Gordie Howe

Playing Career

Howe led Detroit to four Stanley Cups. During this time his line-mates, Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay, and Howe were known collectively as "The Production Line", both for their scoring and as an allusion to Detroit auto factories. The Red Wings were consistenly contenders throughout the 1950s and early 1960s but began to slump in the late 1960s.

After 25 years, a wrist problem forced him to retire, and take a job in the Red Wings front Office. However, a year later he was offered a contract to play with the Houston Aeros of the newly formed World Hockey Association. An operation to improve his wrist made a return to ice hockey possible and he led his new team to consecutive championships. In 1974, at the age of 46, Gordie Howe was selected as the WHA's most valuable player.

When the WHA merged with the NHL in 1979, the 51-year-old Howe signed with the Hartford Whalers for one final season, competing in all 80 games of the schedule. Another milestone in a remarkable career was reached in 1997 when Gordie Howe played professional hockey in a sixth decade. He was signed to a one-game contract by the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League and, almost 70 years old, made a stirring return to the ice for one shift.

His most productive seasons came during an era when scoring was difficult and checking was tight, yet Gordie Howe ranks third in NHL history with 1,850 total points made up of 801 goals and 1,049 assists. Careerwise, when his goals and assists from both the NHL and the WHA are combined, he ranks first in goals with 975. Howe would also become good friends with Wayne Gretzky, who had idolised Howe as a young player, and who would later break many of Howe's scoring records and milestones.

Howe has been married to Colleen Joffa since April 15, 1953; two of their sons, Marty and Mark, were his teammates on the Houston Aeros and the Hartford Whalers. Colleen is the founder of the Detroit Junior Red Wings, the first junior hockey team in the U.S.

Awards