Derek Sanderson: Crossing the Line

Athletes and ‘tell-all’ books seem to make good bed partners when careers are over and money is short. When I first saw ‘Crossing the Line’, I thought this would be another smut filled, yet empty, book by a pro athlete that wasted his talents and short window at fame. Yet, it was Derek Sanderson, one of the most intriguing players to grace the National Hockey League. I had to buy it.

Crossing the Line: The Outrageous Story of a Hockey Original is not that book. Sanderson does tell of his rough times with alcohol, drugs and losing everything but it’s not a ‘shock book’. This is a story that reminisces about a childhood in a normal family, the teenage years of a normal Canadian youth and dreams that came true via hockey, like making the NHL, winning a Stanley Cup and becoming the highest paid athlete in the world.

When Derek gets into the downfall of his career, he does not glorify the situation. Instead, his purpose is to inform the reader that anyone can fall from grace. He wasn’t abused by alcoholic parents. He didn’t come from a broken home. He was a shy and humble man on the inside who believed in honesty and integrity at the highest level. Yet, with painkillers for hockey injuries, the alcohol that inherently came with pro hockey and more money than he knew what to do with, Sanderson fell and fell hard.

For those who are not aware, Derek Sanderson played in the National Hockey League from 1967-68 to 1977-78 with the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins. He played in 598 regular season games, scoring 202 goals and totalling 452 points while sitting 911 minutes in the penalty box. He was the Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year in 1967-68, scoring 24 goals and contributing a total 49 points for the Bruins. With Boston, he would earn two Stanley Cup rings, in 1969-70 and 1971-72.

Before the NHL, Sanderson played junior with the Niagara Falls Flyers of the OHL from 1962-63 to 1966-67. He helped the team to a Memorial Cup championship in 1964-65 with a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings. In his final season, 1966-67, he led the OHA with 101 points in 47 games to earn the Eddie Powers Trophy.

Some of the more interesting reading in the book comes when Derek is going through his World Hockey Association ordeal. In 1972-73, Sanderson was supposed to be, along with Bobby Hull, Bernie Parent and Gerry Cheevers, the face of the emerging rebel league. His contract with the Philadelphia Blazers paid him a whopping 2.6 million dollars. At the time, he was the highest paid athlete in the world. To put a little perspective on in, he left the Bruins because the wouldn’t match his demand of $80,000 per year. He states that without a doubt he would have turned down the millions to stay in Boston for a mere $80,000.

His career in the WHA lasted just eight games before the Blazers bought out his contract. He had six points on three goals and three assists and sat a lengthy 69 minutes in the box.

If you’re truly a hockey fan, check out ‘Crossing The Line’ by Derek Sanderson and Kevin Shea. There is a foreward by Bobby Orr, a great friend that never gave up on Sanderson, even in his darkest hour. The book came out in 2012 and is a good 375 pages of fairly easy and engaging reading. There are three great photo sections, as well, with shots from childhood right through to the present.

If you’re looking for smut, swearing and possibly exaggerated stories about the NHL in the 1960’s and 1970’s, you’re better off reading a book by Sanderson’s former teammate, Phil Esposito. ‘Thunder and Lightning, A No B.S. Hockey Memoir’ is a great read, as well, but is much more like the no-holds-barred smut that money hungry athletes are putting out.