Gordie Howe

Lore & Background

Howe was born in a farmhouse in Floral, Saskatchewan, one of nine siblings. He quit school during the Depression to work in construction and left Saskatoon at 16 to pursue hockey. He made his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings in 1946, scoring in his first game at age 18. He wore number 17 as a rookie but later accepted number 9, which he wore for the rest of his career. Howe quickly established himself as a great goalscorer and gifted playmaker with a willingness to fight. He and linemates Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay formed 'The Production Line,' finishing one-two-three in NHL scoring in 1949–50. During the 1950 playoffs, Howe sustained a fractured skull, broken cheekbone, and broken nose after a check went awry; he missed the rest of the playoffs but his teammates won the Stanley Cup. The next season he played in every game.

Reader's Guide

Howe's significance lies in his unprecedented longevity and dominance. He won the Art Ross Trophy six times, led the NHL in goal-scoring four times, and ranked among the top ten in scoring for 21 consecutive years. He won four Stanley Cups with Detroit and six Hart Trophies as MVP. After retiring in 1971, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972 but returned two years later to play with his sons Mark and Marty in the WHA, winning two Avco World Trophies and being named MVP in 1974. He became the first player to play a professional hockey game at age 50 and score 1,000 career goals. When the Whalers joined the NHL in 1979–80, Howe played all 80 games at age 52, becoming the oldest NHL player. His involvement with the WHA forced the NHL to recruit European talent and expand to new markets. He is the only player to compete in the NHL in five different decades (1940s through 1980s) and played a shift in a 1997 IHL game for a sixth decade. He was the inaugural recipient of the NHL Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.

Did You Know?

• Howe shares the NHL record for seasons played (26) with Chris Chelios.
• He is the namesake of the 'Gordie Howe hat trick' (a goal, an assist, and a fight), though he only recorded two such games in his career.
• He scored 20 or more goals in 22 consecutive seasons between 1949 and 1971, an NHL record.
• Howe was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in 2017.