Long before the Avalanche started winning Stanley Cups, Colorado was home to a short-lived and decidedly less-successful National Hockey League team: the Colorado Rockies. Operating from 1976 to 1982, the club established itself as a hard-working outfit on the ice that was constantly hobbled by a series of impatient owners and a host of controversial - and often crazy - front-office maneuvers. The result was a team that didn't win many games but did win the hearts of a small and loyal fan base. In the process, they laid a foundation for the Mile High City's future hockey success.

Rocky Hockey: The Short but Wild Ride of the NHL's Colorado Rockies tells the complete story of this pioneering franchise for the first time. It's a history that included four different ownerships, seven head coaching changes, one inspiring and memorable playoff appearance, and a mountain of rollicking stories from an era when helmets were optional, bench-clearing brawls were common, and player salaries were measured in thousands, not millions.

Though the Rockies' stay in the NHL wasn't long, it featured a bounty of wild incidents and larger-than-life characters, including a berserk goalie who trashed a locker room after being pulled; an incompetent goal judge who was fired by a referee in the middle of a game; a maniacal cheerleader named Krazy George; and the near sale of the team to a con man who ended up behind bars.

Meticulously researched and packed with recollections from Rockies players and front-office figures based on original interviews with the author, the book puts a long-overdue spotlight on this unique brand of the game that affectionately came to be known as "Rocky Hockey."