Synopsis
Ron Wicks was an NHL referee for more than twenty-five years. As a whistle blower in hockey games all over the United States, Canada, and Europe, Ron tells his story in A Referee s Life.
He candidly talks about his fellow officials, his relationship with the players, coaches, and general managers, and the meddling of club owners. Ron has rubbed shoulders with legends of the game such as Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, and Wayne Gretzky, and his stories of putting them and hundreds more into the penalty box take you right into game night.
Along with numerous funny, serious, and candid anecdotes, this book gives space to Ron s musings on the game as it evolves here and around the world. A Referee s Life has plenty to say about pride and the great game of hockey. Ron was thrilled to be an integral part of the game for over forty years, and it shows. As in all of his years of refereeing, he pulls no punches and calls them as he sees them.
Review
As a youngster, I would often see Ron Wicks jogging through our neighbourhood and, on occasion, skating laps at the Memorial Arena in Brampton. Ron s local presence made him a vicarious connection for me to the game I loved and the league I aspired to cover as a broadcaster.
Wicks was a fixture on the ice as one of the NHL s most respected officials from the beginning of the expansion era to his retirement in 1985, when he left the game as the record holder for most career games officiated.
What stories he must have, I would wondrously contemplate as Ron pounded the pavement, preparing himself for his next NHL assignment. I imagined his encounters with legendary players like Howe, Orr and Hull (and later Gretzky); the menacing confrontations with coaches from Blake and Imlach to Cherry and Arbour; the mayhem he was responsible for controlling at intimidating venues like the Philadelphia Spectrum and Boston Garden; the grandeur and spectacle of being under the bright lights at the Montreal Forum, Toronto s Maple Leaf Gardens and Madison Square Garden in New York.
Now, with his new book, A Referee s Life, Ron is a conduit for all hockey fans to the golden era of the game in which he played such an integral role.
Wicks decision to chronicle his distinguished officiating career in A Referee s Life turns out to be one of his best calls ever.
-Chris Cuthbert, Broadcaster CTV/TSN --Chris Cuthbert, Broadcaster CTV/TSN
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