Zamboni: The Coolest Machines on Ice

Until 1949, resurfacing an ice rink required a tractor-pulled shaver followed by three or four workers scooping away the shavings and then spraying and squeegeeing water. The process-including the refreezing-took more than an hour. That all changed when a tireless inventor by the name of Frank J. Zamboni, who also happened to own a 20,000-square-foot rink in Southern California, put his mind to creating a quality sheet of ice in a shorter time. The story of the machines he produced-now as beloved as ice skates and hockey pucks among winter sports enthusiasts-is fully told for the first time in this book, a fun-filled history of machine-age ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that forever changed the nature of sports on ice. Beginning with a prehistory of the machines, this fully illustrated book goes on to explore the early genesis of Zamboni ice-resurfacing machines, how a Zamboni works, tips from drivers, various models that have evolved through the years, colorful anecdotes from and about Zamboni drivers, and more. Entertaining sidebars examine such topics as Zamboni wipeouts, non-ice-resurfacing machines from the company, the Zamboni factories, Zamboni toys, and television roles. Officially licensed, the book features a wealth of material from the Zamboni archives.