It's indisputable. Slap Shot, the hilarious '70s flick about minor league hockey, is one of the best sports movies ever. Author Jonathon Jackson loved the movie and spent years getting the skinny on it and how it all came together. Eventually, he published a comprehensive book, The Making of Slap Shot: Behind the Scenes of the Greatest Hockey Movie Ever Made, which was recently revised and updated. Watch the movie and then read the book, which you can buy here.
Jackson took some time to answer a few questions.
STADIUM JOURNEY: When and where did you first watch Slap Shot? Was it in a theater? VHS? DVD? Cable? Did you view it alone?
JONATHON JACKSON: I was 12 years old the first time I saw it, and it was an edited-for-television version. This was disappointing, because I had already read the very profane novelization. I don't remember if I saw it with anyone or not. I think my parents were there too, but I can't be certain. I was probably 13 or 14 the first time I saw the unedited version on VHS, but I don't remember those circumstances either. I've lost track of how many times I've seen it since, but it's easily in the hundreds.
STADIUM JOURNEY: What about the film resonated so much with you? Was there a specific character? Did you have a favorite character?
JONATHON JACKSON: I just loved hockey as a kid, so just the fact that there was a hockey movie was special. I didn't have any real awareness of who exactly Paul Newman was at the time, but as Reggie Dunlop was the main character, I was drawn to him more than anyone else. Maybe it was Newman's star quality! As I've gotten older, I can appreciate even more the sense of desperation in that character, underneath the humour.
STADIUM JOURNEY: What's your favorite quote from the movie?
JONATHON JACKSON: I think my favourite quote is from Dickie Dunn, the sportswriter: "I was trying to capture the spirit of the thing." As a former sports writer myself, I can certainly relate to it because it's something I've always tried to do, whether consciously or otherwise. You always want to try to paint an accurate picture of whatever it is you're writing about.
STADIUM JOURNEY: What prompted you to write the book? What made you finally take the plunge?
JONATHON JACKSON: I was frustrated in my job as a sportswriter - the perils of being the number two guy in a two-man department with no hope of moving up to number one - and I longed to do something that was more important and meaningful than I was doing. I had tried to write a book previously, because I always liked working on longform pieces, but it didn't work out. The Making of Slap Shot actually started out as an idea for a magazine article I thought I could pitch; it just snowballed from there.
STADIUM JOURNEY: How long was the entire process? What's the first step that you take of this herculean endeavor? How do you begin? Who do you call?
JONATHON JACKSON: It took four years, from start to finish. I didn't work on it consistently through that period as I was a single dad simply trying to raise my three sons and keep us all alive, so the book came together in spurts. It started with a charity golf tournament/cast reunion near Toronto in the summer of 2006. I just showed up, unannounced, and started talking to people with my tape recorder that I used every day on the job. After that, it meant a lot of time on the internet and especially on the phone.
STADIUM JOURNEY: Who were the first subjects to step up and say 'I'll participate' and perhaps give you some momentum?
JONATHON JACKSON: The first people who stepped up were the cast members I met at the golf tournament. I spoke with Yvon Barrette (Denis Lemieux), Paul D'Amato (Tim "Dr. Hook" McCracken), Chris Murney (Tommy Hanrahan), Ross Smith (Barclay Donaldson), and a couple of other people, including Ken Blake, who did the early work to track people down and organize the first few events, and who became a good friend. It was Paul D'Amato who actually encouraged me to consider taking the article I had in mind and expanding it into a book. After that weekend, though, I don't really remember how or where I started trying to track down other people. I think Ken may have put me in touch with Jerry Houser (Dave "Killer" Carlson) in California. I do remember that when I would reach someone on the phone, they would ask me who I had already talked to, and then usually they would suggest others that I should reach out to. It was very organic in that way, and I really appreciated it because it told me that if these people were interested enough to help me, others might be interested in it too - like people who could help me get the book published! But I really had no idea what I was doing; I had a publisher before I had an agent, which I found out later is the opposite of how it was supposed to work.
STADIUM JOURNEY: How difficult was it to get Paul Newman to participate? How many hoops did you have to jump through?
JONATHON JACKSON: That was a fun endeavour. I first tried his publicist, who was notorious for not letting people get to Newman, and he shot me down. Somehow, I got the idea to write a letter to Newman's Own, his food company. One morning I was woken up by a woman in his office who said Newman would agree to answer some questions if I typed them out and faxed them to his office. I did that, and his answers came to me by email a short time later. I felt pretty smug about having pulled a successful end-around on the publicist. I didn't get to talk with Newman on the phone, but I did interview his brother that way, and they sounded very much alike. So it felt sort of similar.
STADIUM JOURNEY: Actor Michael Ontkean contributed the book's forward. Did he ever explain how got his long underwear over his skates in that unforgettable, final scene?
JONATHON JACKSON: Ha! No, he did not reveal that secret to me. He's such an interesting, complex guy. I was familiar with Michael as an actor, but when I started this process, I had no idea that he had some serious hockey credentials and could easily have played professionally if he had stuck it out a few more years until the WHA and NHL expansion really took off starting in 1972. By then, though, he'd established himself on television. I've never gotten the sense that he regretted his decision to try his luck in Hollywood.
STADIUM JOURNEY: Slap Shot, of course, is very male, but it's also very female with a lot of strong, wonderful female characters. It was written by a woman, Nancy Dowd. How did she feel about the book? Her brother, Ned, who worked on the film talked to you, but she didn't. What's Nancy's relationship with the movie?
JONATHON JACKSON: You are correct - Nancy would not talk to me. I don't know what she thought or thinks about the book, or if she thinks about it at all. At the time I talked with Ned, I thought perhaps he might be able to help me get to her, but he was very candid in saying they did not have a relationship. They may have since reconciled, but I have no way of knowing. I sense, and not just from my own experience but also from speaking with others, that she can be a difficult person to get along with. To be fair, I have friends who have met her, and they think she's great. About 15 years ago she was threatening to sue the Hanson Brothers for doing their schtick, claiming that she invented the characters and consequently they had no right to be doing what they were doing. They blew her off, and the threat went nowhere. It seems that Nancy was not treated very kindly by the film industry during the 1970s and 1980s, and I can't help but think that that has played a role in the way she has interacted with others. All I really know for sure is that she had no interest in meeting or talking with me. I'm thankful that I had access to archives that still allowed me to include her voice in the story, because of course the story wouldn't have been complete without her.
STADIUM JOURNEY: So let's say someone wants to go on a Slap Shot arena tour. Which arenas would we have to go? Are they all still around?
JONATHON JACKSON: Every arena shown in Slap Shot is still in existence and in most cases are still hosting high-level hockey. The main one, of course, is the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, PA. It has been remodelled a few times over the years, but it's the same building. Johnstown's primary hockey team is the Tomahawks, who play in the North American Hockey League, a Tier II junior league. Scenes were also filmed at the arenas in Syracuse, the game against Hyannisport where the Chiefs invaded the stands, and Utica, the site of the pregame brawl against Peterborough, and at the Starr Rink on the campus of Colgate University, the Chiefs' first road game against Lancaster, where they find out the team is going to fold. Utica and Syracuse both have AHL teams at their arenas, and I believe the Starr Rink is now a practice site for Colgate's basketball teams. These three buildings are all fairly close together in upstate New York; it's about 30 miles from Utica to Colgate, and then another 40 miles from Colgate to Syracuse, so you could easily see all three in the same day. Johnstown is probably about 400 miles SW of Syracuse.
STADIUM JOURNEY: Does the Slap Shot universe still exist?
JONATHON JACKSON: Yes, it absolutely does. Any time cast members get together for an event, it's always well-attended by the public. Three and four generations of fans have grown up with this movie and its characters, and it's still relevant even though it's a total period piece. Hockey players and arenas no longer look like they did in 1976-77, and bench-clearing brawls are things of the past, but the dearth of good hockey movies means it continues to resonate. Thankfully, the people who made the movie and are still with us recognize this, and they are happy and willing to celebrate its legacy and their roles in it.
Jon Hart is @manversusball
All Photos from Paul Baker's personal collection
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