Gordie Howe

Full Name: Gordon Howe
Born: March 31, 1928
Died: n/a
Number: 9
Played for the Red Wings: 1946-1971
Birth Place: Saskatchewan, Canada
Position: Rightwing

Gordon “Gordie” Howe was born on March 31, 1928 in Saskatchewan, Canada.   He played for the Omaha Knights, Detroit Red Wings, Houston Aeros, and the Hartford Whalers.

Howe joined the NHL at the young age of 18, playing right wing for the Detroit Red Wings.   Immediately he proved his worth in his position, being successful with both goals and playmaking.   He finished in the top 5 scoring for 20 straight seasons.   A “Gordie Howe” hat trick was said to be a goal, and assist, and a fight.  

Gordie Howe helped lead Detroit to four Stanley Cups, and first place for 7 straight years (1948-9 to 1955-6).   In these years, he and his line mates, Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel formed “The Production Line.” This lined was named as such because of their ability to produce goals, and also for Detroit’s auto factories.  

After twenty-five years of playing, a wrist problem caused him to retire. Not wanting to leave, he took a job in the front office of the Detroit Red Wings. A year after retiring, Howe was approached by the Houston Aeros, a team in the newly made World Hockey Association, to sign a contract, along with his sons Mark and Marty.   Howe underwent surgery to fix his wrist and led his team to championships.   In 1974, Howe was awarded with the WHA’s Most Valuable Player award at the age of 46.  

The WHA was no longer in the year of 1979, so Howe joined the Hartford Whalers.   The Hartford Whalers, had joined the NHL and Howe decided to play.   Howe played in all 80 games, at the age of 51.   He had 15 goals to help them advance to the play-offs and played in the mid-season all-star game.   This would be the last season that Howe would play the full season.   In 1997, Howe was signed to the Detroit Vipers of the IHL (International Hockey League), and played one game and went out on one shift.

Howe finished his career with a total of 975 goals, counting both his NHL and WHA goals.   He is nicknamed Mr. Hockey, which happens to be a copyrighted name. His jersey number, 9, was retired both with Detroit and the Hartford Whalers.

		Regular Season			Playoffs
Season	Club	GP	G	A	GP	G	A
1946-47	Detroit Red Wings	58	7	15	5	0	0
1947-48	Detroit Red Wings	60	16	28	10	1	1
1948-49	Detroit Red Wings	40	12	25	11	8	3
1949-50	Detroit Red Wings	70	35	33	1	0	0
1950-51	Detroit Red Wings	70	43	43	6	4	3
1951-52	Detroit Red Wings	70	47	39	8	2	5
1952-53	Detroit Red Wings	70	49	46	6	2	5
1953-54	Detroit Red Wings	70	33	48	12	4	5
1954-55	Detroit Red Wings	64	29	33	11	9	11
1955-56	Detroit Red Wings	70	38	41	10	3	9
1956-57	Detroit Red Wings	70	44	45	5	2	5
1957-58	Detroit Red Wings	64	33	44	4	1	1
1958-59	Detroit Red Wings	70	32	46
1959-60	Detroit Red Wings	70	28	45	6	1	5
1960-61	Detroit Red Wings	64	23	49	11	4	11
1961-62	Detroit Red Wings	70	33	44
1962-63	Detroit Red Wings	70	38	48	11	7	9
1963-64	Detroit Red Wings	69	26	47	14	9	10
1964-65	Detroit Red Wings	70	29	47	7	4	2
1965-66	Detroit Red Wings	70	29	46	12	4	6
1966-67	Detroit Red Wings	69	25	40
1967-68	Detroit Red Wings	74	39	43
1968-69	Detroit Red Wings	76	44	59
1969-70	Detroit Red Wings	76	31	40	4	2	0
1970-71	Detroit Red Wings	63	23	29
1979-80	Hartford Whalers	80	15	26	3	1	1
	NHL Totals	1767	801	1049	157	68	92

Other Well Known Accomplishments

Art Ross Trophy (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1963)
First All-Star Team Right Wing (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1963, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970)
Hart Memorial Trophy (1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1963)
Lester Patrick Trophy (1967)
Second All-Star Team Right Wing (1949, 1950, 1956, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967)