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A book blue cover with a photo of a football player next to the title. The main title reads " Year of the Rocket". Underneath the title is a photo of three men in suits holding Argonauts jerseys.

Year of the Rocket

Year of the Rocket

A book blue cover with a photo of a football player next to the title. The main title reads " Year of the Rocket". Underneath the title is a photo of three men in suits holding Argonauts jerseys.

Cover of “Year of the Rocket: John Candy, Wayne Gretzky, a Crooked Tycoon, and the Craziest Season in Football History”, 2022 Heritage Toronto Book Award Nominee.

Author: Paul Woods

Publisher: Sutherland House Books

The century-old Toronto Argonauts, like the rest of The Canadian Football League, seemed to be in shambles in 1991. Until, suddenly, everything changed.

Year of the Rocket tells the untold saga about how the Argos were acquired by an unlikely trio: the greatest hockey player of all time, Wayne Gretzky; a universally beloved comic genius, John Candy; and an upstart sports magnate, Bruce McNall, whose apparent Midas touch masked dark secrets. They audaciously swiped the most-hyped college athlete in years, Rocket Ismail, from under the nose of the NFL by signing him to the richest football contract ever, and set their sights on a league championship. The Blues Brothers were flown in from Europe to perform with Candy at Rocket’s first game and the season only got crazier from there.

 

 

About the Author:

Paul Woods is an author, journalist, news executive, and historian of the Toronto Argonauts. He served as Executive Editor to the Toronto Star and is the author of Bouncing back: From National Joke to Grey Cup Champs.

 

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