Description
With Rob Kennedy and Terry Scott
Longbridge Books
Trade Paperback
Publication Date: 2019
ISBN: 978-1-928065-16-6
English: 208 pages
Includes photographs
$29.95 Canada, US
Get free delivery in Canada and the United States with orders of $60.00 or more.
In the early 1970s, Allan Globensky was a member of the incomparable Montreal Junior Canadiens, the self-described goon on a Memorial Cup-winning squad that included future Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault and perennial NHL all-star Richard Martin. Selected in the NHL amateur draft in 1971, Globensky signed his first professional hockey contract with the Minnesota North Stars, before eventually inking a two-year $50,000 agreement with the Quebec Nordiques in the fledgling World Hockey Association. Allan’s first coach in Quebec was the legendary Maurice “Rocket” Richard, whose tenure behind the bench lasted just one game – two fewer games than Globensky played with the Nordiques in their debut WHA season.
Succeeding years saw Globensky bounce around between the Nordiques and the club’s WHA minor league affiliate in Lewiston, Maine. In both places, Globensky wanted to polish his hockey skills, but the Nordiques’ organization was more interested in his honing the fists that made him one of the most fearsome fighters of his era. He was a reluctant gladiator who experienced the seamier side of hockey, a world of mayhem and borderline insanity that made the iconic movie Slap Shot tame by comparison.
His body aching and his psyche unravelled, Globensky retired from the game at the end of the 1970s, and took up permanent residence in Lewiston, where he worked as a firefighter. After leaving the fire department, he took a job managing the Kennebec Arena in nearby Augusta, where he did everything from operating the Zamboni to refereeing games and conducting coaching clinics. He was in his element, although a degradation of his mind and body, as well as his personal life, inexorably brought him to the edge of the abyss.
It’s been almost 50 years since the venerable Montreal Forum reverberated with the chant of “On veut Globensky.” Back then, Globensky fought because that’s what he was told to do, and it was the role the team wanted him to play. Allan Globensky is still battling, but now he’s fighting to maintain his quality of life and to encourage former teammates to seek help if they are concerned about their mental and physical health. And he’s lending his voice to the movement to ban fighting from the game, because he knows from experience the damage it can do.
What happened to Allan Globensky, the former cult hero, after the cheers of bloodthirsty fans faded away? This is his story, and it’s one that is both compelling and cautionary.
Praise for A Little Knock Won’t Hurt Ya!
At the start of my hockey career in the 1960s and 1970s, it was customary for teams to have at least a couple of enforcers to protect the more talented players. Among those who accepted this ungrateful mission at great personal risk was Allan Globensky. He was among the best, if not THE best. Like me, Allan had been a member of the Montreal Junior Canadians in the then very powerful Ontario Junior League, and after that, a teammate with the Quebec Nordiques. Allan was not an elite player, but he was a role model. In sports, this is very important.
– Marc Tardif
Hockey … Montreal … the Seventies. Doesn’t get any better than that. Allan Globensky, aka Captain Crunch, has written an entertaining and compelling recollection of that time in hockey. It warrants the saying, “You couldn’t make this shit up!” Whether you love hockey or never saw a match, this makes for a great read.
– Ned Dowd
When I was sent to the Cape Cod Freedoms of the ACHL for a conditioning stint, Allan Globensky, a former adversary was now a teammate. If the gods of hockey have given me any gifts from the game, it is that an arch-rival became my lifelong friend. Allan is smart, well read, thoughtful and exactly the person that anyone would be lucky to have in their life. Like me, he has had an exciting but not always easy life.
– Paul Stewart
Allan was a good team player, always ready to defend his teammates. The thing people don’t know is that Allan had a great sense of humour. He could make the whole team laugh out loud when he tried to translate his jokes from English to French.
– Réjean Houle