One of the greatest, if not, the greatest hockey players has passed away today.
Gordie Howe, the man known affectionately to the world as “Mr. Hockey” died at age 88.
Howe did it all in the game of Hockey. He is a former multi-time Hart Trophy Winner. He won the Stanley Cup multiple times. He retired as the game’s leading scorer (since surpassed) and is unequivocally the most durable player in the fame’s history enjoying a thirty-three year career in the game.
Born in Floral, Saskatchewan, the Right Winger first joined the Detroit Red Wings in the 1946-47 season and it wasn’t long before hockey fans learned that this was a man who could do it all. Howe could score, Howe could pass and Howe could brawl, so much so that the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” refers to a game where a player would score a goal, an assist and participate in a fight.
In his twenty-five years with the Detroit Red Wings, Howe accomplished the following:
4 Stanley Cups, 6 Hart Trophies, 5 Art Ross Trophies, 22 All Star Games, 12 First Team All Star Teams, 9 Second Team All Star Teams. 5 seasons with the most Goals Scored, 3 Seasons with the most Assists, twenty consecutive seasons in the top five in Points.
What more could you ask for?
An encore of course!
Retiring after feeling the affects of an arthritic wrist, Howe received an offer he couldn’t refuse as Houston Aeros of upstart WHA gave him the opportunity to play with his sons, Marty and Mark. Gordie Howe had already surgery to repair his wrist and he again joined the ranks of professional hockey and even as a player well into his forties, he proved he was still a force to be reckoned as he scored 508 Points in the league.
His final year in pro hockey, at age 51, saw him score 41 Points with the Hartford Whalers, the year after they joined the NHL.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com mourn the loss of a man who was as great on the ice as he was off of it and we extend our condolences to the friends and family of Gordie Howe.
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