Background

Ethnicity: Gordie had English, Dutch, as well as French and Welsh roots on his father's side and German roots on maternal side.

Born in the small farming town of Floral, Saskatchewan, Canada, on March 31, 1928, Gordon Howe grew up in nearby Saskatoon with his eight brothers and sisters. His father, Albert Howe, had just given up a life of farming at the time of his son's birth and subsequently worked as a mechanic and construction worker, finally achieving the position of superintendent of maintenance for the City of Saskatoon. Money was tight in the Howe household during the Great Depression and his mother, Katherine Schultz Howe, could sometimes only feed the family oatmeal porridge for each meal.

Education

Like most boys growing up on the Canadian Prairie, Howe played hockey with his friends during the long winters on any frozen surface. He got his first pair of skates after his mother gave a dollar-and-a-half to a neighbor whose husband was hospitalized; in exchange, Mrs. Howe got a sack filled with assorted odd items, including a pair of skates. Although they were far too large for him, Howe put on several pairs of socks and spent all day out on the ice. After he outgrew them, Howe sometimes had to strap blades onto his street shoes in lieu of proper skates. Although he was at times embarrassed by his lack of equipment, Howe increasingly turned to hockey as his refuge as he was growing up. After failing the third grade twice, he was often the target of teasing at school and developed into an introverted teenager. Howe quit school during the Depression to work in construction.

Gordie Howe was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Regina in spring 1997 and the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan on June 3, 2010.

Career

When Howe was a teen, he caught the eye of the professional scouts. When he was fifteen, the New York Rangers invited him to a tryout camp. The camp director, though, was unimpressed. He felt Howe was too awkward and would not make it in the major leagues. Despite this rejection, Howe landed a tryout with the Detroit Red Wings the next year. Jack Adams, coach and general manager of the team, was definitely impressed by young Howe and signed him to a contract.

Howe, then seventeen years old, was assigned to the Red Wings' minor league farm team in Omaha, Nebraska. He had an excellent season, and the next year he was given a shot at making the major-league club. He made the Red Wings and in his first game gave a sample of what was to come. He scored a goal, skated tirelessly, and had perfect control. His goal came in the second period, and he literally powered his way through the players from the blue line to make the goalmouth.

It took Howe three seasons to "mature" as a professional. He scored a total of thirty-five goals those first three years. From that point on, Howe was a consistent scorer. Starting in 1949 and 1950, Howe was one of the NHL's top scorers, which he continued to be for two decades.

In 1950, though, Howe's career almost came to an abrupt end. In the first playoff game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Howe collided with Toronto's Ted Kennedy and flew head first into the sideboards. His skull was fractured and he suffered a concussion. He also had his cheekbone and nose broken. In the hospital, surgeons had to operate to relieve the pressure on his brain. He was in critical condition for days.

The next season Howe came back. The question was, would he still have the same fire and aggressiveness that he had before? Howe responded by playing in every game and by leading the NHL in goals, assists, and total points that season.

Leading the league in scoring became a regular occurrence for Howe. He won the scoring title six times. Howe's development as a star also led to his team's development as consistent winners. From 1949 to 1955 the Detroit Red Wings won the league title seven straight times, and they were Stanley Cup playoff champions four times.

Howe surpassed Maurice "Rocket" Richard's (1921-2000) scoring record in 1963. By the time he retired from the Red Wings in 1971 at the age of forty-three, he held the records for goals, assists, and total points. He also had the record for most games played. He accepted a job in the team's front office. But in 1973, when the Houston Aeros of the new World Hockey Association (WHA) signed his sons Marty and Mark, Howe asked about joining them. Playing on the same professional team as his sons had been a dream. He got himself back into shape and returned triumphantly, scoring one hundred points, winning the league's Most Valuable Player award, and leading his team to the WHA championship.

Howe continued to play in the WHA through 1977. He moved to the Hartford Whalers and when that team was combined into the NHL in 1978, he was back for a second tour of duty in his old league. Howe's autobiography, And … Howe!: An Authorized Autobiography was published in 1995. He continued to make special appearances playing in charity games well into the 1990s.

In September of 1997, at the age of sixty-nine, Howe announced he would play one game, the October 3 season opener, with the International Hockey League's Detroit Vipers. In so doing, he became the only player in hockey history to compete in six different decades at the professional level, having played in the USHL, NHL, WHA and IHL from the 1940s to 1990s. In January 2002, the Howes carried the Olympic torch through Detroit, Michigan, for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Achievements

• 

  Gordie Howe earned the distinction of the most durable player of all time, playing 26 seasons spanning five decades in the National Hockey League, and during that time was one of the game's most prolific scorers. By the time he retired from the Red Wings in 1971, at the age of 43, he had the records for goals, assists, and total points. He also had the record for most games played.
  
  Howe won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL Most Valuable Player six times: 1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960, and 1963. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1971. In 1974 he received the league's Most Valuable Player award. He was awarded the Canadian version of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal in 1992, the Canadian version of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Canadian version of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Howe was named to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975 and was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2000. He was the inaugural recipient of the NHL Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.

Works

More photos

• book

  • When the Final Buzzer Sounds

    (Sharing the sometimes bittersweet, sometimes unexpected, ...)

    2000
  • Gordie Howe: My Hockey Memories

    (Lavishly illustrated with images from the Harold Barkley ...)

    1999
  • And ... Howe!

    (The retired hockey star and his wife tell the story of th...)

    1995
  • Mr. Hockey: My Story

    (In Mr. Hockey, the man widely recognized as the greatest ...)

    2014

Views

After the death of his wife, Howe turned his charitable activity towards degenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's, and founded the Gordie and Colleen Howe Fund for Alzheimer's, in partnership with the University of Toronto's aging and brain health facility at Baycrest Health Sciences.

Quotations: "If you want to tell me [Gretzky's] the greatest player of all time, I have no argument at all."

"I had 50 stitches in my face one year - that was a bad year. I had only 10 stitches taken last year - that was a good year."

"One of my goals was longevity: I guess I've pretty much got the lock on that."

"I always tell kids, you have two eyes and one mouth. Keep two open and one closed. You never learn anything if you're the one talking."

"All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity."

"You've got to love what you're doing. If you love it, you can overcome any handicap, or the soreness, or all the aches and pains and continue to play for a long, long time."

"You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave - win or lose."

"My philosophy is never start talking about 'if,' 'and,' 'but' or the past, because 90 percent of what follows will be negative."

Personality

Throughout his career, Howe was a supporter of self-defense on the ice to avoid getting hurt. He was a feared figure on the ice. He had sharp elbows and a quick stick. Some thought him to be sneaky and players kept out of his way. Howe was everything one would expect the ideal athlete to be: he was intelligent, demanding, and hardworking. He was not a person to take any abuse from other players. If they tried to intimidate him, they ended up on the "short end of the stick." His number one goal was to play good, hard hockey.

Physical Characteristics: With the flying elbows and flying pucks that come with hockey, and no helmets at the time, facial cuts and stitches were common in the game. Howe estimated that he had received three hundred stitches in his face.

Gordie Howe was 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) tall and weighed 205 lb (93 kg).

Due to dementia, Howe spent most of his time after his wife's death residing with all four of his children on a rotating basis. In 2014 he suffered a major stroke.

Quotes from others about the person

• Paul Chandler: "Gordon Howe is the squad's baby, 18 years old, but he was one of Detroit's most valuable men last night. In his first major league game, he scored a goal, skated tirelessly and had perfect poise. The goal came in the second period, and he literally powered his way through the players from the blue line to the goalmouth."
  
  E. M. Swift: "Beginning in 1949-1950, Gordie Howe started a string in which for 20 consecutive years - two solid decades - he finished among the top five scorers of the NHL."
  
  Joe LaPointe: "Due to his sharp elbows and quick stick, foes considered him sneaky-mean and steered clear of even accidental altercations."
  
  Bobby Hull: "Howe is not the demon some people say. If you want to play hockey, he'll play. He just wants to play hockey, but if guys want to fool around they always come out second best."

Connections

Howe met Colleen Joffa when she was 17 years old. They were married four years later, in 1953. They had four children. Two of their sons, Marty and Mark, were Howe's teammates on the WHA Houston Aeros and the New England (WHA)/Hartford (NHL) Whalers. Their third son, Murray, is a radiologist in Toledo. The only daughter, Cathy, lives in Texas.

Father:

Albert Howe

(November 18, 1893 - December 15, 1983)

Mother:

Katherine (Schultz) Howe

(1895 - June 25, 1971)

late spouse:

Colleen Joffa

(February 17, 1933 - March 6, 2009)

Colleen Joffa was a sports agent who founded Power Play International and Power Play Publications.

Son:

Marty Howe

(born February 18, 1954)

Marty Howe is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey defenseman.

Son:

Murray Howe

Murray Howe is head of Sports Medicine Imaging for Toledo Radiological Associates and Promedica Health System's Sports Care program.

Son:

Mark Howe

(born May 28, 1955)

Mark Howe is an American former professional ice hockey left winger and later defenseman who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) following six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA).

Daughter:

Cathy Howe

Friend:

Wayne Gretzky

(born January 26, 1961)

Wayne Gretzky is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999.

References

• A Hero Named Howe An avid fan of the Detroit Red Wings - particularly their great star forward Gordie Howe - Charlie plays in his neighborhood league but worries that he may not have what it takes. After reading a book by Howe, Charlie starts thinking there may be other ways to be involved in hockey. A chance meeting with broadcaster Foster Hewitt convinces him to try his hand at play-by-play announcing. Has he discovered his niche? Brilliantly illustrated by Greg Banning, and featuring league stars like Howe and Hewitt, this lively, inspiring book speaks eloquently of one boy's determination to find a place in the sport he loves.
  2006
• Gordie: A Hockey Legend The Howe legend begins on the frozen sloughs of Saskatchewan, where a painfully shy boy from a poverty-ridden family discovered his one advantage in life: major athletic talent. Signed by the Detroit Red Wings at 16, Howe joined celebrated teammates Sid Abel, Ted Lindsay, Terry Sawchuk and Red Kelly to forge a team that dominated the NHL as only the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers have since. Six-time leading scorer, six-time Hart Trophy winner as the most valuable player, Howe surpassed Rocket Richard's NHL goals record to reach an amazing total of 801, unmatched for years until finally Gretzky caught up to his mentor and idol.
  1994
• Legends of the Detroit Red Wings: Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Ted Lindsay, and Other Red Wings Heroes Kincaide brings to life what was at once the most glorious and the most tumultuous time in Detroit hockey history, the Original Six era. A few things readers will discover include who Red Wings legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay thinks is the greatest Red Wing of all time and how trades by iron-fisted Detroit general manager Jack Adams ruined a team many players felt should have won a half-dozen more Stanley Cups. Legends of the Detroit Red Wings is hockey history in the truest sense of the term.
  2013
• Sports Illustrated Gordie Howe Special Tribute Issue: A Salute to Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe: A Salute to Mr. Hockey salutes the life and legacy of this iconic athlete and champion. This special tribute celebrates a remarkable life with a journey through the stirring decades of a spectacular career, brought to life by Sports Illustrated's peerless insight and elegance: from Wayne Gretzky's memories of Howe's legacy to rare photographs to every stat and every number that tells the story of this sports legend.
  2016