The Joyce Sports Research Collection: Ice Hockey

What follows is a guide to some of the more significant materials relating to ice hockey held in Rare Books and Special Collections, Hesburgh Libraries of Notre Dame. It does not include materials held elsewhere in the Libraries, or in Notre Dame's University Archives. Its purpose is to provide researchers with a convenient overview of the Department's resources in this subject area; it does not aspire to be comprehensive. Items listed in these finding aids do not circulate; they may be requested and consulted in Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library, from 9:30am to 4:30pm weekdays. Researchers interested in materials specifically pertaining to ice hockey at Notre Dame should contact University Archives, 607 Hesburgh Library.

Title or collection descriptions on this page are linked to records, inventories, and other appropriate types of finding aid. The dates that follow many of the annual and periodical titles on this page indicate the span of years a given title was published; available holdings are indicated in the linked finding aid. Questions concerning the materials on the page may be directed to the curator of the Joyce Sports Research Collection, Greg Bond.

Books

• The Rare Books Collection includes all the Libraries' earlier and scarcer sports related titles, including those on ice hockey, ice skating, winter sports, and related topics. These may be searched in the Hesburgh Libraries' online catalog.

Annuals — guide format

• Holdings of the Spalding (1898-1940/41), Barnes (1942-1950) and NCAA (1951- ) annual ice hockey guides. This sequence of titles provides a comprehensive acccount of the history of men's collegiate hockey in the United States. Guides typically recount the events of the previous season, though the earliest issues are more in the nature of rule books or instructionals. The series became formally affiliated with the NCAA in 1928/29; by the early 50s its coverage, which once extended to various levels of American amateur hockey, was almost exclusively collegiate.

• Holdings of the Hendy/National Hockey League annual guides. James C. Hendy edited and published the first of his National Hockey Guides in 1932/33, and continued doing so until 1950/51; thereafter the books were published by the NHL. Under Hendy's stewardship there was significant emphasis on other professional leagues, especially the AHL. The books have typically functioned as league media guides; as all-time record books; and as biographical/statistical encyclopedias of current players; the latter segment was originally called Jim Hendy's Who's Who in Hockey.

Periodicals

• Holdings of a number of the earlier monthly magazines dedicated to professional hockey, including Blueline (1954-1959); Hockey Pictorial (1955-1980); Hockey Illustrated (1961/62-1989?) and Hockey World (1966-1976).

• Holdings of the The Hockey News, from its inception in 1947 to 2012. Published in Montreal and subsequently (1980) in Toronto, this newspaper typically appeared from 35 to 40 times per year, weekly during the NHL season and monthly during the summer. Coverage emphasizes North American professional hockey, especially the National Hockey League.

Yearbooks and Media Guides

• A collection of around 560 National Hockey League team media guides, 1948/49 to 2016/17. All league franchises are represented.

• A small collection of around 70 National Hockey League team yearbooks, 1968/69 to 2000/01. Much of the collection dates from the 1990s.

• A collection of around 350 men's college hockey team media guides, 1951/52 to 2011/12.

Programs

• A collection of around 750 National Hockey League game programs, 1925/26 to 1995/96. Most are from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, though there are programs dating back to the 1920s. The issuing teams most commonly represented are the so-called "Original Six" (Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs) and the Los Angeles Kings. Many of the earlier programs were published by the arenas in which the teams played, and include content on attractions other than the NHL.

• A collection of around 600 North American minor league hockey game programs. The better part of the collection dates from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, though there are examples from the 1930s into the 1990s. Most are from teams in the more established minor leagues of the period, though there are a few from ostensibly amateur leagues, and some Junior programs as well.