley Cup Finals, the Olympics, and everything in between, rubbing shoulders with hockey’s immortals both on and off the ice. Yet Doc’s life has had its share of ups and downs, from almost leaving behind the love of his life to the passing of beloved companions to personal health scares.  

After years of being welcomed into our homes, in this autobiography Doc welcomes us into his, revealing the stories, wit, and wisdom that have made him one of the most beloved figures in sports. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629378039
Publisher:	Triumph Books
Publication date:	10/20/2020
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	452,410
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Mike Emrick is an Emmy Award-winning television play-by-play commentator for NHL on NBC. "Doc" has been a sportscaster since 1973, calling a variety of sports and several Olympics. 

Kevin Allen spent 34 seasons as USA Today's hockey beat writer. He has written several books about hockey and co-authored books by Chris Chelios, Jeremy Roenick, Darren McCarty, and Stu Grimson.

Table of Contents

Foreword Eddie Okzyk 7

Introduction 13

1 A Commitment 21

2 Gold Medals, The Corn King, and Five-Minute News 33

3 Capture the Flags 57

4 Too Many Sue Hamiltons 77

5 The Philadelphia Story 95

6 The Beginning and the End 111

7 Pulling an All-Nighter 125

8 Sidekicks 141

9 Heidi Returns as Mrs. Doubtfire 157

10 Heartbreak 165

11 Madcap Coaches and a Camel at the Door 177

12 Walking with Ernie 193

13 One Swing at Baseball 201

14 Civil War, 9/11, and Mrs. Sutter's Potato Soup 209

15 Can You Beam Me to Anaheim? 235

16 Life with the Peacock 243

17 The Last Elevator Ride 257

Epilogue 270

Acknowledgments 271

Editorial Reviews

“I was lucky enough to do the foreword in Doc’s book Off Mike: How a Kid from Basketball-Crazy Indiana Became America’s NHL Voice, with Kevin Allen, and I wrote that the greatest compliment Doc ever gave me was, ‘I hope that when Eddie Olczyk is 65, he has someone who takes care of him as well as he’s taken care of me’ That means a lot.” —Eddie Olczyk, NHL.com


“Such details endeared him to avid fans of the sport at the same time his enthusiastic, cleverly worded calls engaged casual ones.” —Neil Best, Newsday 

From the Publisher