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There’s been a lot written about Gordie Howe—“Mr. Hockey”. Lately a lot of the stories have been about his battling the effects of his stroke. This, timed with the release of his latest biography “Mr. Hockey: My Story” has led to a lot of reflections in the sports media and elsewhere about the career of one of the greatest sports icons of the 20th Century.
Gordie Howe was my dad’s favorite hockey player and he talked about him often when we watched televised games together. The Detroit Red Wings were my dad’s favorite team and I’ve always maintained a soft spot for them. (This despite my dad never reciprocating and having a soft spot for my team—the Montreal Canadiens! I won’t share my dad’s feelings on the Habs because this is a family show.) I also wrote about Gordie Howe in “Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero”, using his amazingly long and fruitful hockey career as part of the evidence for my estimates on Bruce Wayne’s own longevity.
“Mr. Hockey” was born on March 31 in 1928 in Floral, Saskatchewan, Canada. Howe was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings and debuted in the NHL in 1946 at the age of 18. In addition to the perennial debate amongst hockey fans for who’s the greatest ever player (usually a trio including Gordie, Wayne Gretzky, and Bobby Orr), Gordie Howe is best known for the length of his playing career, the high level of his play, and the physical nature of his game.
The term “Howe hat trick” is still used to describe a game in which a player gets a goal, has an assist, and wins a fight. During his 25 year career with Detroit, Gordie Howe won 4 Stanley Cup championships as well as the scoring championship and most valuable player trophy. Mr. Hockey is third in NHL all-time scoring with 1,850 points—including 801 goals and 1,049 assists.
If you add all of his goals from his entire professional playing career (NHL and WHA) Gordie Howe is first with an incredible 975. The point is that Gordie Howe was one of—if not the best—players in hockey history. He retired—sorry, I should say his first retirement—was in 1972 at the age of 43. In that last NHL season with the Detroit Red Wings he scored 23 goals and added 29 assists for 52 points in 63 games. This is a great season for a player of any age but is staggering to consider for a man in his early 40s.
But, of course, there is more. I did qualify above that he had his first retirement in 1972. He came out of that retirement for the 1973-74 season to play in the WHA with, first, the Houston Aeros and, next, the New England Whalers. Amazingly, during his 6 seasons in the WHA, Howe scored more than 100 points twice! In an additional twist that is surely never to be seen again, Gordie Howe played with two of his own sons (Marty and Mark) while with the WHA Houston Aeros and the New England (WHA)/Hartford (NHL) Whalers.
From a performance perspective, though, I think Gordie Howe’s most impressive feat came next. Gordie Howe returned to the NHL in the 1979-80 season and played Hartford Whalers. He played the full season of 80 games and scored 15 goals and 26 assists. He was 52!
I got to meet Gordie Howe and see him in action in 1992. As part of a special promotion, the AHL Hamilton Canucks had Howe visit the arena for a game to show off his (still) amazing hockey talents and sign autographs. I remember being mesmerized watching him (now in his 60s!) skate around the rink and almost lazily shoot laser-beam wrist shots into the net from all over—including center ice! Gordie Howe’s truly amazing performance across his entire career is an inspirational landmark for the ability to produce at a high performance level across your entire life.
Although my dad passed away back in 1994, I still have on the wall of my office his signed Gordie Howe hockey card. Viewing that card always makes me think about my dad and Gordie Howe and inspires me to keep on doing my best for as long as I possibly can.
Thank you Gordie Howe.
E. Paul Zehr © 2014,
