Review: Stan Fischler, The Hockey News 07/25/2022
"AN OUTRAGEOUS HALL OF FAME OMISSION BECAME A BOOK"
Review: Tom Frost 12/03/2020
"Thoroughly enjoyed the read. As a longtime Bruins fan that has read just about every book ever written on the Bruins, this was the first time I truly experienced a ‘game by game’ feel. Thank you!"
News: Pam Coburn is honored to be the featured author on HockeysFuture.com, the largest online hockey forum, from November 1-15, 2020. HFBOARDS. 11/01/2020
News: Pam Coburn presents, Hitch’s English Roots, for the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa on May 9, 2020. Recorded Presentation available on: Youtube. 05/09/2020
Review: G. A. G., Verified Purchaser on Amazon.ca 12/03/2019
"A must read for all Boston Bruins fans.
"A heartwarming story of a true legend of the sport."
News: Stephen Smith, "of fred: pam coburn talks lionel hitchman, hockey fame, ottawa infamy," interview at puckstruck.com 09/10/2019
". . . If Hitchman's name doesn't now often set the hockey world buzzing, contemporary proofs of his prowess aren't hard to come by. They confirm that he was, above all, a defender, which may have something to do with why he remains so undersung. The forwards he foiled on the ice never doubted his worth. Toronto Maple Leafs centreman Joe Primeau said Hitchman was the toughest player he ever faced. Frank Boucher of the New York Rangers classed him the best bodychecker he'd ever run into. 'You could be carrying the puck in your teeth and Hitch would steal it from you,' sportswriter Jerry Nason recalled in 1946. Hitchman helped make his more prominent partner's dominance possible. 'In spite of Shore's prestige,' Niven Busch wrote in 1930 in The New Yorker, '[Hitchman] has been voted the Bruins' most valuable player. Shore doesn't seem easy in his mind unless Hitchman is on the ice with him.' . . .
"In August, I e-mailed Pam Coburn a raft of questions about Hitch, her grandfather, and the first time she saw NHL hockey in person. She was good enough to answer. . . ."
News: Pam Coburn to present in Quebec City at the Society for International Hockey Research Fall Meeting 09/4/2019
On October 19, Pam Coburn will make a presentation at the SIHR fall meeting in Quebec City about the Boston Bruins training camps held in that City during the 1930s. Copies of her recently released book, Hitch, Hockey's Unsung Hero: The Story of Boston Bruin Lionel Hitchman will be on sale and the author will be available for book signings. Find more information about this great gathering at www.sihr.org.
Review: Tammy McLaughlin, Verified Purchaser on Amazon.com 07/21/2019
"Unsung Hockey Hero For Sure
"Step back in time to the beginning of the NHL. Very interesting look at early years of one of hockey's greats. How he has been overlooked for induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame all these years is a crime."
Review: John Chamberlain, Purchaser on Amazon.com 05/02/2019
"Powerful book about the early days of the NHL and one of it's greatest defenseman
"Pam Coburn has written a powerful book touting the exploits of one of the first and possibly best defenseman to ever play for the NHL and the Boston Bruins. Hitchman played in an era of hard banging bodies and he did his job extremely well, making scoring a true task for forwards, and receiving a plethora of compliments and stellar reviews over the course of his career from everyone connected with hockey. HHOF missed on this man, an oversight indeed."
Review: Greg Oliver, "Two Minutes for Reading so Good," book review at sihrHockey.org 04/29/2019
"The unappreciated Lionel Hitchman and George Orton
"Sometimes two books arrive simultaneously that are remarkably similar in their approaches to their subjects. Pam Coburn's biography on her grandfather, Lionel Hitchman, and Mark Hebscher's biography on the first-ever Canadian Olympic gold medallist, George Orton—wait'll you learn his hockey connections—both take personal approaches to their stories, allowing the author a voice in the narrative.
"And in both cases, Hitchman and Orton are shamefully under-appreciated for their contributions to sport. . . .
"Coburn knows her sports, having been Executive Director and CEO of Skate Canada for nearly a decade. The retelling of the hockey side of Hitch's life is terrific, but it's the personal side that will be a particular reward to readers. . ."
Read on at the Society for International Hockey Research "a community of writers, statisticians, collectors, broadcasters, academics and fans of hockey history."
Review: Robert Colburn, Verified Purchaser on Amazon.ca 04/19/2019
"Amazing story
"Pam, what a great story you have told about a Superstar and a era I knew little of until I read your book. I have read many hockey books over the years and 'Hitch' is easily one of the best.
"I enjoyed his whole story but what struck me the most was in the last chapter when all the greats of his time were listing their all time teams and he was picked for all of them yet he was almost always the only player not in the Hall of Fame...it is a real mystery."
Review: Verified Purchaser (name withheld) on Amazon.ca 04/19/2019
"An Exceptional Hockey Story
"Thoroughly enjoyed reading about - Hitch - Hockey's Unsung Hero. This is a well written book with amazing facts and details about a hockey legend and the game in the 1920's and 1930's! Kudos to the author!"
Review: Verified Purchaser (name withheld) on Amazon.ca 04/9/2019
"A true sportsman's story and history
"Great biography on hockey, the Bruins and Frederic Lionel Hitchman. A must read for sports and hockey enthusiasts. Certainly Hitchman is an Unsung Hero and worthy of being in the HHOF, a true sportsman."
Review: Catherine G. on Amazon.ca 03/21/2019
"Fans of the Boston Bruins, the Ottawa Senators and even the Montreal Canadians don't miss this book!
"If you love hockey, you will love this tribute to an early hockey great! Written from a collection of media clippings carefully preserved by Hitchman's family, this book will keep your attention from the introduction as you try to unravel the mystery of how such a well loved hockey player could have been forgetten by the officials at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
"A wonderful family story! A tribute to a much loved grandfather and all round athlete!"
News: Announcing the release of Hitch, Hockey's Unsung Hero 03/21/2019
Pam Coburn announces the release of her first book, Hitch, Hockey's Unsung Hero: The Story of Boston Bruin Lionel Hitchman. "It has been an incredible journey bringing this story to a wider audience. Finally, the spotlight is on Hitch's contribution to hockey," said Pam. The book is currently available in paperback and ebook from amazon at amazon.COM and
amazon.CA (Canadian market).
View press release (pdf).
Review: Brian McFarlane, Hockey Historian, Broadcaster and Author of The Bruins 01/25/2019
"A great read about one of hockey's unsung heroes. Like Lorne Chabot and one or two other long ago champions, Hitch should be a hockey Hall of Famer."
Review: Eric Zweig, Hockey Historian and Author of Art Ross: The Hockey Legend Who Built the Bruins 01/22/2019
"As someone who appreciates the older history of the NHL, Lionel Hitchman has long been a name that was familiar to me—but not one I knew very much about. In researching my own biography of Art Ross, I came to appreciate the high regard in which Hitchman was held by his peers. Teammates, opponents, and sportswriters certainly knew how important he was to the early success of the Boston Bruins. While Eddie Shore got most of the attention, those in the know understood that it was Hitchman who was key to the Boston defense. His offensive numbers don't look like much, but it was the steady play of Hitchman that gave Shore the freedom to join (and often lead) the Bruins attack, and also to pile up penalty minutes knowing that his partner was there to back him up. But Pam Coburn's biography of her grandfather does more than tell the story of a hockey player, it tells the story of the man that Lionel Hitchman was. Perhaps it will even be enough to finally bring this prototypical defensive defenseman his long overdue place in the Hockey Hall of Fame."