Cujo
CBC Books | | Posted: October 30, 2018 3:32 PM | Last Updated: December 13, 2018
Curtis Joseph & Kirstie McLellan Day
Curtis Joseph, known affectionately to hockey fans around the world as Cujo, was an unlikely NHL superstar. The boy from Keswick, Ont., didn't put on a pair of skates until most kids his age were already far along in organized hockey, and he was passed over by every team in the NHL draft. Despite an unorthodox start, he would go on to play 18 seasons with the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Phoenix Coyotes and Calgary Flames; be ranked among the all-time greats in several key categories; and win an Olympic gold medal while representing Canada. Joseph is a legend in Toronto, where his fandom rivals that of other beloved Leaf greats, and he's widely thought of as one of the best goalies of all time.
For the first time, in this revealing memoir, Joseph talks about his highly unusual upbringing and what led him to put on his first pair of skates. Written by Kirstie McLellan Day, the world's top writer of hockey books, this book surprises and entertains, and shares on- and off-the-ice tales no fan has heard before: the untold story behind the legend. (From HarperCollins)
From the book
Everybody used to call it Nine Ninety-Nine, because it was located at 999 Queen Street West in Toronto. And then in the 1970s, it got to be known by locals by its new address — 1001 Queen Street West. Its proper name was the Queen Street Mental Health Centre. It was a mental institution. A big one.
During the 1970s, inmates whose conditions reached a stage where they could be managed by medication were moved on to halfway houses. One of these was a place called Martin Acres, located on a piece of farmland at the northeast corner of Leslie Street and Green Lane in Sharon, Ontario — now part of the the town of East Gwillimbury, about forty-five minutes north of Toronto, right next to Newmarket. Martin Acres housed about 17 men at a time. And it was my home. The place where I grew up.
From Cujo by Curtis Joseph and Kirstie McLellan Day ©2018. Published by HarperCollins.