Like any professional sports town, Detroit has a lengthy list of sports legends, including Isiah Thomas, Barry Sanders, Ty Cobb, Alan Trammell, and Lou Whitaker. However, the greatest love is likely reserved for Gordie Howe, the National Hockey League hall of famer who died Friday at the age of 88. In a city known as Hockeytown, Mr. Hockey was the mayor.
Mr. Howe’s hockey accomplishments are nearly unparalleled. He played for 32 seasons, over six decades. He scored more than 1,000 goals, played in 29 NHL all-star games, was the league’s most valuable player and leading scorer six times. He played for the Red Wings for 25 seasons and led them to four Stanley Cup titles.
On the ice, Mr. Howe was tough and vicious — some said dirty. He had more than 400 stitches in his career and led the league in penalty minutes three times. In 1950, he fractured his skull in the playoffs but came back the next season to lead the league in scoring. In recognition of his offensive skills and toughness, the term the “Gordie Howe hat trick” was used whenever a player scored a goal, earned an assist, and got in a fight in the same game.
Off the ice, he loved his family just as fiercely, marrying Colleen in 1953 and raising four children — Murray, Mark, Marty, and Cathy. Upon his death, a family statement said they were celebrating the life of a “devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and a friend to all.”
Despite being born in Saskatchewan, Canada, Mr. Howe fell in love with Michigan and northwest Ohio. At the time of his death, Mr. Howe was living with his son Murray in Sylvania, where he could often be seen in the stands at the Tam-O-Shanter hockey complex. Weeks before his death, the Gordie Howe Initiative was announced at ProMedica. It is an effort to study and develop treatments for traumatic brain injuries.
Mr. Howe did more than enough to earn recognition as one of hockey’s all-time greats. He did even more off the ice for his family, friends, and fans.
First Published June 14, 2016, 4:00 a.m.