Gordie “Mr. Hockey” Howe passed away today of natural causes, he was 88, Mr. Hockey holds the record for games played, and seasons played.
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Some current and former Red Wings also chimed in on the legend’s death. Howe played in an National Hockey League that had not been diluted by expansion and the bulk of his success was in the Original Six era, meaning he was facing the best of the best – superior goalies.
One personal note: After the Kings won the Cup in 2012, a club executive was kind enough to bring it to my home, and we went outside to have a bright background for our photos.
Wayne Gretzky with his longtime hero, former hockey great Gordie Howe, in 1989 just after Gretzky broke Howe’s scoring record in Edmonton on October 15, 1989.
While Rutherford spoke glowingly about Howe as a premier player – “I can’t think of anybody in my time over five decades in the league that I could even come close to comparing him to” – it was his humanity that truly set him apart.
“Oh I forgot. Ha!”
It’s comforting to think a spectacular game of celestial shinny has just begun, now that Gordie Howe has joined Rocket Richard and Jean Beliveau on a ideal sheet of ice where they can swap stories and elbows and can skate forever on again-youthful legs.
Howe, without a doubt, was most proud of his family. But when I asked for an autograph, Marty told me that couldn’t happen; Gordie’s signature was worth money and he only gave autographs at select events. “I’ve had the pleasure of getting a couple…” “It was put into print before I recognized it”.
So did this: My good friend Kevin Vautour, who went by “Kevin from Melrose” on his calls to the New England Hockey Journal Radio Show (2002-09), is a longtime Bruins season-ticket holder (Balcony 324, center aisle, penultimate row) and a member of the Society for International Ice Hockey Research. Howe, the rough-and-tumble Canadian farm boy whose boundless blend of talent and toughness made him the NHL’s quintessential star during a career that lasted into his 50s, died Friday.
He got another elbow from Howe. “Even though guys have never really got to see him play, like me, he’s still a legend”. “Hit and be like a dogcatcher”.
Jim Rutherford, the Penguins general manager, was fortunate to find himself sharing a dressing room with Howe after making the Red Wings as a 21-year-old rookie in 1970. To think that we lost Muhammad Ali and Gordie Howe in the same week or 10-day span is incredible.
“Great sense of humor”, Chelios says.
Howe played for a quarter-century in Detroit before retiring in 1971 due to arthritis in his left wrist. His sons, Mark Howe and Marty Howe, are teammates.
“When Gordie came into the NHL, hockey was a Canadian game”.
From Washington, President Barack Obama said in a statement that Howe’s perseverance and humility personified Detroit. “I was like ‘Oh my God!,'” Hartlieb said. “Jacques said ‘god, you are small.’ He said ‘listen, you’re going to centre Mark Howe and the old man.’ I said ‘are you kidding me?’ That’s when I got nervous”, he said. “I’d come in, the cheeks would be – I’d be putting snow on my face trying to thaw it out”.
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“I remember the RCMP official telling me ‘the Prime Minister doesn’t like surprises.’ I said ‘OK, no problem.’ Then I got to thinking ‘oh my lord, I can’t lie to the Prime Minister, so I told him Gordie was coming in”.
